November 29, 2005
A: FROM MENTOR DENISE HARBERT
IN IL
Hi Melissa! You should definitely study some architectural and/or
structural
engineering. I know a woman who is a structural engineer and
likes to tell
people that she "hangs off the sides of buildings"
for a living. She has a
lot of hilarious stories about the bizarre requests that have
been made of her
during her career and, unfortunately, a lot of her stories involve
interior
designers who have amazingly creative ideas, but lack fundamental
knowledge of
how buildings stay up. My friend does most of her work on new
or existing
high-rise buildings, but she has worked on some individual homes
as well.
Large high-rise office buildings are often owned by one large
corporation, but
are rented out by many smaller companies. When one company moves
out and
another company moves in, the new company usually has requests
to customize
its office space. Although leases clearly state that all structural
changes
must be pre-approved by the owning company's structural engineer,
many small
companies consult first with an interior designer. Good interior
designers
examine building blueprints and consult with the engineer BEFORE
they discuss
any changes with the small company, but less knowledgeable interior
designers
may sell their clients on ideas before they find out whether
they are
structurally reasonable. For example, "We could just knock
out that wall and
move it over 10 feet." In some cases, that is a fairly
easy request and can
be done very cheaply. In other cases, it could cost a fortune
to do it in a
way that will prevent the building from collapsing.
At some point in their careers, interior designers will encounter
at least
some situations where walls or doorways may need to be relocated
or additions
may need to be added to homes in order to accomplish the interior
"feel" that
their clients want to see. Although it is not an interior designer's
responsibility to do these things safely, she will need to know
when a wall
can and cannot be moved so that she doesn't sell her client
an idea that is
structurally impossible or more expensive than demolishing the
building and
starting over. (Yes, some structural changes are so costly that
it is
actually cheaper to bring in the wrecking ball than it is to
make the change
to the existing building.) My structural engineering friend
has an arsenal of
stories about interior designers who quoted prices to their
clients that are
impossible to fulfill because of things like:
- "That's a bearing wall."
- "That wall is hiding your water pipes and heating ducts."
- "You can't put a waterfall there because the weight of
the water will
collapse the floor."
- "Round walls cost ten times more than flat ones."
etc.
The more engineering an interior designer knows, the more successful
she can
be and the larger, more creative, and more costly her projects
can be!
********************
November 20, 2005
A: FROM MENTOR JOAN LUSK IN
RI
If interior design means putting up (or taking down) curtains,
painting walls that are already standing, and throwing a few
pillows on the couch, then you don't need much engineering expertise!
But if it means making structural changes, knowing engineering
- at least knowing when you'd better consult an engineer! -
isn't a bad idea. Think of Frank Lloyd Wright. Admittedly, he
was an architect rather than an interior designer, but he also
designed EVERY detail inside his buildings, down to exactly
where his custom made furniture was to be put, and tolerated
no changes from the owner-occupants. Yet his roofs leaked. His
masterpiece, Fallingwater,
http://www.paconserve.org/index-fw1.asp ,the house built
over a waterfall, has cantilevered balconies that are in danger
of collapsing and great expense is necessary to preserve the
structure. (A Nova program on PBS described the problems in
great detail within the past couple of years.)
I've done a lot of preaching on this website in favor of a
general education, not least because people's career plans
change. It's rare that a child knows exactly what she'll do
and stays with that plan for life. Most change their goals
several times throughout their teens and in college. (Perhaps
you remember having had other goals?) Once in the work force,
few people stay with the same kind of job for 40 - 50 years.
So, while you're in school, it's valuable to explore different
fields. A broad background will never hurt you, even if you
are the rare person whose whole life is focused on one career.
If you have a chance to take an engineering course in high
school, or try one out in college, you may find that applying
engineering principles lets you design interiors in entirely
new ways. You may find out you want to be an architect, or
even an engineer. Or you may find out that the physics and
math that underlie the buildings we live and work in are really
not your cup of tea and you'll trust others to see to it that
the wall you paint isn't going to fall down. But you'll find
out _something_ about yourself and be that much richer for
it.
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