A Freshman Among Sophomores: Foundation Student Viktoria Tamas' Experience In An Interior Design Class

In the Spring semester, all Foundation students are required to take an elective in a department that PCA offers. 2015-2016 Foundation student Viktoria Tamas had the opportunity to partake in an Interior Design class Project Fundamentals II taught by Laurent Masmonteil. She was so pleased with her experience that she will be joining the Interior Design department in the fall.

We caught up with Viktoria to chat about her experience taking a sophomore class!

What is your background and what inspired you to come to Paris?
I am Hungarian but I have Ukranian roots from my mother. I moved to Paris 8 years ago to learn the language where I discovered my passion for sculpture. I decided to explore this interest throughout my foundation year at Paris College of Art.

Tell us a bit about the project you worked on in Project Fundamentals II.
The brief: Students were asked to further develop the concept of a café/gallery they’ve been working on in the first semester. During this phase students will develop a coherent strategy, taking into consideration parameters such as materials and finishes, lighting, furniture relating to a particular brand identity, which they will define themselves.

I worked on the concept development of a café. The building has a ground floor that is a mozzarella bar called ‘Wonder Bar’. The second floor is a video projection bar for artistic projects. The construction contains hidden offices and a terrace for meetings and the building takes into consideration the parameters mentioned in the brief regarding materials, furniture etc. What started as 2D ideas materialized as a 3D model to scale.

What have you learned from the experience? What kind of challenges did you face?
The overall process hasn’t been easy. After months of constant work and intense concentration, I succeeded in presenting a rigorous analysis of the project illustrated through sketches that highlight different architectural components.

Being a freshman among sophomore students was challenging but rewarding at the same time. It was intense and you need to accept that students are competitive. I can say the entire project was a real challenge for me. I needed to be constantly switched on; I had to redraw my scale model multiple times until I got it right. This has taught me to translate ideas and models from my mind directly onto paper.

I am extremely thankful for all the support I received from the Interior Design department. The students and I have been offered plenty of time to develop our ideas. Laurent Masmonteil was always there for us and we received plenty of important feedback from the chair Alix de Mercey throughout the semester.

How did your final critiques go?
I received a lot of feedback on what I did well and what I had to improve. I felt very proud but I still have mixed feelings of fear and excitement as I am only starting my journey.

Viktoria will be starting her sophomore year in Interior Design at Paris College of Art this Fall 2016.