2026 Summer courses

Are there such things as mindful spaces or only spaces created by mindful designers? This studio course explores this question through the many aspects of contemplative design. By revisiting the role of the designer in the design process, this course tackles a range of design interventions at various scales that investigate how we conceptualize and create our interior environments. The course strikes a balance between history, theory, critical thinking and design, critiquing existing design practices while exploring alternate design methodologies and approaches.

An Offering is a collective, land-based design-build journey inspired by the Travesía at Open City Chile; where architecture and engineering come together as an unfolding event rather than a fixed object. Developed in partnership with Makate Waagamichiwanang Gakinaa’amaatiwin Youth & Family Wellness Camp, a land-based cultural and healing site grounded in Anishinaabe knowledge, the studio engages directly with community, Elders, youth, and knowledge keepers. Working across disciplines, students will move between observation, analysis, drawing, prototyping, and construction; testing ideas through material, structure, and poetics. Through immersion on site, learning happens through doing: drawing, cooking, building, measuring, and gathering. Central to this work is food sovereignty; the understanding that food systems are inseparable from land, infrastructure, and the relationship between environment, body, and community. Grounded in seven-generational thinking, the studio frames making as an act of offering - to the land, to community, and to those who follow. The outcome will be a real, constructed intervention (potentially temporary or evolving) but grounded in care, collaboration, and shared responsibility, positioning design and engineering as relational, embodied, and lived practices.

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This course provides an in-depth exploration of professional interior design practice, bridging academic learning with real-world application. Led by a Professional Interior Designer, students will engage in the early stages of a live project, gaining hands-on experience with client meetings, programming, teamwork, budgeting, and standard documentation.

Through a combination of lectures, discussions, and practical exercises, students will refine their skills in space planning, design development, and the selection and specification of furnishings, materials, and finishes—considering critical factors such as functionality, ergonomics, sustainability, life safety, and lifecycle impact. The course also emphasizes client communication, contract documents, and the designer’s broader responsibility in shaping human well-being.

By the end of the course, students will not only build confidence in professional design processes but also develop a deeper appreciation for lifelong learning and public service in interior design.