hi guys welcome back to our channel the #1 place for people who love design art and all things creative
i'm jacqueline and i'm an interior architect and designer here at D & B
and in today's video i'll be diving into the question what is an interior architect
and i'll also be discussing the differences between interior design
interior decoration and interior architecture i hope that this video helps people who are
deciding which profession to go into or for anyone who's just interested in finding out
the difference between the three areas that being said let's jump into the video
first off i want to talk about the common misconceptions surrounding the job title
interior designer i cannot tell you how many times family friends and other people have asked me what
exactly it is i do in my job i tell them i'm an interior architect and they say oh okay so like
picking out furniture and choosing paint colors or they just nod along but secretly have no idea
what the difference is between interior design and interior architecture and i think that the
interior design profession has been given such a bad rap because of certain tv shows you know
you'll often see an interior designer picking out furniture paint samples and also doing
the renovation themselves strangely it's also not helpful because on these shows the judges and the
contestants call themselves interior designers when in reality they're interior decorators
it's really confusing i know so just to be clear these types of projects on these shows
are interior decoration projects not interior design or interior architecture so let me clear
up the differences between them now okay so the main thing that all these professions do is of
course to provide a design for an indoor space for a particular client interior design itself
covers all types of sectors such as healthcare hospitality workplace retail residential
exhibition spaces and many others all of which have different requirements and design approaches
to their spaces the main objective of course is to provide a design solution for a client's problem
so interior decorators are what you'd probably associate with that stereotype of an interior
designer interior decorators are responsible for liaising with the clients producing an ff e
pack which is furniture fixtures and equipment creating mood boards choosing color palettes
selecting artwork and producing basic furniture arrangements usually these types of people would
be hired for a residential project because their main skills are focused around soft furnishings
it's also worth noting that technically anyone can call themselves an interior decorator
you don't need an accreditation or qualification necessarily to become one at the most you could
do a one to two year course or certification whereas with interior design you need a degree to
call yourself an interior designer this is because within that qualification you'll be learning more
so that you can produce larger scale projects that require a higher skill level
interior design is actually the art and science of understanding people's behavior in order to create
a functional space within a building interior designers apply creative and technical solutions
within a structure that are functional beautiful and also beneficial to a user's quality of life
and culture the best way to explain the difference is that interior designers
will do all of what entails interior decorating plus more complex things such as
doing general arrangements construction drawings sections and elevations reflected ceiling plans
electrical plans material finishing plans 3d visualizations and bespoke designs as well within
interior design there's also lots of emphasis on designing and complying with building regulations
and code also fire safety heating ventilation and air conditioning disabled access noise pollution
emergency exit plans all the stuff that you don't necessarily see we have to sort out as well this
is of course to make sure that we're designing spaces that are not only functional but also safe
for people to use and inhabit and of course with offices restaurants hospitals hotels shops and so
on they all have their own specific regulations that we need to adhere to just as an example
a restaurant bathroom's door swing needs to be able to leave a space to maneuver in that's 450
millimeters in diameter now of course that's just one example out of thousands but you get the idea
have you ever seen a bathroom where the cubicle door hits the toilet because i have unfortunately
these types of things have not followed building regulations or building standards
and are actually therefore illegal and you could be liable for the errors or the restaurant may
have to close down as it's deemed as being unsafe in industry interior designers are usually chosen
for anything commercial such as food and beverage projects office spaces hospitality marine projects
refurbs residential projects exhibitions you know those kinds of things with the construction
industry accounting for 40 of climate change as designers we also need to take into consideration
the sustainable aspects of a project in our own design studio for example we implement a 40 usage
of sustainable materials on all projects and hopefully you know as time goes on that will be
a hundred percent it's really important that all of the designs we create are not only sustainable
but provide solutions for the future now interior architecture is that profession where no one's
really quite clear on what it is and just like i said before interior architects carry out all the
tasks that an interior decorator and an interior designer would do plus some more additional things
such as programming and zoning circulation diagrams in-depth project and construction
management structural and technical aspects site meetings and putting through planning applications
they also take into consideration things that an architect would take into consideration when
designing a project like the use of light site and location influences architectural philosophies
how the design will be built urban design geography styles and cultural aspects as well
usually you'll find that interior architects work in bigger architectural firms those like oma
or bjark ingles group because they needed to work alongside architects on large-scale projects in
order to produce an all-round beautiful build could you imagine a gorgeously sculpted building
shell with a horrible plain interior it just wouldn't work and that's why interior design
and architecture work symbiotically you just can't have one without the other i also think
that what sets interior decoration interior design and interior architecture apart is the level of
software knowledge it all depends on your type of training of course but usually you'll find that
decorators use simpler programs or even just hand sketches whereas interior architects are
on the other side of the spectrum and use more advanced programs like bim for example and just
like interior design you need a qualification in order to call yourself an interior architect
although you don't need to study four years like an architecture student would do it's important
to state though that although we can do structural work we cannot change anything that's load-bearing
but which is fine because in that case we would then be assisted by an architect or a structural
engineer to complete that specific part of a project so you might be thinking well why not just
become an architect instead and although i love architecture and the process of creating buildings
i do love interior design more i like the fact that how we design a space ultimately influences
how others use the space and how an atmosphere can impact the way we feel within a space
and how it can also impact our experience within that space i think that a lot of the time as
consumers and users of the space you don't often see the thinking and analysis that's gone into the
spatial planning and design of that room and yet that's what's influencing our spending habits and
the experiences we have there and personally the reason why i wanted to become an interior
architect and not just an architect is one because architectural projects tend to last a couple years
if not you know 10 years or even more whereas interior projects are a lot shorter time periods
so it gives me that chance to be creative on more projects more frequently and two because
i genuinely like the soft furnishing side as well and you know drawing cad plans and creating
visualizations and mood boards i like a mixture of all those types of things so yeah interior
architecture allows me to be creative in all these different parts which is why i think it's such a
great career path to follow if you are interested in interior design if you're new then welcome this
channel is all about interior design architecture illustration content creation and graphics so if
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channel i hope that i answered the question what is an interior architect and also cleared up the
differences between the different professions or if you learn something new then comment below what
intrigued you the most okay guys thanks for watching and i'll see in the next video bye