Dezeen School Shows: a community space for Indigenous people to celebrate their culture is among the projects from students at Mount Royal University.

Also included is a design for a home intended for a multi-generational family and a skate park that doubles as a live music venue.

Mount Royal University

Institution: Mount Royal University
School: Faculty of Arts
Course: Interior Design
Tutors: Alan Antioquia, Paula Dozois, Rob Platts, Natalie Badenduck, Nathaniel Wagenaar, Keir Stuhlmiller, Chi Dara, Helen Evans Warren, Laura Fenniak, Terry Almond, Cait Hampshire, Andrea Tambay, Angelique de Pennart, Sue Padua, Courtney Vincent, Lowell Scott, Diane Haas, Paige Johnston, Chris Bullen and Kerri Peyton

School statement:

"The Bachelor of Interior Design (BID) degree at Mount Royal University is a distinctive, holistic and integrated programme structured around three core streams of study: Design and Precedent, Systems and Design Tools, and Design Studio.

"The core streams provide a strong foundation in design knowledge, theory, research, problem-solving, collaboration and professional practice, while also building essential manual and technological skills.

"The studio serves as the central space where students synthesise and apply their learning through project-based work, engaging in collaborative dialogue with faculty and peers.

"Course content is intentionally connected each semester and laddered across the four-year degree, ensuring progressive development of design competencies.

"The programme follows a thematic approach to design education, with each semester exploring a guiding theme. These themes are addressed across all courses, providing students with opportunities to integrate, experiment and demonstrate their understanding through projects and exercises."

Bodies in Space by Tanny Lopez

"In this project, students investigated the relationship between the human body, spatial experience and volumetric development in the design of a temporary shelter.

"The temporary shelter required students to apply site analysis and consider land use restrictions when situating the structure on a parcel of land.

"Bodies in Space by Tanny Lopez explores the interplay of natural light, curated views and interior spatial sequencing.

"The design responds to the body's movement between standing, sitting and lying down, offering a layered experience of rest, reflection and connection to the surrounding environment."

Student: Tanny Lopez
Course: Studio 2, INDS 1241
Tutors: Keir Stuhlmiller, Alan Antioquia, Diane Haas, Angelique de Pennart and Paige Johnston

Homeland by Clare Juneau

"Studio 3 examined spatial connectivity through a series of projects at multiple scales. The project explored inhabitation and connectivity between spaces of varied functions, environments and experiences.

"In the Homeland assignment, students designed a new home for a multi-generational family, relocating from Vancouver to Calgary.

"Clare Juneau's resolution conceptually incorporates the essence of coastal hues and contemporary lodge aesthetics, implementing materials, colours and textures that allude to the Canadian West Coast."

Student: Clare Juneau
Course: Studio 3 Connectivity, INDS 2141
Tutors: Paula Dozois, Keir Stuhlmiller, Lowell Scott and Courtney Vincent

To and From by Allison Lee-Ying

"As part of the Studio 3 theme of connectivity, students investigated the complex spatial organisation of a car dealership through diagramming, planning and volumetric development.

"They were provided with a project that examined retail functions, working relationships and user experience, forming the foundation for a reimagined branding strategy for their assigned car brand.

"Allison Lee-Ying's project conceptually explored the movement of geometric elements and their interrelationships to generate flowing spatial gestures.

"Drawing inspiration from nature, she translated modern rhythms into a framework that unified the dealership's spatial volumes with the car dealership brand identity."

Student: Allison Lee-Ying
Course: Studio 3 Connectivity, INDS 2141
Tutors: Paula Dozois, Keir Stuhlmiller, Lowell Scott and Courtney Vincent

Group project: Design Package Fit and Fiddle

"Studio 3 explored the thematic examination of connectivity through the interconnected relationship of spaces, finishes, furniture and objects within residential design settings.

"Students investigated how furniture placement shapes spatial organisation in plan, then extend their exploration by selecting images of furniture and finishes that articulate the conceptual ideas of each room.

"Through a series of collage compositions, students communicate design intent that reflects the client's character, lifestyle and specific needs.

"This exercise emphasises the integration of conceptual thinking with material expression and composition, reinforcing the role of connectivity in spatial planning."

Students: Caroline Schijns, Alessa King, Clare Juneau, Alexus Molina-Balotro and Liza Grill-Donovan
Course: Studio 3 Connectivity, INDS 2141
Tutors: Paula Dozois, Keir Stuhlmiller, Lowell Scott and Courtney Vincent

Office Design Project by Sandy Darcy

"The Collective studio invited students to create spaces for collaboration and connection.

"This office space, designed by Sandy Darcy for Prologue Associates, promotes storytelling and compassion by connecting local theatre groups with corporate donors.

"Located in the heart of downtown within a high-rise office building, the project encourages students to design spaces that challenge traditional office environments while balancing shared and private work areas.

"Darcy's design concept 'cast and crew' explores the theatre of commerce and the interdependence of performance and production."

Student: Sandy Darcy
Course: Studio 4 The Collective, INDS 2241
Tutors: Keir Stuhlmiller, Natalie Badenduck, Courtney Vincent and Lowell Scott

Cafe Design by Lexner Contada

"Studio 5 focused on contextually responsive design practices and thoughtful examinations of context that inform decisions at all phases of the design process.

"Students were tasked with creating complex interior spaces, investigating how design is both impacted by and creates context.

"Lexner Contada's preliminary cafe design is tactfully integrated within a historical building in Calgary's East Village.

"The cafe not only serves the diverse tenants of the building but also the vibrant urban community that surrounds it. The design is conceptually rooted in the ideas of anchored memories and movement through paths that intersect horizontally and vertically."

Student: Lexner Contada
Course: Studio 5 Context, INDS 3141
Tutors: Natalie Badenduck, Nathaniel Wagenaar, Andrea Tambay and Sue Padua

Retail Design by Luis Serrano Nava

"The theme of transformation challenged students to investigate, explore and prototype designs that express the changing experience of space and the potential materiality of unique spatial conditions.

"In this project, students were tasked with designing a market space within a pump house station, examining how adaptive reuse can generate new possibilities for spatial transformation.

"Luis Serrano Nava's packaging exploration for his maker brand Mad Rock conceptually represents the proximity of the site to the rocky mountains.

"The branding resonates with outdoor enthusiasts and reflects the adventurous lifestyle of its target customers, reinforcing the connection between site, space and identity."

Student: Luis Serrano Nava
Course: Studio 6 Transformation, INDS 3241
Tutors: Rob Platts, Nathaniel Wagenaar, Cait Hampshire, Andrea Tambay and Angelique de Pennart

Retail Design by Denya Aviv

"Studio 6 guided students in the transformation of an existing building, proposing a change of use with multiple occupancies.

"Students are tasked with creating Commercial Retail Units (CRUs) for unique artists, including administrative and storage spaces.

"Denya Aviv's retail design focused on artists specialising in botanical bas-relief tiles that preserve the beauty of plants.

"A beverage maker known for innovative herbal liqueurs is inserted into the space to create a multi-sensory experience in the market.

"Conceptually, the space captures the ideas of the ephemeral to preserve collections of memories and moments in time."

Student: Denya Aviv
Course: Studio 6 Transformation, INDS 3241
Tutors: Rob Platts, Nathaniel Wagenaar, Cait Hampshire, Andrea Tambay and Angelique de Pennart

Final Thesis Project by Morgan McCulloch

"Students undertook a thorough investigation of varied spatial typologies and directed study modules as preparation for their thesis development.

"Through case studies and evidence-based design research, they refine their design thinking and making processes, establishing a strong foundation for initiating the design and planning stages of their thesis project.

"Morgan's thesis project explored the intersection of alternative music culture and skateboarding, blending their raw, expressive and unconventional qualities into the design of a multi-use arts venue.

"The project contrasted the loud, unafraid and spontaneous character of a skate park with the experiential, visual and unconventional atmosphere of alternative music performance."

Student: Morgan McCulloch
Course: Studio 7 Investigation INDS 4141 and Studio 8 Integration INDS 5241
Tutors: Paula Dozois, Helen Evans Warren, Chi Dara, Laura Fenniak and Terry Almond

Final Thesis Project by Mason Unrau

"In the final year of the programme, students undertook a thesis project that demonstrates the culmination of their design education.

"Preparation for this project began with a series of case studies and evidence-based design research.

"Mason Unrau's final project ȧó’takii (the circle) is a space of healing that reconnects Indigenous individuals with their culture. It offers a place to honour their history, understand their heritage and restore resilience through storytelling, traditional practices and community connection."

Student: Mason Unrau
Course: Studio 7 Investigation INDS 4141 and Studio 8 Integration INDS 5241
Tutors: Paula Dozois, Helen Evans Warren, Chi Dara, Laura Fenniak and Terry Almond

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Mount Royal University. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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