hot new next ask Julie Myers, the chair of the new Interior Architecture (IA) Department at Cornish College of the Arts. Only a handful of IA programs exist in the country, and Myers proposes that IA’s holistic approach represents design’s future. DESIGN SCHOOLED Written by STACY KENDALL : Portrait by NATE WATTERS 80 graymag.com
A Seattle interior designer at the top of her game founds the new Interior Architecture Department at Cornish College of the Arts to shape the future of design. T raditional design academia, some say, has been (metaphorically) falling asleep in class. Meanwhile, Seattle is emerging at the forefront of the industry’s education sector, with Cornish College of the Arts taking a seat in the first row. In 2016, the school introduced the new BFA program in Interior Architecture (IA), one of only a few such programs on the West Coast and the brainchild of interior designer Julie Myers, the new department’s chair. Pre-Cornish, a typical day for the seasoned Seattle designer included sketching plans for uber-luxe private jets, homes, and hotels. But now she spends her time envisioning a curriculum for the freshest faces in design. Myers walks the walk. I was first intrigued by her approach to her classroom, which she named the Experience Studio. Here sophomores, juniors, and seniors work side by side, mentoring one another, collaborating on projects, and honing their skills, as they would in a professional design firm. Myers believes faculty should be active in the industry, so her professors include some of Seattle’s top working designers and architects, including Jeffrey B. Miller, managing principal of IA Interior Architects, and the duos behind design studios Fruitsuper and Piano <strong>No</strong>bile. Even specialists outside design, such as scientists, entrepreneurs, and city planners, visit the program to share their perspectives. The more I learned by talking to Myers, the more it became clear that the future of design is expressed in her vision of a multifaceted educational approach. I caught up with her again to get the full story. Why the term “interior architecture”? Interior design’s strength is that it teaches about surface materiality and space. IA is the next layer: object design, structural objects, and the overall well-being of a space. The idea is to think about design holistically, from the people to the materials and then to the structure. How do you explain the value of interior design? When people call me a decorator, I say, “Great!” At least they get part of what I’m doing. It’s very important that the curriculum value décor, as it relates to the momentum of human activity. We love spaces that entice us to stay. That’s the emotional side of design, and we’re never going to run from it. What challenges currently face design academia? We no longer see young, energized professionals come back to teach like we used to; that needs to happen again. It’s important for faculty to consistently work in the profession in order to understand where firms are moving. Education should inspire the industry, too. I see interior design and architecture as evolving together, and unifying to elevate the entire design profession. It may take time, but I’d like to see our organizations [such as the American Institute of Architects and the American Society of Interior Designers] merge into one. What is in design’s near future? We no longer stay in one place for 30 years. This compels us to design with inclusivity and diverse populations in mind; our spaces have to reflect mobility and flexibility. Biophilic practices [the embrace of nature’s crucial role in the built environment], one example of future-thinking design, address overall wellness and the notion that we are part of a living system. How is a building responding to our biological needs, such as air, water, and heat? What’s the dynamic in the classroom? What do students work on? We have both local and international students, so our focus is on creating a global citizen who thinks about how to make a difference as a designer. One student designed a birthing clinic for his country, Indonesia, that won a national scholarship from Donghia. We tackle projects in the community on the hypothetical level, and I’d love to see them have actual outcomes someday. To value what we do as interior designers and architects, we need community leaders, design resources, and comradery. What are your goals for the program? I’d like to explore the notions of robotic interiors and responsive objects—which include everything from how a space reacts to humans via sensory adaptation like lighting to screens that connect you with activity in your home. We’ve had geology and biology as annual curriculum themes, and next fall I’m excited to focus on climate change and migration. As we’ve seen in the news, we’re on a path of not acknowledging science. How are we as designers going to work with that? How can science and art be partners? Being proactive versus reactive—that’s designing. ❈ graymag.com 81
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