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BFA Interior Design

  • VCUarts Qatar's four-year BFA Interior Design program finds impetus in a combination of creativity and environment behavior paradigms underscoring holistic design approaches. The curriculum, which is fully accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA), promotes diversity, innovation, sustainability, and collaboration. 

  • In compliance with this vision, the interior design program devised a program expectation that engages faculty and students into 1) curriculum innovation, 2) collaborative initiatives—interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary, 3) design competitions, 4) travel study, 5) internships, and 5) alignment with emerging design trends; i.e., building information modeling, three dimensional printing (3D printing), virtual reality, and evidence-based design.

  • The interior design faculty expertise paves the way for students to develop their creativity and innovation for a give space with the goal of improving the quality of life, increasing productivity, and protecting occupants’ health, safety, and welfare.

Why study Interior Design?

  • MFA in Design image1

    Interior designers create functional spaces

    They create functional and appealing spaces where people can live, work, and play;

    They study the theoretical principles of environment and behavioral sciences, such as space and form, color and light, sustainability, communication, codes and regulations, as well as business practices;

    They learn how art, architecture, design, and technology informs interior design and learn how to collaborate effectively across disciplines;

    They develop design solutions that address the health, safety and welfare of the users of a space;

    They design the interior spaces of health care facilities, hotels, ferries, and ships, and other commercial industries; become a stage and set designer, a movie production designer, exhibit designer, project manager, or an interior architect.

  • MFA in Design image2

    Interior designers are skillful and knowledgeable

    Professional interior designers have a solid understanding of construction and building systems because they make decisions that impact structural components as well as mechanical and electrical systems.

    They also have knowledge of environmental psychology, building codes and regulations, technical properties of materials, historic precedents and the business of design.

    Upon graduation, our students are able to skillfully apply the design process and illustrate their design concepts with computer- and manually-generated two- and three-dimensional architectural drawings and models.

  • MFA in Design image3

    Interior designers are collaborators

    To realize the designs they envision for clients, professional interior designers often collaborate with architects, engineers, other designers (lighting, graphic, landscape), contractors, manufacturers of interior products (furniture, lighting, fabrics), artists and craftsmen (cabinet makers, upholsterers).  

    For that reason, our interior design students are encouraged to develop good collaboration and communication skills that will enable them to work effectively in the multi-disciplinary environment of a professional interior design office.

  • MFA in Design image4

    Interior designers are leaders

    Professional interior designers lead design teams from the early stages of a design project through to its installation as a finished interior space, and many students, after gaining work experience, will open their own design firms.

    Our interior design majors are given opportunities to develop leadership abilities, as well as entrepreneurial, communication and organizational skills before they graduate; and our support systems continue for them as alumni.

  • MFA in Design image5

    VCUarts Qatar - a rigorous, rewarding, multi-cultural experience

    All graduates complete a liberal arts and science core curriculum in addition to their major program; these courses enrich a student’s understanding of the world and help them frame their art and design studies into a broad intellectual context.

    High achieving students will also be invited to follow our Honors program to enhance their education.

Curriculum

Degree requirement descriptions, including general education requirements, collateral requirements, and Major requirements can be found at this link:
http://bulletin.vcu.edu/undergraduate/arts/school-arts-qatar/interior-design-bfa/#degreerequirementstext

Semester plans can be found at this link:
http://bulletin.vcu.edu/undergraduate/arts/school-arts-qatar/interior-design-bfa/#planofstudytext
 

Course descriptions can be found at this link:
http://bulletin.vcu.edu/undergraduate/arts/school-arts-qatar/interior-design-bfa/#coursestext

Learning outcomes and objectives can be found at this link:
http://bulletin.vcu.edu/undergraduate/arts/school-arts-qatar/interior-design-bfa/#text

Faculty

  • Mohammad Suleiman

    Chair of Interior Design, Assistant Professor

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  • Dana Abuhajleh

    Teaching Assistant

  • Dr. Johan Granberg

    Associate Professor

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  • Dr. Marwa Abdelmonem

    Adjunct Faculty

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  • Dr.Haithem A. El-Hammali

    Assistant Professor

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  • Li Han

    Assistant Professor

    P +974 4402 0592
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  • Liam Colquhoun

    Associate Professor

    P +974 4402 0593
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  • Mariam M. Al Sarraj

    Adjunct Faculty

  • Martin Basalan Juras

    Research Assistant

  • Marynol Amat

    Administrative Business Coordinator

    P +974.4402.0586
    .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

  • Mohammad Suleiman

    Chair of Interior Design, Assistant Professor
  • Dana Abuhajleh

    Teaching Assistant

  • Dr. Johan Granberg

    Associate Professor
BIO

Mohammad Suleiman is an Assistant Professor, VCUarts Qatar. ...

Contact


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BIO

With a portfolio of work from 5 continents, Johan Granberg is a true world citizen of design. Johan has been engaged with the discipline of design since 1987: as an engineer, an architect, an educator, and a curator. He holds a Masters of Architecture from Chalmers School of Architecture in Gothenburg. Johan combines his assistant professor role...

Contact

P +974 4402 0590
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  • Dr. Marwa Abdelmonem

    Adjunct Faculty
  • Dr.Haithem A. El-Hammali

    Assistant Professor
  • Li Han

    Assistant Professor
BIO

Marwa Abdelmonem is an architect who exemplifies diversity in her academic, professional, and cultural backgrounds. She worked in multiple architectural firms in Egypt and the US on a number of residential projects. Marwa extended her expertise in residential design through her M.Sc. work (at Texas Tech University). She investigated the environmental aspects in low-income...

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BIO

Dr. Haithem A. El-Hammali., Ph.D., LIA, EDRA, is an Assistant Professor of Interior Design at VCUarts Qatar. ...

Contact

P +974 4402 0591
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BIO

Li Han is a self-motivated interior designer who has 11 years of experience in commercial and residential projects and 8 years of teaching experience at university level. She is capable of handling design projects from ideation to completion through conceptual design, space planning, digital rendering, code research, FF&E, construction document and site supervision. Currently she...

Contact

P +974 4402 0592
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  • Liam Colquhoun

    Associate Professor
  • Mariam M. Al Sarraj

    Adjunct Faculty

  • Martin Basalan Juras

    Research Assistant

BIO

Liam graduated from Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1994 with a BA degree in Interior Design, before moving to the United States to take a position with a small specialist entertainment design firm in Florida. In 1998 Liam began working with Baltimore architectural firm RTKL Associates in the cross-disciplinary Id8 Group. Working alongside designers and artists...

Contact

P +974 4402 0593
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  • Marynol Amat

    Administrative Business Coordinator

    P +974.4402.0586
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  • Matthew Holmes-Dallimore

    Assistant Professor
  • Nour Turki Amin Alareed

    Studio Teaching Assistant

Contact

P +974.4402.0586
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BIO

Matthew Holmes-Dallimore has a diverse three-dimensional design background that reflects his current research interests in the field of branded environments such as corporate interiors, retail design, and tradeshow exhibits. After graduating from Middlesex University in London with a Master of Arts degree in Interior Design, he freelanced for various retail and commercial design practices in...

Contact

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  • Samar Mazen Said Ahmed Zaina

    Adjunct Faculty

  • Simone Carena

    Associate Professor

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  • Yasamin Javid Shaikhi

    Studio Teaching Assistant

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Alumni

  • Shaikha Al-Sulaiti

    Interior Design Manager, Msheireb Properties
    Class of 2009

    Shaikha Al-Sulaiti is an interior design manager at Msheireb Properties where she has been skillfully gaining experience in the hospitality field. She is currently managing the hotels in the Msheireb Downtown development, where she has been working for over eight years, since her graduation from VCUarts Qatar in 2009.

    see full biography

    Alumini image1

  • Esra Al-Kazem

    Design Director, AEA Designs

    Esra Al-Kazem is the Design Director and Co-founder of AEA Designs. Her academic background includes an MFA in Design studies, a BFA in Interior Design, and a BFA in Fashion Design. Esra is a designer and a researcher who believes in improving life through design.

    see full biography

    Alumini image1

  • Mariam Siraj & Yasmine Suleiman

    Interior Designers, Halcrow (CH2M Hill) & HOK Doha
    Class of 2011

    Local designers Mariam Siraj and Yasmine Suleiman are helping create some of Doha’s major commercial projects. When it came down to making the choice of which university to attend, Mariam and Yasmeen knew that VCU was the choice for them.

    see full biography

    Alumini image1

  • Aisha Al Muftah

    Art Historian & Interior Designer, VCUarts Qatar
    Class of 2005

    Interior designer and art historian Aisha Al Muftah feels fortunate to be teaching at VCUarts Qatar, a job she cares deeply about. Having such a diverse educational background has set the course for all of her subsequent projects to be interdisciplinary, which the cultural environment in Qatar certainly encourages.

    see full biography

    Alumini image1

  • Hessa Al Muhannadi

    Interior Designer, Qatar Amiri Flight
    Class of 2011

    When Hessa Al Muhannadi started working as a math and science teacher with the Ministry of Education’s elementary and secondary schools, little did she know that in 10 years she would be switching careers and designing the interiors for the Qatar Amiri Flight.

    see full biography

    Alumini image1

Fieldtrips & Workshops

  • Prague and Berlin - 2016

  • Italy - 2016

  • Iceland - 2015

  • Paris - 2014

  • Thailand - 2014

  • Thailand - 2013

  • Australia - 2012

  • Thailand - 2012

  • Helsinki - 2012

  • Seoul - 2011

  • Prague and Berlin - 2016

  • Italy - 2016

  • Iceland - 2015

Prague and Berlin - 2016

November 2016

Field trip image

Italy - 2016

FEBRUARY - MARCH 2016

The spring travel study included Rome and Milan. In Rome the students benefitted from historic pedagogic promenades to Classical Rome (Coliseum, Forum, Mamertine Prison, Trajan's Forum, Capitol Hill, and Pantheon), Renaissance Rome (Vatican City including St. Peter's Basilica, dome climb, and Vatican Museum) and Baroque Rome (Bernini’s St. Peter’s Piazza, Tivoli fountain, Campo de’Fiori district, and Borromini’s San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane). In Milan, the students benefitted from tours to Milan Cathedral, Trinnale of Milan, New Fondazione Prada, and Museum of 900. This study travel concluded with a visit to Associati Design Studio whose directors are members of the Interior Design program advisory board.

Field trip image

Iceland - 2015

May 2015

The Interior Design students went on a field study trip to Reykjavik, Iceland. Iceland is similar to Doha as it has an emerging design scene and desert-like landscapes. They also have a low-cost energy, as 95% of the electricity is geothermal. During the four days visit, the students got to meet famous Icelandic designers such as Sigridur Sigurjonsdottir, the Studio Grand etc. The program included visits in some iconic landscapes and structures such as the Gullfoss (golden waterfall), geothermal power plant, Þingvellir (first parliament in the world), Geysers, Iceland countryside, horse riding, Reykjavík Art Museum, whale watering, flee market and also enjoying the culinary delicacies. The students got to practice their sketching skills with the new environment surrounding them. During a 9 hour stopover in Norway, the group visited Mortensurd church build with natural materials and opera house by Snøhetta.

Field trip image

  • Paris - 2014

  • Thailand - 2014

  • Thailand - 2013

Paris - 2014

Febuary - March 2014

The Interior Design program organized a field trip to Paris, France, February 25- March 4. 2014 The program included visits and tours of architectural landmarks, museums, and historic buildings that included well-celebrated art, design, and architectural references. These included: Villa Savoye (LeCorbusier), Le Louvre (I. M. Pei), Pompidou Center (Piano & Roger), Canal Plus (Richard Meier), Musee du Monde Arabe (Jean Nouvel), Guided Tours of 16th Arrondissement--Art Nouveau and Art Deco, Champs Elysees and Chateau de Versaille, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Musee d’Orsey, Musee des Arts Decoratifs, and the Bateaux Parisians River Cruise.The objective of the fieldtrip was to help the students to gain a more cosmopolitan international perspective of art, architecture and design, to cope with ambiguous design information, and above all to think more creatively and to see more than one perspective for a specific design perspective.

Field trip image

Thailand - 2014

Decemebr - January 2014

Taking advantage of an opportunity to combine learning with service, the Interior Design department at VCUQatar teamed up with service-learning Into the Wild to construct a teacher accommodation for the Karen hill tribe’s Muen Phem School in north of Chiang Mai, Thailand. With a generous sponsorship from Arab Engineering Bureau, it helped design and build a small house for a teacher; by completing it and having the house ready to be occupied, the department will continue to seek unique volunteer opportunities with the potential to coincide with its instructional goals in the future.

Field trip image

Thailand - 2013

January 2013

The Thailand trip, in addition to providing a culturally enriching experience to students, provides students with firsthand experience on implementing lessons learned in the classrooms. The trip provides service learning opportunities where students design and build a school gate and surrounding walls in a rural village near Meun Pem. This program is based on previous successful projects in the same region. In last year’s project VCUQatar students and faculty—with a generous sponsorship from Arab Engineering Bureau—helped design and build a small house for a teacher.

Field trip image
  • Australia - 2012

  • Thailand - 2012

  • Helsinki - 2012

Australia - 2012

November 2012

Our Interior Design students took part in this collaborative workshop with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) senior showcase exhibition for graduating seniors. The workshop brought VCUQatar interior design students with RMIT students to design and execute the senior exhibit; from a two-storey empty floor to a finished space within five days. Our students were primarily responsible for designing the library portion. Each year RMIT leases an un-used building to showcase senior work, and much of the two-storey warehouse space is dedicated to the exhibition of student portfolios. Additionally there is an entry-space that includes the names of students and a catalog of the beautifully produced booklets of their seminar work in a library-like setting.

Field trip image

Thailand - 2012

May 2012

The Interior Design department and the Student Learning Centre collaborated with Into the Wild on a service-learning fieldtrip to Northern Thailand with twelve students and three faculty/staff participating in a community building project.

Field trip image

Helsinki - 2012

Spring 2012

The department organized a field study to Finland for spring break. Helsinki is the UNESCO World Design Capital for 2012. A group of 12 students and faculty (plus several student relatives) spent a week visiting art and design museums, Helsinkiʼs wonderful Design District, and architecturally significant sites – especially those of Alvar Aalto. They also attended an opera (Dvorakʼs Rusalka), experienced Finnish culture and weather (some ice skating, sledding and cross country skiing), went to Tallin, Estonia for the day to see that wonderful medieval city, and took an over-night ship to Stockholm for their return to Doha. (Note: photos will be on the travel drive.)

Field trip image



Opportunities

Internships

Internships are a great way for students to gain hands-on experience in a professional design environment. VCUarts Qatar's internships form part of the core curriculum and all students are expected to undertake a 120-hour placement often in their Senior Year. Internships are generally unpaid but may lead to sponsorship or employment after graduation. All placements are managed by the faculty internship coordinator with contracts, reporting documents and timesheets to ensure the highest professional standards are maintained.

Here are just some of the corporations that have offered valuable internships to our Interior Design students:

Al Fardan, Al Mana Maples, Arab Engineering Bureau, Arteligno Interior Designers, AvonTure Interiors, Barwa, Bin Ghanim Consulting Architects, Town Planners, Engineers, Bluu Qatar LLC, Cinmar Design, Dreams Decoration, Geomim Interior Design, House & Garden, Jean Nouvel Design, KEO International Consultants, Khatib & Alami Consolidated Engineering Company, Le Parfait, Living In Interiors, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, MZ & Partners Architect & Engineering Consultancy, National Marble & Stones, Odell Associates, Omrania & Associates, Prime Lands Real Estate Development LLC, Prisma, Qatar Foundation Capital Projects, Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Museums Authority, Qatari Diar, RasGas, Romancia Design/Interior & Exterior Decorations, Salem Al Marzook/Abi Hanna, Shelter Qatar, Sketch Engineering & Consulting,Talati & Panthaky – Associated Pvt. Ltd, The Classical Palace, The Land.

Visiting Designers/Advisory Board

Abdullah Al-Emadi, Ahmad Najjar, Cynthia Batir, Dr. Abdellah Karroum, Laura Barlow, Giampiero Peia, Martha Nasazzi, Hamoda Youssef, Ibrahim Jaidah, Lejla Niksic, Mayes Al-Thani, Modesty St. John, Mohammed Nasser Al Baker, Paolo Cassina, Yausif Al-Baker, Sandra Sainz Shaikha Al-Mahmoud, Hanouf Mohammed Al-Mana, Shaikha Al-Sulaiti  Oliver Baxter, Esra Al-Kazem, Dorota Nazarewicz, Shraddha Aryal, Dr. Fodil Fadli.

Inquiries

VCUarts Qatar
Al Luqta Street
Education City
Doha, Qatar
+974 4402 0555
vcuqinfo@vcu.edu

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