Introduction to interior design Part 1

Introduction

he term ‘interior architecture’ emerged in the 1970s as the description of a discipline that employs architectural theory, history and principles in the design and creation of interior space. Its growth was in part

due to a perception that by employing the rigour of architectural thinking together with the sensory understanding of interior design, a synthesis could be produced that was both intellectually and humanistically satisfying, and which overcame the narrow specialisms of façade-driven architecture and context-free interior design that were prevalent at that time.

At a more pragmatic level, the use of the term ‘interior architecture’ is a response to the uncertainties inherent in the title ‘interior design’. These uncertainties have been accentuated by the increasing use, in magazine articles and television makeover programmes, to describe the process of choosing curtains, furnishings
and surface treatments: activities which might be better titled ‘interior decoration’. Over the course of the last thirty years the title ‘interior architecture’ has acquired a growing acceptance and an increasing sense of identity. That identity is distinguished by the following ideas:
• It acknowledges and respects the enclosing
structure and its context as initiators of
design strategies.
• It is an activity that is involved in the manipulation
and enjoyment of three-dimensional space.
• It employs the sensory stimuli of sound, touch,
smell and sight as essential parts of the
interior experience.
• It recognises light as a medium for defining space,
creating effect and producing well-being.
• It employs materials and colour as integral

components of the designed environment. 

The role of the interior architect will vary from practitioner to practitioner and from commission to commission . It will involve understanding and interpreting the needs of a client, who may be an individual, a public organisation or a commercial business, and creating a collaboration with other professionals: architects, structural engineers, craftsmen, quantity surveyors, heating and ventilation engineers among others, to develop a creative response to those needs and to oversee their translation from a concept to a builtreality . During this process the interior architect will be responsible for specifying and documenting the myriad decisions and activities required by the building process and will ensure the fulfilment of legal and regulatory obligations. All these things add up to a demanding professional life; but a life in which one is uniquely able to make a real difference to the conditions and experiences of people in their day-to-day lives.

‘I see architecture not as Gropius did,

as a moral venture, as truth, but as

invention, in the same way that poetry

or music or painting is invention.’

Michael Graves

Space and Place

There is no limit to the type or size of building that can fall within the practice of the interior architect and, equally, no limit to the range of activities which they may design. This article will explore the way in

which the existing building affects the designer’s response to the client’s brief and will identify the devices used by the designer in order to achieve the appropriate spatial and functional experience.

understanding the sense of place

Places are spaces with meaning and that meaning is often constructed through time, so that history is seen to be necessary in the creation of place. That history might be accessible to a wide audience or it might be intimate and individual – Trafalgar Square engenders a sense of place that we can all understand in terms of power, but the sense of place that you experience when you walk down the street where you lived as a child may only be understood by you. A sense of place therefore can be both constructed (as in Trafalgar Square) and personal – and these experiences can often overlap.Understanding the sense of place engendered in a building and its spatial context is an essential aspect of the design process. Very occasionally an architect may be involved in developing from a blank slate in the Corbusian sense; but the interior architect – never.

The interior architect’s role is to transform, to repurpose: to breathe new life into spaces and places that have a history and existing character but which, because of social or economic pressure, fashion, or simply change of ownership, require a new existence and identity. In order to achieve this transformation the designer must understand the contribution that history has provided and use this to create a design proposal that – as well as fulfilling the practical and aesthetic requirements of the design brief –understands, respects and engages in a dialogue with the existing building.

There are excellent reasons for employing old buildings in new situations rather than simply demolishing them and starting afresh. In the first place the materials and energy locked into an existing building comprise a form of financial and environmental value that would be expensive to replace. But, perhaps as important, their use enriches our experience by creating a tangible link between the past, present and future.

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