Pedagogy 2025
Abstract
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing various industries, including interior design, which is becoming an essential tool within the professional workflow. As AI tools become as ubiquitous as applications like Adobe Photoshop, employers increasingly expect recent graduates to have a solid understanding of them. The College of Design’s School of Interiors has integrated AI into its curriculum to prepare students for this shift. AI-focused experiences are now embedded across all four years of the Bachelor of Arts program. In the first year, students participate in “AI week,” exploring AI tools and discussing their ethical implications. In the second year, they use AI to organize and disseminate their design concepts, linking educational theories to design interventions. The third year includes an assignment that encourages critical reflection on AI, where students analyze their writing versus an AI-generated version, fostering an understanding of AI’s strengths and limitations. In their final year, students engage in a capstone studio that emphasizes quick conceptual ideation, utilizing AI image generation tools to develop project atmospheres and color schemes. As AI tools continue to evolve, their incorporation into design curricula is essential. This comprehensive approach encourages students to explore AI’s applications in design while critically reflecting on its consequences: what gets left behind? Cultivating a nuanced understanding of technology’s role in creativity has the power to uncover what makes us human.
Aanya Chugh is an Assistant Professor in the School of Interiors at the University of Kentucky College of Design. She holds a Master of Architecture from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Barnard College. As a Principal at AÄ MÄ Studio, she integrates practical experience into her teaching. Additionally, she serves as the Director of Belonging, focusing her research on collaboration, inclusion, and empathy in design education, effectively bridging theory and practice in interior design.
Patrick Lee Lucas (Professor, School of Interiors, University of Kentucky) leads seminars, teaches lecture courses, and facilitates studio interactions by engaging in community conversations and encouraging students to think about the place of design in the world. He has presented around the world and published extensively on his research agenda about design and community, including a catalog titled Close to Home: Edward Loewenstein’s Mid-Century Architectural Innovation in the Civil Rights Era (2013) and a book, Athens on the Frontier: Grecian-Style Architecture in the Great Valley of the West, 1820-1860 (2022). He has held several leadership positions at the University of Kentucky (Provost’s Faculty Fellow in Student and Academic Life; SACSCOC Re-Accreditation Work Group; Chair, University of Kentucky Core Education Committee; Chair, Education Abroad Committee).
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Thursday 20th November, 2025