This PhD course aims to explore interiors as versatile, ambiguous and complex phenomena. Through architectural history, social history, design, art and anthropology, multifaceted and even sometimes paradoxical aspects of interiors will be unfolded. We will discuss how such complex phenomena can be grasped and comprehended, through genuine and rigorous analytical discourse. Several examples will be presented forming the basis of the course and these will be studied through academic texts. In addition we will take an excursion to a local museum where interiors are reconstructed to further inform our discussion. Participants are asked to submit a draft paper describing examples of versatile interiors that will be discussed in a group format. Two central questions will be addressed:
• How can interiors be comprehended in all their complexity?
• How can the ambiguity of interiors be framed through theoretical perspectives?
The versatile interiors we will study are: hoarder homes, homes with glossy surfaces and white walls, architects’ and artists’ homes as well as home workspaces. Furthermore, the course will focus on design
principles in historical interiors, i.e., within the early modern period. Theses such as diffuse or limitless boundaries of space and cases where the exterior, urban space and landscape are drawn into the
interior are to be discussed.
ECTS: 3. A paper of maximum 2.000 words and an image should be submitted, by October 15. Applicants must relate their papers to their PhD research and the theme of the course. Deadline for application: September 15. Register here.
The course is lead by:
Ph.D., associate professor Danielle van den Heuvel, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Ph.D., associate professor Kirsten Marie Raahauge, Royal Danish Academy, Denmark
Ph.D., MAA, assistant professor Natalie Körner, Royal Danish Academy, Denmark