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This studio explores combining issues of health and wellness with design equity, inclusion and diversity. The acute need of our user groups this semester is health, wellness, stabilization and recovery. We address these issues by employing global design strategies, based on research and data, that critically analyze through qualitative and quantitative methods conventional barriers to universal equity, inclusion and diversity. Our challenge is to create innovative physical environments that foster healing, hope, trust, recovery, comfort and inclusion for all demographics including racial and ethnic groups. We will address this challenge in ways that open us up to authentic possibilities and outcomes through projects including addressing the growing need for housing for the homeless experiencing mental health challenges, and community sites and schools reckoning with legacies of historic racism.

To address the issues of equity, inclusion and diversity, we overlay the design process with a program called Racism Untaught that looks at Revealing and Unlearning Racialized Design. This program helps to foster conversations and safe learning environments focused on difficult and uncomfortable social, cultural and racial issues to ensure new ideas, critical thinking and diverse and alternative forms of making.

Interdisciplinary Design Studio: During the fall semester of senior year interior design students have the opportunity to participate in an interdisciplinary design studio with students and faculty from the School of Architecture, School of Landscape Architecture, and School of Interior Design. Offerings in fall 2019 included ID4758 The Tripartite Nature of Place, ARCH4001 New Orleans 2.1: City Functional, ARCH4001 Waterfront Flight Architecture, and LA4008 Giant Panda National Park Studio. 

Interior Design Studio VI is the culminating design studio (capstone project) with an emphasis on innovation and comprehensive solutions of complex problems in the interior environment. The capstone project demonstrates a student’s ability to synthesize and integrate the knowledge and skills acquired during their academic studies in the School of Interior Design. Students have an opportunity to apply research findings and analysis, explore concept development and project resolution through the design process, and improve technical and representation skills. The proposition, scope, and level of complexity of their problem is prepared in advance during ID 4720, Seminar in Interior Design, which includes programming and pre-schematic design. ID 4756, Independent Study Project, is a co-requisite for ID 4755, where students simultaneously discover the potential for innovation through identifying a focus area, conducting additional supporting research, analysis, and development, and apply this knowledge to their capstone project. This is a certified Communication-Intensive (C-I) course, which meets all of the requirements set forth by LSU’s Communication across the Curriculum program.