Abstract:

The teaching of Art History and Interior Design occupies a central place in the education of future designers, providing the cultural, spatial and conceptual foundations that underpin design practice. However, students often perceive this subject as overly theoretical, focused on the description of artistic styles and, therefore, far removed from professional practice. This perception has been intensified in recent years with the predominance of digital platforms and artificial intelligence tools as the main sources of inspiration, where visual impact is prioritised over critical analysis. This has led to a loss of conceptual depth in design processes and a superficial understanding of interior space, understood as the result of the interaction of historical, social, cultural and technical factors.

Given this situation, it is necessary to implement teaching strategies that turn history into an active tool for analysis and creation. From this perspective, the article presents an experience developed in the History of Art and Interior Design course at the first year of the Bachelor's Degree in Architectural Interior Design at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, in which the use of dioramas is proposed as a pedagogical resource to connect historical analysis with spatial compensation and student creativity.

The experience, entitled ‘The Historic House,’ focuses on the analysis and three-dimensional recreation of a domestic interior depicted in a painting through the construction of a diorama. The aim is to create a realistic recreation of the scene based on the identification and characterisation of the architectural, decorative and furniture elements, together with the study of the historical and cultural context of the space depicted. In this way, the diorama acts as an instrument for research, spatial interpretation and the materialisation of the knowledge acquired.

The activity is designed as a team project, based on active and collaborative learning. The process is structured in two phases. The first one consists of analysing the painting from three perspectives: descriptive, interpretative and compositional. The second one focuses on the construction of the diorama as a three-dimensional translation of the space studied. To do it, students must first make a two-dimensional survey of the space represented, resolving the inconsistencies inherent in pictorial language, and apply essential concepts such as scale, proportion, materiality and light. The experience culminates with a presentation of the work to the whole class.

The results show a high level of student engagement and a significant improvement in their understanding of interior space, material culture and the values of the analysed paintings. The proposal not only promotes the assimilation of content, but also enhances creativity and motivation, as well as developing cross-curricular skills such as teamwork, planning, decision-making and effective communication. The diorama is thus confirmed as an effective teaching resource for transforming teaching of history into an active and meaningful experience, capable of contributing to the development of knowledge, sensitivity and creativity in future interior designers.

Keywords:

Art history, Interior design, problem solving, critical thinking, spatial representation.