Interior Design at CU Denver
The Interior Design studies in the College of Architecture and Planning teach fundamentals of interior design through a holistic, integrated, and experiential approach. Interior design combines the pragmatics of space planning and programming with the poetics of human experience and placemaking. The rigors of Interior Design lie at the intersection of environmental stewardship, social justice, cultural diversity, and human-centered design.
Interior Design is a field that complements other offerings in the College of Architecture and Planning and provides those pursuing other degrees with an opportunity to amplify their skills and distinguish themselves in the marketplace.
Our program is unique in its access to Denver and the city’s professional community. The curriculum integrates professional engagement with hands-on and high-impact design build opportunities that enrich the learning experience. Our program is unique in its attention to sustainability; justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion; adaptive reuse; furniture and lighting design; and entrepreneurship.
CAP offers the only Interior Design program in the State of Colorado that benefits from having Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Planning programs.
Meet, Sarah McGarry Director of Interior Design at CAP
Sarah McGarry, NCIDQ, IIDA, LEED AP, joins the College of Architecture and Planning (CAP) as the new Director of Interior Design. McGarry comes to CAP with nearly 20 years of experience in interior design. Most recently, McGarry served as a principal at Stantec, where she was responsible for the business and operations side of the practice as well as design leadership, management, and execution. She is now starting her own design firm, Clic Design Studio. Prior to Stantec, Sarah worked at RNL (now Stantec) and Hixson in Cincinnati, Ohio. Read More
Interior Design Lecturers
Hani El Hajj
Director, Saudi Arabia Initiatives; Assistant Professor Clinical
- Administration and Instruction Services (CAP)
Email Address:hani.elhajj@ucdenver.edu
Design and Teaching Portfolio
MA, SCE, IDEC, WELL AP, Lecturer, and Interior Architect
Professionally, Hani's focus is on Interior Architecture & Design studios, Wellness in Design, Design Communication, Freehand sketching, Illustrations, Lighting Design, Color Theory, Furniture Design & Construction, International Furniture Trade, Kitchen, Bath, and closet Design, Residential, commercial, Retail, Hospitality, and educational Design, Global History of Art, Architecture, and Interior Design.
Hani graduated from the Lebanese University, Institut Des Beaux Arts, with a master's degree in interior architecture focusing on antiquity & Phoenician Art.
With over two decades of experience in interior architecture, Hani has served the MENA region, Europe, and the USA. His international expertise brings solid, grounded knowledge in the field of interior architecture and a global lens of the new trends related to this field.
He teaches three courses at CAP—Global History & Theory of Interior Design (Fall), introduction to interior design (Fall), and Light & Color (spring).
In addition to his position as a lecturer at CU Denver, Hani is a design and administration consultant for an architectural and interior design firm overseas. For the last 7 years, Hani has been teaching face-to-face, hybrid, and fully online courses at the University of Idaho- CAA (i.e., History of Interiors I & II, Furniture Design and Construction, Design Communication, Introduction to Interior Architecture & Design, Interior Architecture and Design IV, Interior Architecture & Design V).
Current and Past Courses Taught: History of Interiors I & II, Furniture Design and Construction, Design Communication, Introduction to Interior Architecture & Design, Interior Architecture and Design IV, Junior's studio, Interior Architecture & Design V, Seniors' studio.
Course Offerings for Fall 2023
The following interior design courses will be offered in the Fall 2023 semester. Both courses are available to those seeking to complete the minor or the certificate program.
- INTD 4200 / 6200 – Interior Design Workshop (3 credits)
- INTD 1005 / 5005 – Intro to Interior Design (3 credits)
- INTD 2000-001/5000 – History and Global Perspectives of Interior Design (3 credits)
- INTD 3100-001/5100 – Drawing Out the Interiors (3 credits)
Minor in Interior Design
The Minor in Interior Design amplifies the mission of the College of Architecture and Planning, igniting evolution that enriches places for people and the planet. The Interior Design Minor provides students a breadth and depth of knowledge and skills integrating sustainable building practices, social justice, and spatial poetics to enhance health and wellbeing through creatively exploring interior environments. The minor offers students opportunities to apply design thinking, engage in design-build projects, learn directly from industry leaders, and participate in interdisciplinary team-based projects reflective of the professional practice of interior design.
Open to any student at CU Denver, this minor is designed to provide students with an immersive learning experience in the creative, practical, technical, environmental, and ethical aspects of the professional discipline of interior design. The minor complements a range of majors from architecture to construction management, art, business, sociology, and many others.
Admissions
Certificate in Interior Design
The certificate provides aspiring interior designers the professional knowledge, competency, and applied skills necessary for the practice of interior design. With a focus on sustainability, environmental stewardship, and health and wellness, this certificate integrates human-centered approaches with appreciative inquiry, critical thinking, creativity, and innovation for interior environments.