
Interior Architecture Masters Theses
Interior Architecture offers the following degree program options at the graduate level:
• Master of Arts (MA) in Adaptive Reuse, a one-year+ program
• Master of Design (MDes) in Interior Studies / Adaptive Reuse, a two-year+ program
• Master of Design (MDes) in Interior Studies / Exhibition + Narrative Environments, a two-year+ program
Both programs take an innovative and progressive approach to addressing design issues intrinsic to the reuse and transformation of existing structures. US News & World Report and Design Intelligence have both ranked RISD’s Interior Architecture programs among the top in the country.
Each MA candidate produces a final project that begins with a research component in the fall and evolves into a studio/design project in the spring. MDes candidates demonstrate competency through self-directed Degree Projects that include a seminar on theory, a research component and a studio component. Each DP focuses on the transformation of an existing structure of their choice in the city of Providence. All MA and MDes candidates also participate in the RISD Graduate Thesis Exhibition, a large-scale public show held annually.
Graduate Program Director: Markus Berger
These works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Theses from 2017
Wellness within reach : life / work balance within the RISD campus, Kyunghwa Kang
Lighting : an atrium core to reconnect with the sun, Quan Lei
Creative collisions : a RISD case study, Hannah Liongoren
Building community : network within grey space, Lingfei Liu
Building as reef, Anna Morataya Quan
Hill study : re-energize highly-programmed hill study space, Di Qiang
Into the open : blurring building fences, Chun Qiu
Updraft : crafting a new passive cooling, Hobin Song
Theses from 2016
A place for family: support health through community, Jiaqi Li
We can be heroes: enriched spaces for men of color, Ann McKinnon
Theses from 2015
Equilibrium: public spectacle for social integration, Reem Al Thani
Community in a post-diest world, Kirby Benjamin
The post office reimagined : restoring healthy living in America, Mallory Buck
Power shift: a catalyst for architectural transformation : rapid transit, Cincinnati, Dachamont Kaewket
Redefining liminal spaces through natural phenomena, Hanna Kim