Architecture, Interior Architecture, & Designed Objects
Architecture, Interior Architecture, & Designed Objects Department
In the Department of Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects (AIADO), our studios have no boundaries. We are creative across disciplines and we are engaged with our community at SAIC, our context in Chicago, and the world.
Our students are exploring the future of how we live, work, and communicate. They’re asking how design responds to shifting modes of belonging; and ensuring design will address the transcendent challenge of a changing climate.
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Pathways in Architecture, Interior Architecture, & Designed Objects (AIADO)
Since 1866, design has been part of SAIC’s ethos of creativity, experimentation, and free expression. AIADO embodies this commitment with undergraduate pathways in architecture, interior architecture, and designed objects. AIADO graduate studies include the following degree programs: Master of Architecture, Master of Architecture with an Interior Architecture Track, Master of Design in Designed Objects, Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Studio, and Master of Science in Historic Preservation (MSHP).
Students in the MDDO, MSHP, MFA, MArch, and MArch with a Track in Interior Architecture programs develop the critical skills necessary to translate ideas into meaningful objects and environments.
Student Work
"Machines and Angels" by Egon Schiele
Work by Edra Soto and Dan Sullivan
"Stacks on Stacks on Stacks" by Amanda Williams
Schools have a responsibility to model cultures of equity and inclusion. In AIADO, learning is a collaborative project between students and faculty, and we welcome diverse perspectives. Our studio culture foregrounds student practice and responds to student goals with critique that is considered and constructive. We reward risk-taking and understand that failure is part of the creative process.
AIADO students will define the future of design in a changing world. We expect them not only to respond to change, but to drive it. We teach the skills graduates need to enter design professions, the ambition to reimagine them, and the values to guide them as leaders. AIADO futures are design futures.
A Leading Chicago Architecture School
As a leading Chicago school of architecture, we value the craft that brings ideas into the world, the research that informs criticality, and the compelling stories we tell to share our work. In the MArch programs, we teach through hands-on inquiry, experimentation, and exploration. Students have access to the world-class facilities and resources of our museum campus, studio arts and liberal arts programs, and inspiration from the surrounding Chicago architecture.
Reimagining Designed Objects
Designers reimagine the objects and systems that mediate our daily lives. Through a critical appraisal of product, furniture, interaction, and systems design, SAIC's Master of Design in Designed Objects program teaches designers to be agents of change who maintain an expansive understanding of the object.
The Future of Historic Preservation
SAIC's dynamic Master of Science in Historic Preservation is an all-encompassing program covering the areas of restoration design, materials conservation, architectural history, and preservation planning. The program affords students the flexibility to explore specific areas of interest through elective coursework in the field of heritage conservation.
Distinguished Faculty
Our dedicated faculty teach from diverse experience in practices that impact public life and drive public culture. Additionally, the Mitchell Visiting Professor, a renowned practitioner, is appointed to contribute experimental classes to an interdisciplinary community.
WhatNot Class Brings Student Projects from Idea to Actualization
From corn husk lamps to a thermos with attached cups, WhatNot Studio in the Department of Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects provides an exciting opportunity for students to fully develop a project from digital renderings to physical product.
Credit: Eason Li
About the Class
From corn husk lamps to a thermos with attached cups, WhatNot Studio in the Department of Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects provides an exciting opportunity for students to fully develop a project from digital renderings to physical product.
Spotlighting Student Projects
Student Cole Glover describes his project—a shareable thermos—as an investigation of collective consumption. “For me, it is an opportunity to show off my ability to fully design and fabricate a technically adept prototype with actual materials. And then, I could use it as a launching point to start conversations with other people and start new projects,” he said.
What’s Next
Whatnot Studio projects extend far beyond the classroom. In May, the cohorts traveled to New York to present their projects at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair 2024. Working as a design agency, the Whatnot students are responsible for designing and producing promotional materials, brand identity, business cards, and booth decorations.
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Architecture, Interior Architecture, & Designed Objects Office
Sullivan Center
36 S. Wabash Ave., Suite 1402
Phone: 312-629-6650
Chair of Designed Objects
Jim TerMeer jterme@saic.edu
Chair of Architecture and Interior Architecture
Tristan Sterk tsterk@saic.edu
Graduate Coordinator of Designed Objects
Tim Parsons tparsons@saic.edu
Program Chair, Historic Preservation
Nicholas Lowe nlowe1@saic.edu
Graduate Coordinator of Architecture and Interior Architecture
Doug Pancoast dpancoast@saic.edu
Architect Licensing Advisor
Jessie LaFree jlafree@saic.edu
Undergraduate Coordinator of Architecture and Interior Architecture
Jonathan Solomon jdsolomon@saic.edu