ESAIL was founded in 1984 by Jean Cottin, a registered architect (DPLG) and a former student of noted architect and city planner Tony Garnier. Its first home was the former Vaise fort, in Lyon. To accommodate the steady rise in enrolment, the school was moved in 2004 to its current home at 7-9 rue Jean Marie Leclair, in Lyon’s 9th district. The school has continued to develop to become one of the leading Interior Architecture schools in France. ESAIL pursued a new stage in its development at the start of the 2021 academic year when it opened its new campus in Bordeaux.
Designing and creating interior spaces that meet aesthetic and functional needs whilst playing with volumes, lighting, furniture and materials and respecting the budgetary and technical requirements. A broad set of skills to acquire and develop through the ESAIL’s (Ecole Supérieure d’Architecture Intérieure) specialist training courses, with the aim of entering the professions of Interior Architect or Interior Designer.
Sharing the art of design
Training for the future
- ESAIL is recognised by the French government (Ministerial order of 8 June 2010, published in the Official Gazette on 7 July 2010).This recognition is a mark of quality awarded by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research. It’s based on specific criteria such as educational objectives, organisation of the educational scheme, curriculum, international dimension, alumni employment and quality of faculty.
- ESAIL is authorised to accept student scholarship holders.The degrees awarded by ESAIL are certified by the French government. Authorisation to award certified degrees is granted for a period of 2 to 5 years by an interministerial committee chaired by the Prime Minister and managed by the Ministry of Labour.
- Bac+5 Interior Architecture Program: Level 7 European-certified degree Code/s NSF 233n,
- Bac+3 Interior Design Program: Level 5 European-certified degree Code/s NSF 230n, ESAIL is recognised the French Council of Interior Architects (CFAI). This recognition is granted based on the criteria defined by the Teaching Charter of 1996 signed by the Direction de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine (DAPA), the Ministry of National Education and the profession.
- ESAIL is a holder of the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education, which is awarded by the European Commission.
- ESAIL is a member of Cumulus, an international network of universities, associations and companies specialized in art, design and media.
portfolios
Student projects
The work presented is composed of partial extracts from the documents produced by students for their final exams. They demonstrate the skills acquired in interior design and interior architecture project design.
Testimony
Research department
Research department
Created in 2013, the ESAIL’s research department ESAIL LAB looks at operations conducted to renovate old buildings. These operations have given rise to discussion on interior architecture, a discipline taught at ESAIL. The objective of using this kind of empirical material as a starting point is twofold.
The first objective is to analyse the discipline and its practices by looking at projects completed in the not-so-distant past.