When proportion, movement and circulation become
usual parlance for a student of Interior Design, anthropometry comes into play.
Different spaces have diverse requirement in deference, to the activity they
cater to. This concept of ‘Anthropometry vs. Activity was thrown to the budding
interior designers of the batch 2019-24. Students were supposed to do a case
study of the projects like the salon, spa centre, pre-school, paediatrician’s
clinic to name a few.
The module was reworked owing to the lockdown. Students had to leave the
campus in a rush in order to ensure their own safety. At home however, tools
for measuring/ drafting/ drawing were usually not available. These budding
designers of first semester of Interior Design were now in a fix! The task had
to be fulfilled and hence the faculty members came together and helped them
overcome the challenges. Few of them, have been tabulated below.
| Challenges | Resolutions |
| No paper for sketching | Ideas representation through model making |
| No good sketching | Ideas representation through 2.5-D (relief work). Some started 3-D exploration through AutoCAD. |
| Some technically good students not good in sketching | Tried drawing technically on software. |
| Not have drawing instrument and technical forte | Done good sketches in perspective- 3 Dimensional spaces, elevation etc |
Google Hangouts and other such online platforms were to the aid for easy communication and face-to-face interaction. This motivated the students to change their mind-sets by dividing their task into sub-tasks. ‘Part to the whole’ –was the approach undertaken. A sorted task division were given, and few tips on measuring the dimensions through traditional methods like palm measurement, feet measurement etc were explored. This facilitated them to understand clearly the anthropometric requirement within the space. Few explored through model making with quick available materials like packaging cardboard and newspapers. Some used basic sketches and easy software tools etc. to come out with design ideas.
While, dedication and sincerity of the student was a key factor for the successful completion of this module, the lockdown also measured the faculties delivery skills in this new online mode.
Author:
Ruchita Mistry, Interior Design Dept., Unitedworld Institute of Design (UID)
Disclaimer: The opinions / views expressed in this article are solely of the author in his / her individual capacity. They do not purport to reflect the opinions and/or views of the College and/or University or its members.
