UNIT-I

Introduction to Interior Design

LECTURE-01
ARC 4105.1: Interior Design (Basic Elective)

Prepared Updated
[Link] Lobo Anupama Pavithran
Assistant Professor Assistant Professor
[Link], MURP [Link], M Sc Product Design
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INTRODUCTION TO INTERIOR SPACES
SPACE IS A HIDDEN FEATURE OF MOVEMENT AND MOVEMENT IS A VISIBLE
ASPECT OF SPACE
“We shape our buildings , Thereafter they shape us.”-Sir Winston Churchill
We interact with the space through our senses: sight , hearing, touch, smell and taste.
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WHAT IS SPACE?
• Space is the area the artist works on. It can be paper, clay, canvas,
walls, etc.
• Space is the three-dimensional expanse that a designer is working with.
• Space is the area provided for a particular purpose.
• It may have two dimensions (length and width) such as a floor, or it may
have three dimensions (length, width, and height), such as a room or
dwelling.
• It has two characteristics: positive… the object and negative… the
voided area surrounding the object. i.e The area around or between
objects within that expanse.
• All rooms have positive and negative space.
• POSITIVE SPACE is created by objects placed in a room that have volume
(furniture, artwork, accessories, etc.), and NEGATIVE SPACE is the area in
between.
• Negative space is interesting and when carefully considered, can make any room
dynamic.
 Designers when designing spaces must consider:
The SIZE of the overall space.
The ARRANGEMENT of OBJECTS within that space.
• Space is a prime ingredient in the designer’s
palette and the most important element in
interior design.

• Through the volume of space we not only move;

we see forms, hear sounds, feel gentle breezes
and the warmth of the sun, and smell the
fragrances of flowers in bloom.

• Space inherits the sensual and aesthetic

characteristics of the elements in its field.
• Space is not a material substance like stone and
wood.

• Once an element is placed in its field, a visual

relationship is established. Space is formed by
our perception of these relationships.
Both of the above photos show the use of repeating rectangular shapes, both positive and negative.
The mind perceives the negative spaces as forms in this church.
​(​Liao Yusheng: Architecture & Design Archives, 2017)
Focus on the shapes created between the objects on the wall. Any arrangement will be
successful, whether it is symmetrical or asymmetrical, as long as the negative space is
interesting
Different-sized spaces convey
different feelings.

LARGE, OPEN SPACES:

Freedom

Luxury

Loneliness

Discomfort

emptiness
SMALL SPACES:

• Security

• Privacy

• Intimacy

• Relaxing

• Confining

• Crowded
Space is affected by the number and size of objects in it.
Many objects scattered throughout a room will most likely destroy the
design effect because the space will have no apparent organization or
unity.
 Exterior spaces
Transitional spaces
Interior spaces
UNDERSTANDING EXTERIOR SPACE
A building’s form, scale, and spatial
organization are the designer’s response to a
number of conditions :
• functional planning requirements,

• technical aspects of structure and

construction,

• economic realities, and

• expressive qualities of image and style.

In addition, the architecture of a building
should address the physical context of its site
and the exterior space.
…Dominating

Merging Surrounding

Fronting Defining an edge

A BUILDING CAN BE RELATED TO ITS SITE IN
SEVERAL WAYS :
• It can merge with its setting or dominate it.
• It can surround and capture a portion of
exterior space.
• One of its faces can be made to address a
feature of its site or define an edge of
exterior space.
• In each case, due consideration should be
given to the potential relationship between
interior and exterior space, as defined by
the nature of a building’s exterior walls.
• Selecting and developing sites to reduce
site disturbance, storm water runoff, heat
island effects, and light pollution contribute
to sustainable design.
TRANSITION SPACE-OUTSIDE TO INSIDE:
• A buildings exterior walls constitute the
interface between our interior and exterior
environments.
• These walls determine the character of both
the interior and the exterior spaces.
• The walls may be thick and heavy ,expressing
a clear distinction between a controlled
interior environment and the exterior space
from which it is isolated.
• The walls may be thin, or even transparent,
and attempt to merge inside and outside.
• Special transitional spaces, belonging to both
the inside and outside can be used to mediate
between the two environments.
UNDERSTANDING INTERIOR SPACE
• Upon entering a building, we sense shelter and
enclosure. This perception is due to the
bounding floor, walls, and ceiling plane of
interior space.
• These are the architectural elements that
define the physical limits of rooms. ENTRANCES MARK THE TRANSITION FROM HERE TO
• They enclose space, articulate its boundaries, THERE.
and separate it from adjoining interior spaces
and the outside.
• Floors, walls, and ceilings do more than mark
off a simple quantity of space.
• Their form, configuration, and pattern of
window and door openings also fill the
defined space with certain spatial or
architectural qualities.
 Roof

Wall

Floor

In architectural design, these elements are organized to give a building form,

differentiate between inside and outside, and define the boundaries of interior
space.
• The physical character of an interior space
is determined by the planes—
the walls, floors, and ceilings that form the
container which describe the space and
impart to it properties such as proportion,
scale, and balance.

• The ceiling in particular, be it low or high,

slanted or domed, beamed or coffered,
effects on the way people experience
interior space.

• We use terms such as grand hall, loft space,

sun room, and alcove not simply to describe
how large or small a space is, but also to
characterize its scale and proportion, its
quality of light, the nature of its enclosing
surfaces, and the way it relates to adjacent
spaces.
• The building envelope consists of exterior walls, windows, doors, and roof, which protect and
shelter interior spaces from the exterior environment.

• Interior walls, partitions, and ceilings subdivide and define interior space.
• Many of these components are nonstructural in nature and carry no loads other than their
own weight.
• Architectural spaces are formed first by a
building’s structural system, further defined by
wall and ceiling planes, and related to other
spaces by windows and doorways.

• Interior space is formed by the relationships

between empty space and objects and among
objects and our perception of these relationships.

• The structure or the space can dominate the

relationship between the form of space or the
elements that define the space.

• The interior elements organize into sets or

groups, each of which not only occupy space but
also define and articulate the spatial form.
ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS
The geometric elements:
POINT, LINE, PLANE, AND VOLUME
can be arranged to articulate and define
space. In architecture, these fundamental
elements become linear columns and
beams, planar walls, floors, and roofs.

• A column marks a point in space and

makes it visible in three dimensions.

•Two columns define a spatial membrane

through which we can pass.

•When supporting a beam, the columns

delineate the edges of a transparent
plane.
A wall, an opaque plane, marks off a portion of amorphous space
and separates here from there.

A floor defines a field of space with

territorial boundaries.

A roof provides shelter for the volume of space beneath it.

SUMMARY
• Space is probably the most important element of design. It gives us the opportunity to
change/transform .
• Space changes as we move, as light changes, or psychologically by where we are located.
• The basic space problems people encounter include having too much or, more often, not
having enough.
• When space changes gradually, it is more pleasing than when it changes abruptly.
• When space changes suddenly, the eye shifts from one view to the other without making a
smooth transition.

REMEMBER: IF SPACE IS NOT CORRECTLY PLANNED, THE OTHER ELEMENTS OF DESIGN WILL
NOT BE EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT.
Spatial Qualities of interior spaces

FORM

SCALE
SPATIAL QUALITIES - FORM
To design interior spaces an understanding of how the spaces are formed by the building systems
of structure and enclosure is required.
With this understanding, the interior designer can effectively elect to work with, continue, or even
offer a counterpoint to the essential qualities of an architectural space.

Continuation Contrast Counterpoint

The basic shell … modified architecturally or through interior design

SPATIAL DIMENSIONS- SCALE AND PROPORTION
• The dimensions of a space length, width and height
determine a room’s proportion and scale and influence
the way it is used.
• Rooms need big things, little things, tall things, and short
things. If everything is the same size, nothing will stand
out. Vary scale within a room to create interest and
drama.
• Scale and proportion in interior design do refer to
different things. “Scale” tends to refer to how an item
relates to the size of the room or to something else .
• For example : crammed an overstuffed sofa into a small
living room.
• “Proportion” refers to the shape of an item and how it
relates to other things in the room.
• For example: a rectangular dish in the middle of a
square table
STRUCTURING INTERIOR SPACE WITH
ELEMENTS OF INTERIOR DESIGN
• Although a building’s structural system
sets up the basic form and pattern of its
interior spaces, these spaces are
ultimately structured by the elements of
interior design.
• The interior spaces are structured through
the selection and arrangement of interior
elements such that their visual
relationships define and organize the
interior space of a room.
• Non-load-bearing partitions and
suspended ceilings are often used to
define or modify space within the
structural framework or shell of a
building.
The color, texture, and pattern of
wall, floor, and ceiling surfaces
affect our perception of their
relative positions in space and our
awareness of the room’s
dimensions, scale, and proportion.
• Within a large space, the form and
arrangement of furniture and furnishings
can divide areas, provide a sense of
enclosure, and define spatial patterns. Color, texture, and pattern

• Lighting:the light and dark patterns it

creates, can call our attention to one
area of a room, deemphasize others,
and thereby create divisions of space.

• Even the acoustic nature of a room’s

surfaces can affect the apparent
boundaries of a space. Soft, absorbent
surfaces muffle sounds and can diminish
our awareness of the physical dimensions
of a room.
 A dominant element Furniture groupings

Individual and group activities

• Finally, space is structured by the way we
use it. The nature of our activities and the
way we perform them influence how we
plan, arrange, and organize interior
space.
SUMMARY
• Good scale is achieved when all components,
including built-in architectural elements and
freestanding furnishings, are appropriate to the
size of the space as a whole and relate well to
each other as well as to human dimensions.
• Qualitiessuch as form, scale, proportion, and
balance (in which elements are arranged to
convey a feeling of equilibrium) are subjective;
they are experienced in different ways by
different people. But in general, out-of-scale or
off-balance conditions, like a window too small, or
awkwardly placed, for its wall, are universally
experienced as jarring, while appropriately
scaled and balanced compositions give most
people a favorable visual and emotional
impression.
• Beside physical methods to modify the limits of interior space, there are also some
design decisions and tricks that can change the perception of a visual space.
• Therefore, it's possible to correct interior without redesigning or destructions -
breaking old walls and making new ones, for example, with the help of optical
illusions that change visual perception of interior space.
• A room can be visually enlarged, deepened, broadened, heightened, narrowed, or
lowered. Things like color, lighting, interior elements placement, integrated -
horizontal or vertical - lines, shapes, mirrors and even style of interior equipment
and finishing materials can correct the interior space because they can have a
significant impact on the size, proportion and mood of a space.
• It's possible to achieve great effects by combining knowledge of perception and
knowledge of design.
FURNITURE LAYOUT-LIVING ROOM – MOOD BOARD
FURNITURE LAYOUT-LIVING ROOM– MOOD BOARD
FURNITURE LAYOUT-LIVING ROOM
FURNITURE LAYOUT -LIVING ROOM– MOOD BOARD
KITCHEN - FURNITURE LAYOUT– MOOD BOARD
FURNITURE LAYOUT - KID’S BEDROOM – MOOD BOARD
Assignment
• Select any typology on interior spaces and Document the elements and principles of
design for the case study selected .
• Identify the elements used for visual perception based on gestalt theory ppt format.