Education Programme

The activity program running parallel to The Great Indoors aims, with the aid of workshops, lectures and master classes, to provide visibility to various social issues. Issues that will influence current practices, but also determine the future of the interior to some degree. The 2007 edition, 'Branded by Space', focused on the way in which public space is being subject increasingly to demands concerning safety and a desire for comfort—to the extent that public space has seemed, more and more, to be assuming the quality of an interior. The last edition on 'Changing Ideals', in 2009, examined not only aesthetic changes within the field of interior design; also sought was the social context that nurtured these changes and consequently revealed an entirely new view of interior architecture's task.

This year's edition, titled 'In Between', has likewise been developed around an issue which is both specific and topical. By way of this theme, The Great Indoors will be giving consideration to the excessive speed with which the interior undergoes change and to the fact, for instance, that a store's look needs to be revamped every three to four years. This acceleration in change not only makes a parallel with the fashion world's system increasingly explicit; it also shows just how complex the issue of sustainability is in relation to the pursuit of change.

Interestingly, policymakers and others commissioning work are being forced, partly due to the current economic crisis, to seek unorthodox approaches more and more frequently. One approach involves the use of temporary solutions. New lease concepts are being developed, for example, so that governments can rent rather then build schools and prisons. And so it is no coincidence that architects are currently being asked to devise new modular systems as temporary solutions. In light of such developments, The Great Indoors questions the extent to which interior designers are able to link the discipline's excessive dynamics tosocial context of the temporaryof the temporary. After all, the very notion of permanence has long been abandoned in interior design, as the temporary has become an integral part of assignments.

But does the theme 'In Between' actually offer the potential to transform those oppositions, inherent in the temporary and the sustainable, into an innovative as well as productive assignment for interior designers?

The Great Indoors Education Programme is developped in collaboration with REcentre, centre for sustainable design. See: www.recentre.org

By addressing this theme The Great Indoors 2011 wishes to connect to the International Biennale Vacant Properties & Redevelopment that will be held in Maastricht between 29 September and 5 November 2011.

See: www.biennaleherbestemming.nl

SHOP: http://popupkiki.tumblr.com/

PARK: http://temporary-park.tumblr.com/

LIBRARY: http://temporarylibrary.tumblr.com/

SECURITY BOOTH: http://dekaap.tumblr.com/

HOTEL: http://tgihasselt.tumblr.com/

Koehorst in 't Veld (graphic designers)
Jan Konings (designer public space)
Studio Bas van Tol (interior designers)
Chris Kabel & Wieki Somers (product designers)
Ernst van der Hoeven (landscape architect)
Frank Bruggeman (designer)

• temporary hotel room (for Camille Oostwegel, Sphinx offices, Boschstraat 24)/ students: PHL Limburg/ mentor: Jan Konings
• a temporary fashion boutique (for Kiki Niesten, venue Boschstraat 45)/ students: ABKM/ mentor: Bas van Tol + Floris Kindt
• a temporary park (REcentre, venue: Sphinx terrain, Boschstraat 24)/ students: Fachhochschule/ mentors: Ernst van der Hoeven + Frank Bruggeman
• an outdoor guard's booth (Circumflex, venue: Capucijnenstraat 120)/ students: Design Academy (Social Design)/ mentors: Toon Koehorst & Jannetje in 't Veld
• a temporary library (University Library, Maastricht University, venue: Basin 186)/ students: Design Academy (Contextual Design)/ mentors: Chris Kabel + Wieki Somers

KICKOFF AND IDEA
Thursday 6 October (11am–5pm)
Introduction of the thema by Guus Beumer. Assignments handed out. Meeting mentors. Meeting commissioners. Visiting location.

SKETCH PROPOSAL
Thursday 13 October (11am–5 pm)
Work with team and mentor to bring idea to a sketch proposal.

DESIGN
Thursday 20 October (11am–5pm)
Work with team and mentor to bring sketch proposal to a design.

START REALIZATION
Thursday 27 October (11am–5 pm)
Work with team and mentor to finalize design and start realization

MASTER CLASS
Thursday 3 November (11am–5pm)
5 designers, nominated for The Great Indoors Award 2011, will be each assigned to a team to do a last-day Master class to work on/ improve their project, in situ, in 1 day. The designers are from the studios: NOSIGNER (JP), Architecture at Large (USA), Pacific Architecture (NZ) and March Studio (AU).

THE JURY AND THE AWARD
Friday 4 November
In the afternoon all nominated designers will get a tour passing all the student assignments. Afterwards all nominated designers vote and appoint a winning student project. During the award ceremony the winning team will be announced.

GOING PUBLIC
Saturday 5 November
All the student interiors are open to the public this day between 11am-6pm. The route is advertized and there will be organized guided tours.

The Education programme takes place on the top floor of NAiM/ Bureau Europa where all teams will have a place (tables, chairs etc) in a large studio to work on their projects. All Thursday sessions take place here, but students can come during opening hours to work on their projects too.

NAiM Bureau Europa
Avenue Ceramique 226
Maastricht