Academic courses
July 29, 2024 2025-07-17 13:14Academic courses
Academic courses of the Interior and Furniture Design department
Architecture and Construction
The course “Architecture and Construction” is taught in the fifth semester of the “Bachelor“ academic degree curriculum of the specialty “Engineering Design (Interior and Furniture Design)“ with a total of 60 hours under the scheme 30 hours lectures and 30 hours seminars. It deals with fundamental issues of design and implementation of the structural and non-structural elements of the building in respect of certain architectural requirements for them: functional, aesthetic and technical. It deals also with the ways of their representation in the drawing. Students acquire knowledge of the language of architecture and the basic architectural building requirements, which must be observed in reconstruction of interiors.
The course ends with a coursework representing basic plan, layout, cuts and elevations of a given architectural scheme. Assessment is ongoing and is based on evaluation of the project and its presentation and evaluation of a theory test.
Art in Design
Within the scope of 30 lectures, the course familiarizes students with significant works of art and achievements of design.
These include museum exhibits, works of art, and works of architecture: public (secular, religious), residential, etc. architecture. The aim is to identify those qualities of the works of art and of design that make them artistically significant. This helps in the formation of the professional taste and aesthetic criteria of the future designers.
In the seminars students are asked to prepare papers and essays which are presented in the form of multimedia presentations. The mark given by the teachers is based on: 1) the qualities of the student’s individual performance: objectivity, analytical thinking, depth of the paper, etc.; and 2) the critical remarks the student makes when discussing a colleague’s work.
Computer-Aided Furniture Design
The Study discipline Computer-Aided Furniture Design teaches students the Graphic software of AutoCAD, so that they can develop their skills in 3D modeling. The Study Program is developed for the requirements of the Engineering Design (Interior and Furniture Design) Bachelor Program taught at the University of Forestry in Sofia. The AutoCAD version under Windows is used. The objective of the study program is that students get acquainted with this contemporary computer graphic software for design and visualizations. After briefing and demonstration of each command, each student is meant to practice the demonstrated study material by implementing a specific individual graphic assignment. At the end of the course, every student presents his work by computer drawings with the necessary information for the interior of a small public or residential venue, including a layout plan of the brief, elevations, orthogonal views, sections, and a 3D model of a furniture piece.
Lecturers:
Design History, Theory and Methodology
The course aims to introduce students with the Design process of industrial products, starting with the emergence and specificity of the interdisciplinary design profession, through intersection with other professions, teamwork and stages of the creative design process. The objective of the course is to introduce students with the process of creating industrial products and with the features of the successive stages in the design process. Thematic units refer a historical overview of the emergence and development of Design as a profession through examples in furniture and architecture. Attention is drawn to the theoretical bases of design, the stages of Design process, with respect to project requirements and the introduction of different types of methods to improve the process.
Lecturers:
Design of Accessories in Interiors
Design of Accessories in Interior is studied in third semester in “Product design” module of the Master’s program. Students are introduced to design of the various accessories – inseparable and very important part of each interior. Both decorative and functional accessories design is included. Special attention is paid to the emotional impact of accessories on users and the principles implemented in the creation of unique visual identity.
Lecturers:
Design of Avant-garde Furniture
This discipline is taught in the Engineering Design Master Program. Students are acquainted with specific themes of contemporary design, such as: “Citation in Design”, “Organic Design”, “Nature-Inspired Design”, “Technological Design”, “Minimalism”, etc. The course is devised to widen the interests of design students to different areas of life, such as art, architecture, avant-garde sculpture, traditional art and architecture of the Far East, etc. Students are supposed to acquaint themselves with the design of contemporary designers that seek unorthodox trends in design creativity. In their seminar classes, students are supposed to research the work of acknowledged masters, such as Philippe Starck, Ron Arad, Mark Newson, Zaha Hadid, Ross Lovegrove, Karim Rashid, etc. They must try and understand their logic and develop a design brief by following their example.
Lecturers:
Design of Environment for Disabled People
The discipline “Design of Environment for Disabled People” consists of lectures and practical assignments of design projects for the Engineering Design Master Program. Lectures consider theoretical material, analyzing themes connected with the building of environment for people with disabilities; the requirements, the constitution and furnishing of urban environment, residential and public buildings, hospital rooms as well as nursing homes for people with disabilities. Present-day tendencies in this type of places as well as the methods of adapting the environment for the needs of people with disabilities are considered. Each theme is illustrated and demonstrated by the lecturer by multimedia presentation. In seminar classes, students develop three designer briefs: urban environment elements, residential environment – kitchen or living-room, and finally, a room at a nursing home for disabled people. At the end of the term, design projects are presented, discussed and submitted for final evaluation.
Lecturers:
Design of Interior and Furniture of Non-Wood Materials
Non-wood materials are an extremely large proportion of materials used in interiors and furniture. In the course “Design of Interior and Furniture of Non-Wood Materials” students study the peculiarities of furniture designs with the predominant participation of metal, plastic, rock materials, glass, various composite materials and more. The problems related to the place of the non-wood materials in the interior of residential and public buildings such as flooring, wall cladding, suspended ceilings, screens and railings and others are considered.
Students acquire skills in the application of non-wood materials in furniture construction and interiors and their skills related to their application in various solutions, including through the developed course project, they are trained as highly qualified specialists in the field of furniture and interior design.
Lecturers:
Design of Period-Style Interiors
The study course Design of Period Style Interior aims at practically implementing the knowledge of Engineering Design students, acquired in the Bachelor level in the ‘Styles in Interior and Furniture’ course. This course has no lectures, only studio work, where the basic aim is to design interior and furniture following a certain historic style. Students should keep the character and vision of the originals and interpret them according to requirements of the individual assignment. To this aim, they need to research the period examples according to sources and analyze the design and details available. The research results are demonstrated to their colleagues as PowerPoint presentation. Students are expected demonstrate their own creativity by interpreting closely or more loosely the original style. Students develop also a second team interior project, including furniture detail. They work in teams of three. At the end of the term they submit the assignments under A3 format folio, as well as a PowerPoint presentation with 3D visualizations.
Lecturers:
Design of Public Buildings Furnishing
The discipline is provided for the needs of Engineering Design Bachelor Program and includes one semester lecture cycle plus two semesters of seminar classes. The lectures include interior of major types of public buildings, such as Administrative Buildings, Commercial Buildings, Banks and Credit Institutions, Restaurants, Educational Spaces: Kindergartens and Schools, Higher Educational Institutions, Buildings for Spectacles, Large Halls for Congress, Sport, etc., Transport Buildings, etc. Only Industrial and Medical Buildings are excluded because of their complex character. Students are acquainted with the overall architecture and composition of these places, of the specific requirements for their interior and most of all, of the furnishings, such as Office Furniture Systems, School Furniture, Restaurant and Shop Furniture, etc. Layout and arrangements of furniture as well as decorative covering of walls, ceilings and floors is considered. Color solutions and material choice is another considered issue. In the seminar classes, students develop individual term briefs according to the program.
Lecturers:
Design of Unique Residential Interiors
The study discipline “Design of Unique Residential Interiors” aims at deepening the knowledge of students of the Engineering Design Master Program in residential buildings interiors by lectures and tests on the one hand, and by practical assignments, on the other. Students are acquainted with unique building interiors by means of their work on the individual term design project on a large building with a representative character. Students receive briefs with more ambitious interiors containing architectural elements, such as different levels, interior stairs, gallery, fireplaces, large terraces, etc. The discipline aims at teaching students how to make individual luxurious design propositions for large area interiors, such as they could not work on in their bachelor’s degree study.
Lecturers:
Design Project
The discipline covers 30 hours within a week. On Day one, students are distributed in separate teams by drawing lots, each team between 5 to 7 people. Teams are working on the assignment set by the partner company and/or teachers. It can be either linked to a specific product or only а conceptual design.
During the project week a leading practicing designer is invited to participate in the process, this professional is both a member of the Teacher Team and the Jury, and is obliged to make a presentation of his own career story, thus becoming a role model for the students.
It is desirable for the partner company to be a leader in the field of furniture, materials for furniture manufacturing, investor in the field of construction and furnishing or other, capable of assigning “live” cases related to furniture design or interior. The company may be from another sector, assigning a brief of social significance and encouraging various design solution approaches.
During the “Design Project Week” students must formulate goals correctly, to analyze available information, to generate their concept through brainstorm, elaborate the design solution and to communicate it in an attractive manner. All this must be done in teamwork.
To achieve a better outcome and for the additional motivation of the teams, on the third day students are obliged to make a mid-presentation in front of the team of teachers, leading designer and fellow students.
The event concludes with a formal final presentation, taking place at the University Aula. Each team has 5 minutes to explain their idea and demonstrate the visual materials. Observing criteria such as creativity of the idea, functionality and presentation skills, the jury announces the results of the final presentation in a solemn manner. The first three teams are awarded with a material prize and receive a certificate signed by the Dean of the Faculty, the leading designer, head of the teaching team and the partner company representative.
Design-process management
This course is made for students in “Engineering Design” specialty, Master Program. It’s designed to complement and enrich students’ knowledge on the management of the design process. Tasks that students should decide the course are: formation of theoretical knowledge about the stages of the design process, interaction with other processes within the organization, management process during the product life cycle; practical skills related to sales, consulting and research market and customers.
Ecodesign
The aim of the course “Ecodesign” is to acquaint students with opportunities to create furniture, products and elements of the environment, made of ecological and recyclable materials. Classes are held at 0 +2 scheme with a total horarium of 30 hours.
In the exercises within 30 hours of course students develop projects on individually assigned topics (products of urban, public and residential environment – furniture, products and components for metro or bus stops, sports buildings, camping, for children, for balconies, courtyard areas, etc.). At the end of the semester course projects are subject to discussion and defense.
Assessment is ongoing and is based on evaluation of the project and its presentation.
Lecturers:
Form-formation
Form-formation is studied in second year, 45 h lectures and 45 h laboratory classes.
The main objective of the course is to acquaint students with the theoretical base and essence of processes of form formation in the material world. The science exposes the main operational logic of form formation: systemization, structuring and construction of forms, as well as its chief mechanism, consisting of harnessing of symmetry and rhythm in a single matrix. The theory studies the content of symmetry and rhythm – two basic categories in the world. It also studies the classification of forms and spaces, the principles and methods of their organization and structure related to the horizons of development of the physical and mathematical knowledge of the human being about the surrounding world at the present moment.
Lecturers:
Furniture Construction
In the course “Furniture Construction” are given the main principles of construction of furniture and students gain experience in creating design documentations needed for furniture manufacturing. Knowledge of basic requirements for furniture, classification of furniture and requirements for materials used in furniture construction are given.
In the course are studied the main groups of furniture such as cabinet, frame and upholstered furniture.
Students learn the application, components, functional dimensions, structural and functional feature, all of which is illustrated with many examples of good practices of modern solutions for various furniture designs.
The principles of structural design are studied, including wardrobes, dressers, chests, dressing table, modular and endless corpus construction, kitchen cabinets, office furniture, built-in and partitioning furniture. Advantages of “System 32” are given.
Two main blocks are designed for studying special features of beds and tables. Particular attention is paid to the functional capabilities of transformable beds, as well as numerous options for constructing non-extendable and extendable tables.
In the lecture material is included a topical issue of constructing lightweight furniture construction. Students will become familiar with the trends and characteristics of lightweight materials suitable for use in the construction of furniture.
A significant part of the course is dedicated to the siting furniture, including construction of upholstery, chairs, armchairs and sofas, benches and stools, armchairs-beds and sofa-beds.
Lecturers:
Furniture design for mass and serial production
In lectures and practices students are introduced with different design concepts in this special topic – precisely serial and mass production.
It is thoroughly examined some problems, in connection with market and users requirements and manufactures resources for streamline construction schemes and unification of different elements and profiles.
In their projects students are looking for synthesis of functional requirements, structure and technique.
Lecturers:
Furniture Strength Design
The course “Furniture Strength Design” is taught in the seventh semester of the “Bachelor” academic degree curriculum of the specialty “Engineering Design (Interior and Furniture Design)“ with a total of 90 hours under the scheme 45 hours lectures and 45 hours seminars. The study course provides the students with knowledge about basic principles and methods of strength and stiffness design of furniture structures at the most common service loads.
The dimensioning of the structural elements of furniture under compression (tension), shearing, torsion, bending, combined loads and loss of resistance (buckling) is studied. Particular attention is paid to the experimental and theoretical dimensioning of the joints of board structural elements of furniture. The basic methods of dimensioning of sitting furniture and case furniture are independently considered.
Mastering of the subject of “Furniture Strength Design” contributes to the complete training of the future specialists – designers of furniture.
Furniture testing
This course is made for students in Master’s grade of study from “Engineering design” line. It’s given an additional knowledge in the field of testing and certification of furniture.
With expanding the knowledge of students in different test methods for furniture on various types of test machines, they are prepared to become highly-qualified specialists in design and production of serial and mass furniture and also for the realization of final quality control on finished furniture and their conditions certification.
Graphic Design
The goal of the Graphic Design course is to strengthen students’ knowledge, as well as their specific professional skills in preparing projects and concepts related to the whole spectrum of advertising, graphic and interior design, as well as in synthesis with all other arts. The course’s leading tasks include the presentation of the basic principles of graphic design theory and the influence of visual communication, presentation of graphic design products and preparation of design projects related to some of them, strengthening the broad general knowledge and proper education for practicing designer’s profession. The course contains basic theoretical knowledge for Graphic design and Visual communication. It acquaints students with the basic principles that provide the balance in each composition. At the same time, it serves as a base for improving the skills that students acquired in the courses of Visual Art Methods and Techniques, Color Science and Composition Theory. The course includes specific knowledge for some of the most popular graphic design aspects: Typography, Identification Design, Information Design, Interaction Design, Advertising Design, Print Design, Packaging Design, Graphic Design for Interior/Exterior. The use of specific knowledge and terminology for each of these forms are combined with practical experimental work in the exercises and course assignments. The obligatory volume of practical and theoretical tasks allows specialization and mastering of the most modern technical means and aesthetic requirements in solving the creative tasks in the chosen field.
Lecturers:
Innovative and Strategic Design
The main aim of the Innovative and Strategic Design course is to make students familiar with the scientific methods for management of the innovative process and integration of innovative strategies that have been adopted in the designers’ practice. Different sources of innovation, types of innovative structures and approaches used for definition and selection of design strategy have been examined. Students acquire knowledge of how to apply analytical and non-analytical design methods in the different stages of the creative process. During the practical exercises, the students develop course assignments aimed at introducing the students to different situations of their future working lives and encourage them to take progressive decisions of human problems. Special attention is given to the teamwork and removal of limitations in the process of creating new ideas.
Lecturers:
Interior and design of metal, plastic and glass furniture
Aims and tasks of the course “Interior and design of metal, plastic and glass furniture” are to acquaint students with the basic principles of designing furniture, executed entirely or with increased use of non-wood materials. Problems related to the place of non-wood materials in the construction of the interior of residential and public buildings are concerned. Classes are held at 1+4 scheme with a total horarium of 75 hours.
In the course the main non-wood materials and their place in building interiors and furniture for residential and public buildings are systematized. The principles of interiors and furniture design using metal, glass, synthetic materials, mineral plates, textiles, paper and other materials are analyzed.
In the seminars within 60 hours of coursework, students develop three individual design projects on assigned topics. Projects are evaluated on a points system based on certain criteria.
Interior Architecture
The Study discipline “Interior Architecture” teaches basic issues of design, development and elaborating furniture documentation and the furnishing of residential and public buildings interiors. In the lecture course, students from the “Technology of Wood and Furniture” Bachelor Program acquire knowledge on residential architecture, theory of composition issues, color, functional dimensioning and morphology of furniture and decorative artistic treatment of interior. The furnishings of residential and administrative interiors are analyzed and explained. The students develop an individual design brief of furnishing a small apartment and they prepare a layout plan, elevations of the interior, orthogonal views of furniture pieces of the assigned brief.
Interior Design for Unique Buildings
The study course Interior Design of Unique Buildings deepens students’ knowledge of residential interior, which is done by means of practical assignments. The study course aims at acquainting students with work on unique interiors of residential interiors, built with luxurious materials and ambitious architecture, such as official residences, luxurious ministerial or corporative interiors etc. The study course is developed to be implemented at the Master level of Engineering Design (Interior and Furniture Design) Program at the University of Forestry in Sofia. During the term, students develop the design project of a unique residence space with an individual brief.
The course aims at the practical work on functional and aesthetic problems of such interiors. To this end, students do their own research on examples of similar interiors and, assisted by teaching staff, design all interior decorative/functional elements and furniture. Prestigious materials are used to greater decorative effect. The project graphics is more ambitious, to prepare students for such professional tasks as competition entries, exhibitions etc.
Introduction to Urban Design
The course “Introduction to Urban Design” introduces students to key elements and concepts in the field of urban environment (streets, boulevards, neighborhoods, squares, residential and public areas, pedestrian zones, over or underground spaces, transport territories and subways, green spaces, water areas, industrial areas, areas of historic importance, memorial complexes, as well as the types of open spaces for general use) and of urban design (small architectural forms; outdoor furnishings; works of monumental and decorative arts, commercial, information and advertising equoment; signs of urban communication) in modern times. The students are taught basic design principles such as complexity, scale, stylistic and compositional unity, continuity and efficiency, and more.
Understanding of specific knowledge and urban terminology is combined with practical and experimental work in the course assignments. One of the main tasks of the course is the mastering of the basic features, limitations, and patterns of development in today’s urban environment.
Lecturers:
- Prof. PhD Stela Borisova Tasheva
Lighting and Lighting Systems in Furniture
Lighting into interiors and furniture is a particularly important element of contemporary design. Latest development of lighting systems in recent times shows that they need to be constantly studied. The course “Lighting and Lighting Systems in Furniture” students will acquire basic knowledge related to the general concepts of light, types of light sources and their characteristics with the requirements and standards for lighting in the interior and furniture, types of lighting systems, the principles of use and design features of lighting systems. The main groups of lighting systems with specific examples of application, which are considered in the lectures are: lighting in the residential interiors – living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, etc., as well as public building interiors – offices, hotels, shops and more. Students will also be introduced to the requirements for fire safety, security and other specific requirements for lighting systems. Students are prepared to be highly qualified specialists in the field of furniture and interior design, including in the lighting systems used in furniture and their skills are built by applying the acquired knowledge to various solutions, including through the development of course assignments and projects.
Lighting design
The course in “Lighting Design” is part of Master degree program for students who are studying “Interior and furniture design” modules “Design of Living Environment”. The course aims to provide students with basic principles of artificial lighting – introduction to lamps and lights, basic principles of lighting techniques – basic sizes and light density, daylight factor, lighting grades, glare, lighting color and etc. Students create simple lighting plans of home interior or public interior. Students will become familiar with the requirements for fire safety and other specific requirements for lighting system
Lecturers:
Lighting Fixtures Design
The purpose of the course is to improve and further the professional skills and knowledge of designers, to enrich their imaginative and combinative thinking and to develop a creative approach to solving specific problems related to lighting – principles of complexity, providing design of modules, families, series incorporating functionally and compositionally interconnected elements of the object-space environment.
The main tasks of the course are: development of students’ analytical and creative abilities and mastering the ability to find original design solutions. Particular attention is paid to the emotional impact of lighting fixtures on the interior spaces in which they are used and for which they are designed.
Lecturers:
Modelling
This course introduces students to the plastics of material objects in order to achieve expression of their form. The direct work with materials is used for perception, understanding and training as a link between structure and shape.
The course uses specific tasks to develop analytical skills with an emphasis on the plasticity of the object. This discipline is a bridge between form-formation theory and design as a practice. With those exercises the students will overcome the technical conventions of artistic design and will provide opportunities for the artistic design of three-dimensional plastic models.
Lecturers:
Morphogenesis
The discipline of “Morphogenesis” introduces to students the theoretical foundations and the essence of the processes of creating and shaping objects in the material world. The categories of “order”, “chaos”, “form” and “space” are analyzed. The basic concepts of “symmetry” and “rhythm” are examined. Gradually students get acquainted in detail with the systematization and classification of shapes, structures and spaces, and with the principles and methods of their organization and construction, as well as with their combination and connections. Biomimetic approaches in shapeforming are also taught.
Students develop written essays, test papers, and modelling tasks and assignments during the semester. The educational accent is put on the mastering the features of construction, and on the ability to model and develop the form.
Lecturers:
Non-Wood Materials in Interior Design
The course acquaints students with the construction, properties, technical characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of the vast variety of different types of non-wood materials – metals, stones, ceramics, glass, polymers, composites and etc. It deals mainly with the possibilities, advantages and disadvantages, the type and specificity of the application of the various non-wood materials in the design and construction of furniture and other products in the residential and public interiors.
In the seminars the implementation of four projects that are presented in the form of conceptual design with written and graphical solutions case studies with increasing complexity concerning the technical characteristics and the use of various non-wood materials for specific devices and elements of the interior is included. Students also develop together with the project album /collection/, including a description of the various kinds of non-wood materials, their technical characteristics and their use for various products in the interior. These projects are presented in a specified way, including a written descriptive part and illustrative material, prospectuses, catalogues, etc.
Lecturers:
Project Presentation
The course “Presentation of design projects” aims at further developing the skills students acquired in the Bachelor degree and learning new software for two-dimensional and three-dimensional presentation.
The tasks of the course are to learn and improve the design of three-dimensional objects, the methods of visualization of the artistic ideas, the completion and final presentation of projects to gain experience in participating in competitions, making offers, catalogs and promotional materials for companies. Classes are held at 2+4 scheme with a total horarium of 90 hours.
In the course within three modules knowledge gained in the Bachelor degree of education is improved. New software for two-dimensional and three-dimensional visualization (COREL DRAW, COREL PHOTO-PAINT, 3D MAX, POWER POINT), and the possibilities for data exchange between them are studied.
In the seminars within 60 hours of coursework, students develop individual design projects on assigned topic. The design project is presented as art shaped panels arranged in an album or in the form of slides prepared on POWER POINT.
Project week
The aim of the study module “Project Week” is to provide an opportunity for the students from “Engineering Design (Interior and Furniture Design)” to improve their practical knowledge and team working skills, to work in real environment on topics set by business or by the teacher’s team and to solve various problems in short time. During their study module they need to develop their skills in creativity, analytical abilities, communication, teamwork and presentation skills.
The aim of the study module is to acquaint students with the best practices of leading companies in the sector in Bulgaria and abroad, as well as the creative career of successful Bulgarian or foreign designers, and to receive valuable guidance from them during the “Project Week”.
Lecturers:
Public buildings furnishing
Целта на учебния модул „Проектната седмица“ е студентите от специалност „Инженерен дизайн (Интериор и дизайн за мебели) да подобрят своята практическа подготовка и умения за работа в екип, като работят в реална среда, по теми зададени от бизнеса и/или от екип преподаватели и решавайки различни проблеми за кратко време. По време на този учебен модул те трябва да развият своите умения за креативност, аналитичност, комуникативност, работа в екип и презентационни умения. Цел на учебния модул е и студентите да се запознаят с добри практики на водещи фирми от бранша в България и чужбина, както и с творческия път на успели български или чужди дизайнери и да получат ценни напътствия от тях по време на „Проектната седмица“.
The course “Public buildings furnishing” deals with fundamental issues in the design of furniture for public buildings. Students studying “Engineering Design (Interior Design and Furniture)” receive knowledge of the types of public buildings, the peculiarities of their functioning and composition of their interiors. Classes are held in the sixth semester in scheme 2 +2 and in the seventh semester of 0 +3 scheme with a total of 105 hours.
Course projects are designed, one in each semester, covering the furnishing of the most important and common types of public buildings. At the end of the semester is held design examination.
The final grade is based on evaluations of projects and their presentation, evaluation of the design examination and evaluation of the theory test.
Lecturers:
Residential Interior Design and Furnishing
The study discipline “Residential Interior Design and Furnishing” teaches students of the Engineering Design Bachelor Program with current trends in furniture design and furnishings in residential buildings. For this purpose, general issues of design theory, typology of residential buildings and interiors and the design of functional, aesthetic and ergonomic furniture, harmoniously composed in the living environment, are studied during the training. Students are introduced to the ways of furnishing the different rooms in the dwelling, the principles of arranging the furniture in different functional zones. The different types of furniture are considered and analyzed in accordance with their purpose, supplemented by the basic ergonomic and functional requirements in this case. In seminars students need to solve specific tasks about designing of individual activities in the dwelling, and to design complete furnishing of a family dwelling in accordance with planned layout. In order to study and successfully master the course students need basic knowledge in the following disciplines: Morphogenesis, Theory of Composition, Architecture and Construction, Furniture Construction, Computer-aided Furniture Design, etc.
Lecturers:
Structural Elements and Furniture Joints
In the course Structural Elements and Furniture Joints are given the main principles of construction of furniture joints and structural elements and students gain initial experience in creating design documentations needed for furniture manufacturing. Students study the type and parameters of the non-dismountable and dismountable joints of furniture of structural elements and gained experience in their application to the design of particular model of furniture. Main type of door opening systems are studied like hinges, sliding doors, folding doors, lift up doors, flap doors, roller shutters and etc. In the course are discussed the principles to be followed in the design of structural elements, assemblies in furniture construction and panel construction. Construction of drawers and drawer running systems are also part of the study programme.
Lecturers:
Styles in Interiors and Furniture
The Study Discipline “Styles in Interior and Furniture” teaches the historical periods from Antiquity, to Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Classicism, and French Empire styles, for the winter semester of the Second year of study for Engineering Design Bachelor Program. For the summer semester, the discipline studies the styles Biedermeyer, Eclectics (Victorian etc.) styles, Bulgarian Revival, Islam Art, Viennese Sezession, Art Nouveau, Modern Movement (Bauhaus), Scandinavian Design, Art Deco, American Design Before and After WWII, Italian Design after WWII. Architectural development, interior and furniture design are followed. The major goal of the discipline is to acquaint students with the historical legacy in the area of interior and period furniture, so that they can interpret and correctly appreciate the significance of different styles. Historic knowledge can help the designer to acquire a wide culture as well as to understand the national treasure both of architectural interior and of smaller forms of everyday objects. In this way, it can be used as a huge reserve for generating new forms and for future creative activity of professional career. The discipline includes both a lecture cycle of two semesters as individual assignments of preparing a portfolio of drawings of interiors and objects according to the brief.
Lecturers:
Systems and Mechanisms in Furniture and Interior Design
Students receive basic knowledge related to the specific principles of use and design characteristics of systems and mechanisms used in the furniture and interior. Main groups that are studied are connectors, hinges, sliding and folding door systems, flap door systems, locking systems, drawer slides and etc. From the interior systems in the study program are included locking and access control systems, opening systems for doors, partition walls, sliding door systems and etc. Additionally, students obtain information about the basic requirements for the systems and mechanisms in the interior with respect to fire safety standards, level of security, reliability, natural disasters and others.
Theory of Color
The main goal of the course is the acquisition of knowledge in the field of the theory of color. The main objective of the course is to build a systematic knowledge and skills necessary for the practical application of color in design projects for residential, public and industrial spaces. Students should be able to apply compositional principles, color contrasts and the nine basic color schemes in interior and furniture design.
The course taught general color theory and issues of color perception, as well as its physical foundations of color, psychological and aesthetic impact, measurement and classification of color and historical development of the application of color pigments in design objects. In order to achieve better results in the absorption of the material using the possibilities of multimedia teaching, e-training and e-learning materials.
Theory of Composition
The course of “Theory of Composition” aims at presenting the methodology for achieving the final image of the designed products and also at the evaluation of the impact of shapes and space on human perceptions. The scientific field is interdisciplinary and connects to areas such as cultural and art studies, aesthetics, sociology, stylistics, psychology, ergonomics and more. Lectures are focused on the perspective of understanding design production as art, and students there become familiar with the contemporary applications of composition and style, as well as with their evolution. The links with the psychology of perception and theory of sign systems – semiotics, is revealed. The most important principles and regularities of the composition structuring in the planes, shapes and spaces are shown.
Presentations and exercises in the field use varying approaches and are based on a playful and competitive headset. They are aimed to contribute to the development of a sense of composition in students, and to teach them the appropriate use of composition laws, principles and the tools for effective emotional impact on a person.
Lecturers:
Visual Art Methods and Techniques
The course “Visual Art Methods and Techniques for Interior design” aims to develop artistic thinking and drawing skills of students, future designers. With these skills they can portray their ideas in their first glimpses. The goal of design drawing is to serve as a starting and retaining point of the complex design-creation process. Students can formulate and investigate problems and develop a form of the design objects itself applying modern drawing techniques. At the same time, it is developing an aesthetic taste of students for the selection of means of expression and compositional ratio of elements in selected drawing media.
