Master's programme in Design - Spatial Design

Nadia Smedeland, Master's programme Spatial Design, graduated in 2022

You will have the opportunity to explore interiors and materiality, interiors and cities and interiors and atmospheres. Related to these three areas of expertise are questions about interiors and their manifestations, materials, and fabrications; interiors and their relationships to individuals, cities and societies; interiors and their politics, ecologies and economies; interiors and their histories and imaginations; as well as interiors and their conditions, perceptions and experiences. 

Through the combination of artistic methods with digital and traditional technologies, experimental explorations and critical reflections, you will develop projects and scenarios, which respond to different scales and contexts. During your Spatial Design studies you will be exposed to and develop new design methods and processes and learn to test and communicate your ideas through different means, which can range from experimental fabrications, theoretical speculations, visual imaginations to the implementation of live scenarios and prototypes. You will also gain an in-depth understanding of the aesthetic, cultural and socio-political relevance of interiors.

The programme includes a number of design driven explorations before continuing with a more individual artistic research. You will be working in studios, workshops, laboratories, on site and undertake field and study trips.

This education encourages and supports you to formulate your role as interior architect and furniture designer, and to reflect and critically re-think the discipline and profession in order to respond to the urgent questions contemporary society is facing today.

If you already have a Bachelor's degree in Interior Architechture & Furniture Design from Konstfack, you may after these two years of advanced study at the Master's programme, acquire recognition of your professional status as an Interior Architect from the Swedish Association of Architects.

Specific requirements
Bachelor's degree of Fine Arts in Design: Interior Architecture and Furniture Design (equivalent to a Swedish Bachelor's degree of at least 180 credits), or the equivalent. And proficiency in English equivalent to Swedish upper secondary school course English 6/English B. Read more about requirements and selection here.

Selection*
The selection is made on artistic grounds and is based on the assessment of artistic portfolio, a declaration of intent, an interview and previous academic qualifications where spatial design is meriting. Read more about requirements and selection here.

* = Students in their final year of Bachelor studies must certify emphasis on spatial design based on the subject of their degree project.

In the first step an assessment is made on an artistic portfolio and on the demonstrated ability to design artistically, to approach a design task in an explorative and reflective way and in relation to questions society faces today. We are also interested to see expertise in making, demonstrated through digital and analogue experiments, as much as technical skills and levels of craftsmanship. Examples of spatial design are especially meriting.

In the second step, a selected number of applicants are called to an interview, in which the declaration of intent to attend the programme, the applicant’s ability to reflect on their own artistic approach in relation to questions society faces today, are discussed in relation to previously handed in portfolios. After this interview, a final merit rating is established.

Language of instruction
All teaching, tutoring and examinations are in English.

Degree
Degree of Master of Fine Arts in Design - Spatial Design

Applicant assignment for the 2023 autumn admission

Your portfolio must be submitted digitally according to the instructions below. The samples of your work must describe results from studies and/or works that you want to refer to. If any sample is not completely your own work, this must be made clear and you must clearly indicate which sections you have created in such a group work.

Your application must include the following two (2) compulsory sections:

1. Your own selection of works
Send us documentation of works that you have produced on your own. You can also present work that has been done by a group. If you present group work you have to specify precisely what your contribution has been.

You may have produced the works during your Bachelor’s programme, an internship or while you have been working professionally.

You may also include three sketches, paintings and/or sculptures if you want to.

For us to be able to assess your way of working from the beginning to final proposal it is required that you present this for at least three (3) of the works that you submit. You may, for example, present different types of sketches (some need to be made by hand), renderings, studies, photographs of models, models in context, films and/or other images that show how the final proposal evolved. Explain them with texts in which you describe, for instance, your starting point, intention, task and other aspects of your thought processes during your work.

All of the samples you present should be assembled to form one PDF file of no more than twenty (20) pages in A3 landscape format. Arrange your sketches, drawings, photographs and films etc. on these pages. (Films should be represented in your portfolio by one image from the film and its title. The actual films are submitted as separate files.)

The first page must contain a table of contents covering every work in the portfolio. The table of contents should offer a clear summary of the samples of your work submitted with thumbnail images for each of them. The table of contents will be used by the assessment group to get an overview when discussing the works.

Give your PDF file a name using the following format “Surname-Forename-1.pdf”.

The samples in your portfolio must demonstrate your ability to present spatiality through, for instance,
- a drawing/3D object that you consider shows spatialities (space).
- drawings/3D-objects that you consider show movement, direction and scale.

Your portfolio must also demonstrate your ability to make drawings and understand them by presenting, for instance,
- scale drawings in the technique of your choice (freehand, digital media) of any object/room/spatiality/project you choose.

2. Declaration of intent and CV
In your declaration of intent, which has to be written in English, you describe why you want to attend the Master’s programme Spatial Design.

Describe a study, project or interest and how you want to work with developing and delving more deeply into this during the Master's programme. Explain how this work relates specifically to the subject area and on the relevance to issues in society at large. Describe what you hope to work with after your degree and what contexts you seek to operate in. Also, please present any questions about the programme that you would like to ask in the event of an interview.

Write about two (2) A4 pages, (4000 characters including spaces)

Submit a CV (A4 portrait format), in which you list all your study programmes, work-experience and other information that you think is interesting in your application to us.

Give your PDF file a name using the following format “Surname-Forename-2.pdf”.

Technical specifications
For us to be able to assess your portfolio correctly, it is important that you comply with these technical specifications.

Moving images
In addition to the PDF files, you may also submit moving images with a total length of no more than 15 minutes.

Use one of the following formats for moving images: MOV, MP4 or AVI.

The films must be compressed using H-264 compression.

Single files should not be larger than 150 MB, and in total the portfolio must not exceed 500 MB.

Give the files with films names using the format “Surname-Forename-3.mpg”, “Surname-Forename-4.mpg” and so on.

Summary, files to submit:
You must submit (2) PDF files. These must not be password protected.

1. One PDF file containing samples of your work and a table of contents that comprises no more than 20 pages in A3 landscape format. Give this PDF file a name using the format “Surname-Forename-1.pdf”.

2. One PDF file containing your declaration of intent that consists of about two (2) pages in A4 portrait format, and also add your CV in A4 portrait format. Give this PDF file a name using the format “Surname-Forename-2.pdf”.

And optional moving images.