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Interior design
Interior design, planning and design of man-made spaces, a part of environmental design and closely related to architecture. Although the desire to create a pleasant environment is as old as civilization itself, the field of interior design is relatively new.
Since at least the middle of the 20th century, the term interior decorator has been so loosely applied as to be nearly meaningless, with the result that other, more descriptive terms have come into use. The term interior design indicates a broader area of activity and at the same time suggests its status as a serious profession. In some European countries, where the profession is well established, it is known as interior architecture. Individuals who are concerned with the many elements that shape man-made environments have come to refer to the total field as environmental design.
Principles of interior design
It is important to emphasize that interior design is a specialized branch of architecture or environmental design; it is equally important to keep in mind that no specialized branch in any field would be very meaningful if practiced out of context. The best buildings and the best interiors are those in which there is no obvious disparity between the many elements that make up the totality. Among these elements are the structural aspects of a building, the site planning, the landscaping, the furniture, and the architectural graphics (signs), as well as the interior details. Indeed, there are many examples of distinguished buildings and interiors that were created and coordinated by one guiding hand.
Because of the technological complexity of contemporary planning and building, it is no longer possible for a single architect or designer to be an expert in all the many aspects that make up a modern building. It is essential, however, that the many specialists who make up a team be able to communicate with each other and have sufficient basic knowledge to carry out their common goals. While the architect usually concerns himself with the overall design of buildings, the interior designer is concerned with the more intimately scaled aspects of design, the specific aesthetic, functional, and psychological questions involved, and the individual character of spaces.
Although interior design is still a developing profession without a clear definition of its limits, the field can be thought of in terms of two basic categories: residential and nonresidential. The latter is often called contract design because of the manner in which the designer receives his compensation (i.e., a contractual fee arrangement), in contrast to the commission or percentage arrangement prevalent among residential interior decorators. Although the volume of business activity in the field of residential interiors continues to grow, there seems to be less need and less challenge for the professional designer, with the result that more and more of the qualified professionals are involved in nonresidential work.
The field of interior design already has a number of specialized areas. One of the newer areas is "space planning"—i.e., the analysis of space needs, allocation of space, and the interrelation of functions within business firms. In addition to these preliminary considerations, such design firms are usually specialists in office design.
Many design firms have become specialized in such fields as the design of hotels, stores, industrial parks,or shopping centres. Others work primarily on large college or school projects, and still others may be specialists in the design of hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes. Design firms active in nonresidential work range from small groups of associates to organizations comprised of 50 to 100 employees. Most of the larger firms include architects, industrial designers, and graphic designers. In contrast, interior designers who undertake residential commissions are likely to work as individuals or possibly with two or three assistants. The size of the firms involved in nonresidential design is a clear indication of the relative complexity of the large commissions. In addition to being less complex, residential design is a different type of activity. The residential interior is usually a highly personal statement for both the owner and the designer, each of whom is involved with all aspects of the design; it is unlikely that a client who wished to engage the services of an interior designer for his home would be happy with an organized systems approach.
Most large architectural firms have established their own interior-design departments, and smaller firms have at least one specialist in the field. There are no precise boundaries to the profession of interior design nor, in fact, to any of the design professions. Furniture design, for example, is carried out by industrial designers and furniture designers as well as by architects and interior designers. As a rule, furniture designed for mass production is designed by industrial designers or furniture designers; the interior designer or architect usually designs those special pieces that are not readily available on the market or that must meet specific needs for a particular job. Those needs may be functional or aesthetic, and often a special chair or desk designed for a specific job will turn out to be so successful that the manufacturer will put such pieces into his regular line. The same basic situation holds generally true in the design of fabrics, lighting devices, floor covering, and all home-furnishing products. All design activities are basically similar, even though the training and education in the different design fields varies in emphasis. A talented and well-trained designer can easily move from one specialized area to another with little difficulty.
In the discussion of the general aspects of design, it is important to note that there is an important distinction between art and design. A designer is basically concerned with the solution of problems (be they functional, aesthetic, or psychological) that are presented to him. The artist is more concerned with emotive or expressive ideas and with the solution of problems he himself poses. A truly great or beautiful interior can indeed be called a work of art, but some would prefer to call such an interior a "great design."
Aesthetic components of design
A general definition of beauty and aesthetic excellence would be difficult, but fortunately there are a number of generally accepted principles that can be used to achieve an understanding of the aesthetic considerations in design. One must note, however, that such understanding requires exposure and learning; an appreciation of any form of art needs such a background.
A thorough appreciation of design must go beyond the first impression. The first impression of the interior of a Gothic cathedral might be that it is somewhat dark or gloomy, but, by the time the visitor senses its majestic proportions, notices its beautiful stained glass windows and the effect of light, and begins to understand the superb structural system that permitted builders of cathedrals to achieve their lofty goals, he can truly begin to appreciate the overall aesthetic qualities.
One of the key considerations in any design must be the question of whether a design "works" or functions for its purpose. If a theatre has poor sight lines, poor acoustics, and insufficient means of entry and egress, it obviously does not work for its purpose, no matter how beautifully it might be decorated. Such a design could be considered good only if it were thought of abstractly as a kind of walk-in sculpture. In some cases the building is meant to be sculpture rather than architecture. The Statue of Liberty, for instance, is primarily intended as a monument, despite the fact that it contains rather tortured interior spaces.
To use function as the only aesthetic criterion would be limiting, but it certainly is a valid consideration to be kept in mind. Designers are often tempted to overdesign or "style" an object or interior rather than design it. Some of the most beautiful objects of the 20th century are beautiful because they were the result of purely functional considerations. It is conceivable that future art historians will consider a modern jet plane the crowning artistic achievement of the middle of this century, rather than any building, interior, or conscious art form.
The aesthetic response to an interior and its furnishings must take into consideration the social and economic conditions as well as the materials and technology of the time. The elegant or ornate interiors that are usually associated with the 18th and 19th centuries were appropriate to the social and economic conditions of the nobility or the wealthy bourgeois who were the original occupants. The chairs were designed for formal living, and the elaborately carved furnishings were designed to be cared for by many servants. Such an interior is alien to the 20th-century way of life and would be totally inappropriate for a contemporary middle class family. It would also be inappropriate to use modern materials and processes to imitate earlier materials and processes. Many manufacturers try desperately to make plastic look like wood, stone, or just about anything but plastic. All aesthetic criteria have something to do with honesty. Some aestheticians have compared beauty to truth, and there can be little doubt that honestly expressed functions and honestly expressed materials and manufacturing processes are far more beautiful than fakery and imitation.
All interiors, by definition, occur inside buildings and therefore have a very real relation to these buildings. The best interiors today, as well as in the past, are those that relate well in character and appropriateness to the particular building. The furnishings designed and scaled for spacious country homes or palaces would obviously be out of place in a small urban apartment or suburban home. A strong and unusual piece of architecture such as New York City's Trans World Airlines terminal (at John F. Kennedy International Airport) could not be properly furnished with standard commercial furniture and products. The building, as well as the interiors, was conceived as a total design by the Finnish-born architect Eero Saarinen. Whether the observer agrees with the architect's concept or not, he clearly senses the strong interrelationship between the exterior and the interior—and therefore the aesthetic unity and success. Another successful interior and building is the Ford Foundation headquarters in New York City, the work of architects Kevin Roche and John Dinkeloo, with interiors by Warren Platner. The design is notable for its handsome spaces opening out toward an enclosed garden space. This obviously would not have been possible or appropriate if the view from the offices had been unattractive.
The interiors within indifferent or unattractive buildings must strive to make up for the lack of design qualities in the structures. Thus, it is sometimes necessary to ignore the ugliness of the building and create an inward-looking beauty if no architectural character exists.
The most difficult aesthetic consideration is the problem of appropriateness. The appropriate atmosphere or character of an interior must take all the foregoing points into consideration. The architectural character of the TWA terminal would make it inappropriate for use as an office building. The appropriateness of individual, more intimate, and small-scaled interiors is more subtle. The interior design of a discotheque would hardly be appropriate for a research library, and a college classroom would hardly provide the desired atmosphere for a kindergarten. Many of these responses and relationships are complex and have psychological as well as aesthetic factors.
Elements of design
Of all the component elements that together form a completed interior, the single most important element is space. Spaces can be exhilarating or depressing, cheerful or serene, all depending upon the use the designer has made of the various elements that form the whole. Space is, in modern times, a costly commodity. The beautiful space of the Gothic cathedral achieved its success through generous proportions and lofty heights. Due to the vast increase in construction costs in contemporary structures, spaces tend to be smaller and less generous; more skill on the part of the designer is required to give such limited spaces a particular atmosphere or character. On the other hand, sheer volume of space is not sufficient. There is hardly a larger space than the interior of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida, yet the aesthetic impact of that immense interior is negligible. A space need not be large and monumental to be aesthetically successful. The handling of mass and form even within a small structure can become exciting and beautiful. Frank Lloyd Wright was masterful in creating beautiful spatial sequences within residential-scale buildings. The Ford Foundation building is a relatively small structure among the huge buildings of New York City, yet the experience of that space is real and pleasurable.
Space can be thought of as the raw material which must be molded and shaped with the designers' tools of colour, texture, light, and scale. The interrelationship of design elements can be clarified by visualizing the result if the interior of St. Peter's in Rome were painted in garish colours or painted all black or sprayed with a foamy texture covering all surfaces or flooded with enormously intense floodlight that eliminated all play of dark and light. Obviously, any of these modifications would totally destroy the beauty and success of that space.
Colour is the quality of light reflected from an object to the human eye. When light falls upon an object, some of it is absorbed, and that which is not absorbed is reflected, and the apparent colour of an object depends upon the wavelength of the light that it reflects. The scientific attributes of colour and light in interior design are, however, less important than the skillful combination of colour values, hues, tones, shades, and above all textures. Although there can be no strict rules about colours and textures, it is well to remember the famous statement of the modern architect Mies van der Rohe that "less is more." His Crown Hall at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, built in 1956, is elegant, understated, subtle, and is notable for its careful handling of textures and materials. To accept "less is more" as the sole guideline to design, however, would be a serious fallacy. Space, which is the essence of a meaningful interior, would be dull indeed if it were never varied—if there were no intimate spaces with low ceilings, in contrast to large spaces of greater height, and if spaces did not interrelate to provide the user with a sequential experience of moving from one to another. Monotony would also result if all interiors in a given building were of the same colour, material, and textural quality. Man needs variety and change.
The manipulation of space is a matter of both aesthetic and functional consideration. A small entrance vestibule in a building is needed to keep out wind and cold or heat and rain, yet it is equally important in providing a visual transition from outdoors to the interior of the building. The sheltered sleeping alcoves in early cave dwellings served not only to express man's desire for smaller and more intimate spaces for personal use but gave protection from draft or cold.
Much in our man-made structures is built of natural materials, and it must be remembered that these materials have natural colours and textures that usually are superior to anything man can create artificially. Competent designers are very much aware of the innate qualities and textures of all materials, especially natural ones. For instance, a sensitive designer would choose a simple oil finish on wood to bring out the beauty and quality of the grain rather than use the once-fashionable high-gloss finish that tended to obscure and change the texture. Textures are important not only for their appearance but also for their sense of touch, and for their effect on light absorption or reflection. Abrasive surfaces or very rough plaster would obviously be unpleasant to the touch and possibly dangerous in an interior, depending upon the use the interior is intended for. Textures can evoke feelings of elegance (such as silks) or informality (such as rough, tweedy materials).
Light, both natural and artificial, is one of the most important design elements, but unless surfaces are appropriate in colour and texture, the control and effect of light will be lost. The beautiful quality of space in a Gothic cathedral is very much related to the handling of light. The source of daylight, high overhead or filtered through stained glass, creates exciting patterns of light and shade and a variety of intensities and pools of light. This same principle can be used in all interior spaces, and contemporary interiors often have skylights or high windows to provide variety and changing patterns of light. Artificial lighting is equally important, and, again, the same considerations of highlights, good overall illumination, and variety are important.
Concepts of design
The scale and proportion of any interior must always relate to the architecture within which the interior exists, but the other important factor in considering the scale of man's environment is the human body. Throughout the ages, designers and architects have attempted to establish ideal proportions. The most famous of all axioms about proportion was the golden section, established by the ancient Greeks. According to this axiom, a line should be divided into two unequal parts, of which the first is to the second as the second is to the whole. Leonardo da Vinci developed a figure for the ideal man based on man's navel as the centre of a circle enclosing man with outstretched arms. The French architect Le Corbusier developed a theory of proportion called Modulor, also based on a study of human proportions. Yet, at best, these rules are merely guidelines. They can never substitute for the eye and judgment of the designer, and it is reasonable to predict that attempts to make the all-powerful computer a substitute for the designer's sensitivity are also bound to be far from perfect.
It was stated earlier that the need for a changing scale and spatial relationship in the environment seems a natural one, almost a physiological as well as a psychological one. Perhaps the need for "personal" environment and scale can best be understood by considering some extreme examples. To a person flying at 30,000 feet in an airplane, the scale of anything seen on the ground appears so small that he loses touch with the reality of objects. People who fear heights are rarely bothered by the view out of an airplane because the distance to the objects on the ground has transcended normal perceptions of scale. In a similar manner, a person's reaction to the scale of a small house is quite different from his reaction to a large high-rise building. Details of pattern, texture, and material are accepted and expected in the small structure since they are in a meaningful scale with respect to man. By the same token, the sculptural ornaments on the tops of early skyscrapers seem absurd today.
Almost all principles of design for interiors can be comprehended with clear analytic understanding and common sense, without regard to dogmatic rules. If a beautiful 18th-century breakfront (which might be more than eight feet tall) is placed in an apartment with a ceiling height just an inch higher than the piece of furniture, it would obviously look out of scale. If a space is planned so that all the heavy and massive pieces of furniture are pushed toward one end of the room, with nothing on the other side, the room would obviously look out of balance. Yet balance and symmetry applied as inviolate design principles would result in very formal, very traditional, and somewhat dull interiors. Careful symmetry was a generally accepted rule during the Renaissance, and in any classic building one can be sure to find a carefully balanced and symmetrical facade, just as most formal and classic interiors have rigidly balanced plans. It is now recognized that balance can also be based on asymmetry. Both architecture and interior design in the 20th century have consciously broken with the many rules handed down from past eras. It is more important for a building or space to be expressive of its purpose. At one time, it was traditional for a theatre, opera house, or concert hall to embody certain forms and shapes without any real consideration of sight lines, seating distance from the stage, or acoustics. On the other hand, the Berlin Philharmonic Concert Hall (1964) works beautifully as a concert hall and expresses its purpose and function clearly in an exciting and dynamic way (seephotograph).
Balance and symmetry, colour, pattern, and repetition used to be a matter of adherence to a tradition. Until fairly recently, many interiors were painted in dark colours, often ignoring the fact that light reflection was adversely affected and that no real contrast or sparkling accent was achieved. In many contemporary rooms, however, most surfaces are kept in neutral or light colours, possibly with one wall accented in a strong colour or texture. An interior with uniform overhead lighting might be an efficient work space but would lack the character that can be achieved by providing some accent lights in small areas.
The designer's concern for honesty of materials and textures has brought about changing attitudes toward some of the conventional practices of interior decoration, such as the use of strongly patterned wallpapers and flowered prints. Any interior that has too many different patterns, too many textures, and too many repetitive features of any kind will appear overpowering, overly busy, overdesigned, and confusing. A designer often attempts to have a dominant theme or idea, be it colour, form, texture, or some rhythmic pattern. It must be noted also that design is influenced by changing attitudes and fashions. The movements in art and architecture of the 1950s and 1960s have influenced interior design in the direction of an emphasis on pure form, the absence of superfluous decoration, and expressiveness of materials. Recently, however, a kind of countermovement in the field of painting and sculpture has been influential. For instance, the use of large-scale graphic elements (supergraphics) in interiors has become popular and accepted, in spite of the fact that its very idea often consciously denies or destroys the visual clarity of existing architectural design features. Some of the leading designers in the United States and in several European countries have also become very interested in large patterns, rhythmic geometries, and decorative surfaces, and this may point toward a new trend (see photograph).
Most interiors consist of a series of interrelated spaces. It is important that the various spaces be designed in a sequential relationship to each other, not only in terms of planning but also in terms of the visual effect. A successful interior should be cohesive within each area and cohesive as a totality. It must above all relate to the building and to the architectural concept. A good example is the previously mentioned TWA terminal by Eero Saarinen. In spite of the extremely complex sculptural forms used, there is a sequence and clearly balanced rhythm that not only unifies the total composition but clearly relates it to the total architecture.
The best examples of design are those in which no visible difference exists between the interior and the exterior, between the building and its site, and between the many parts or spaces to each other and the total building. An example is the house of the American architect Philip Johnson in New Canaan, Connecticut. Johnson's home and its setting appear effortlessly united, with individual parts subordinated to the success of the whole (see photograph).
Design relationships
The real and conscious relationship between art, architecture, and design is of long standing. Though mural painting was largely neglected in the mid-20th century, in the past great murals have been the planned focal points of interiors and have in a way determined the architecture. Similarly, sculpture or sculptural forms, as fixed and permanent spects of buildings, can be the most important design features if planned that way by the architect together with the interior designer and artist. Perhaps the best design is one in which there is no visible difference between architecture and interior and in which even the artwork is incorporated as an integral part of the total (see photograph).
The design relationship of interiors to architecture can be clarified by citing an extreme example: the stage set. A set for a theatrical production is a form of interior design but, unlike all other aspects of interior design, it attempts to create its own world and atmosphere concerned only with the play and not at all related to the world or even reality. The creation of a world of make-believe is precisely the function of a stage, but in real life it is impossible to divorce a particular interior from everything else around it. Sometimes a designer may attempt to create a "theatrical" interior, but the point being made strongly and unequivocally here is that every interior must relate to the architecture and to the nearby environment.
Design relationships of individual works of art (paintings, prints, or sculptures) to interiors are most significant in terms of scale and placement, rather than in terms of subject matter, colour, or style. A very old painting, if it is good, will look well within a contemporary interior; a very modern piece of sculpture can be beautiful within an interior furnished with some beautiful traditional pieces. Any work of art, if successful within itself, is "correct" with any interior if properly placed or selected to work with the total space. Certainly there is no need to match colours of paintings to interiors or to select subject matter in works of art that reflect a particular theme, such as food for dining rooms or hunting scenes for the den.
Interiors as they relate to landscape or cityscape are sometimes misunderstood by architects. A crass but typical example is the ubiquitous picture window in suburban housing tracts. Often the only view from the window is the picture window of the neighbouring house. When the view is a beautiful one, it should be possible to plan the interior with the furniture plan and orientation such that seating arrangements can take advantage of the view and yet work for other functions, such as relation to a fireplace or a conversation group, as well.
In many areas of interior design the field of graphics is taking on increasing importance. In every public or institutional building, signs, directories, and room identifications play an important visual part. Good architectural graphics have been stressed only in recent years, as a result of the increasing size and complexity of structures. Buildings such as airports depend upon clear and handsome graphics to make the spaces work and to make them aesthetically cohesive. A related aspect of graphics is the printed matter that is part of certain interior functions. Interior designers must be concerned with the design of menus, wine lists, napkins, and matchbooks in a well-designed restaurant. Designers dealing with stores or shops are concerned with the graphics of shopping bags, signs, and posters. Often the interior designer is the actual graphic designer, or he works together with the graphic designer, just as the architect works with the interior designer or landscape architect.
Modes of composition
It must be emphasized that there are many different moods, or modes of composition, that are possible in interior design. The recognition of this fact makes it difficult to apply valid critical criteria to these modes, since many of them are intensely personal. What may appear to be picturesque to one person might be ugly or cluttered to another. Each person brings to interior design his own cultural mores and his own prejudices, and in many ways he is psychologically conditioned and influenced to accept certain things and to reject others. In discussing various modes of composition, one must therefore take into consideration the occupants and their backgrounds, the locale and site, and then try to apply the most basic design principles as general guidelines.
Formal and informal compositions are relatively easily defined and classified; in fact, this distinction is useful throughout the history of furniture and interiors. Formal styles are usually associated with life at court or furnishings for the palatial homes of nobles or a moneyed elite. The informal periods usually are associated with rural living or the simpler pieces of furniture made by the local craftsmen in rural areas, where they plied their trade with limited tools, using local woods. Formal furniture, as a rule, leads to formal interior compositions. Balance and symmetry certainly tend to lead to formal compositions. Formality is not associated with any particular period. In fact, a very famous contemporary chair, the Barcelona chair by Mies van der Rohe, is an extremely formal and elegant piece. It would seem wrong to use that chair in a casual catercorner room arrangement.
Setting strongly influences the character of a space. By its very definition, a rustic setting would be rural and informal and would seem wrong and incongruous in a formal townhouse or city apartment. Since most business and public interiors are located in urban centres, any attempt to make such interiors look rustic or homey would be an aesthetic paradox. By the same token, it would appear equally incongruous to design a restaurant located in an old mill or barn in New England in a formal and urban character with elegant furnishings, whether they were contemporary or antiques of a formal nature.
Certain modes of composition are determined by the function of the spaces as much as by the location and by the architecture. For example, a cozy or homey interior is normally associated with residential interiors or similarly intimate interiors, such as restaurants that may wish to appear "cozy." Some interiors, such as discotheques, require excitement and other interiors, such as funeral parlors, require serenity or dignity. One expects certain modes of composition for certain functions, but one's expectations are subject to many external influences, such as personal background, location, psychological associations, and changing fashions. For instance, the typical bank interior until about 1950 was expected to be solid, dignified, awe-inspiring, formal, and above all confidence inspiring. Contemporary design for business and industry has become accepted by all, and the early 1950s saw the logical extension of these firmly established design principles into the area of bank design. One of the first radical departures of traditional design for banking spaces was the Manufacturers Trust Company Manhattan office designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in the early 1950s. It was the first widely published "glass" bank, and it set a trend that has become the new mode of composition for banks.
Fashion or design trends influence one's reactions to many kinds of designs. The term clutter is usually associated with Victorian design of the 19th century. Under the usual definition of the term clutter, one thinks of home interiors with collections of accessories and with an overabundance of knickknacks—the typical Victorian home. In the mid-1960s a new approach to office design, reflecting the "cluttered" approach, was developed. This office appears disorganized at first glance. Actually, the system (called office landscape; see below Kinds of interiors: Public interiors: Space planning) is very efficient and for that reason is deemed acceptable, even if the visual impact tends to be chaotic. Traditionally, office and business interiors were pristine, orderly, and very organized, and the idea of a cluttered appearance would have been anathema to designers.
The most difficult mode of composition for objective analysis is one that some people call exotic. The chances are that all exotic interiors are highly personal statements and cannot be rationally understood in theoretical design terms. To begin with, what may appear exotic to the average American could be very ordinary or even homey to another culture. Japanese or oriental design in general serves as an example. A Japanese style interior is extremely subtle, serene, and understated, yet to the uninitiated such an interior will appear exotic. Undoubtedly that same phenomenon holds true in reverse. Oriental people have often been impressed with Western-style design and have adopted it presumably because to them it appeared exotic. The increased mobility of the middle classes of many nations today has made foreign travel possible for more and more people, thereby tending to soften some of the very strong regional differences in design. The modes of composition are still discernible nationally or certainly by major geographic and ethnic divisions, but they tend to be less distinct. Many subtle differences exist within the same country, some of which are based on varying socioeconomic backgrounds, much in the manner of the traditional difference between formal styles (at court and in homes of nobility) and informal modes of composition for the country people and middle classes. The labels that one applies to these modes of composition are often only descriptive. They must not be confused with objective evaluation of design values. An interior that is by the creator's definition exotic or picturesque may or may not be a well-done exotic design.
Symbolism and style
There are many historic examples of symbolism in design, but often the symbolism is not a conscious statement so much as a more subtle reflection of style. Religious buildings, especially churches, have until recently been consistently traditional expressions of style or symbolism. The church and church architecture flourished during the Middle Ages, and the style of church architecture that became the dominant symbol was the Gothic style. Until the recent past, churches were still designed, as a matter of course, in Gothic style. It is interesting to note that a "Gothic" church designed and built in 1820 can be clearly identified as such, and a "Gothic" church from the year 1920 has the imprint of that year as obviously as the date on its cornerstone. There has been a similar symbolic or stylistic tradition in the design of public or governmental buildings. Both interiors and exteriors of city halls, court buildings, and major government structures were usually in the "classical" style, symbolizing authority, power, and stability, based on our long historic association of these concepts with Greco-Roman antiquity and Renaissance thought.
Another form of symbolism in interior design has been the creation of interiors around specific themes or concepts. Among the earliest examples is the Egyptian tomb. The interior design and decoration depicted the life of the king or special events from his life, and the total interior was intended as a kind of magic to assure the occupant's journey into life after death and guarantee his happiness there. Another example of a symbolic interior created for a specific purpose is the Roman hunting lodge, Piazza Amerina, in Sicily, which has splendid murals and floors depicting animals and hunting. A more recent example of a similarly symbolic interior on the same subject is Theodore Roosevelt's home at Oyster Bay on Long Island, built in 1880. It is full of hunting trophies and mementos symbolizing his personal interests and his personality.
The styles that developed in interiors and in interior furnishings were always symbolic of the social structure of the society that created them. It is easy, for instance, to look at the graceful, feminine lines of a Louis XV chair, delicately curved and luxuriously upholstered, and to see it as a symbolic expression of the superficialities of court life. One can also look at some of the crudely fashioned early American furniture and see in one's mind the life of the settler who fashioned it. Life was harsh, time was precious, and articles of furniture were confined to essentials. The need for economical use of space was symbolized by dual-purpose, functional pieces such as dough boxes that served as tables and tables that turned into chairs and had storage compartments for the family Bible as well.
As functional and efficiency-oriented as business and office design is today, it is full of unwritten rules relating to symbolism. The design of an office reflects the status of the occupant. Top executives are located in the largest corner offices with the best views of the city and invariably are on the top floors of the corporate headquarters. The size of desks is a symbolic indication of the executive's importance in the hierarchy of the firm. The very top officers may, however, do away with desks altogether and have offices resembling living rooms—to symbolize the fact that they are beyond routine paperwork and above the need for standard office furnishings. The fashions (or styles) of design vary and develop even within a brief period of 10 or 20 years. Thus, another symbol—carpeting—has become somewhat outdated. Until recently, top executives expected wall-to-wall carpeting in their offices. Today such offices may have wood or other natural floors, perhaps with beautiful area rugs. The very idea of a private office is, of course, the most important symbol in a status-conscious business community. Designers have found, however, that the need for communication between executive and staff, including visual contact, often makes private offices less than efficient.
Symbolism in residential interior design occurs on many levels but again tends to be influenced by changing styles. When television first became available, the home screen became a symbol of prosperity and at the same time became the focal point of residential interiors. By the 1970s a television set had become a standard possession and was no longer a compositional emphasis; in fact, it was often concealed or casually incorporated into the total design.
A homeowner is likely to be very conscious of the image his house or apartment conveys. Traditional furniture, for instance, is still associated with elegance in the minds of many laymen, a situation that can lead to the acquisition of poor reproductions or meaningless imitations of nonexistent styles. To most people a real fire in a fireplace is a delightful physical and visual experience that often has nostalgic associations. Since they are no longer needed to heat houses, fireplaces in the 20th century increasingly have become a luxury and thereby a symbol of substance to many people. These circumstances have often resulted in imitation fireplaces of the worst possible design, with simulated fires.
From the designer's point of view, design symbolism in public spaces is valid at times but can and should be used in contemporary terms rather than as stylistic imitation of past eras. An example of the success of such design can be seen in the new Boston City Hall, built in 1968, which symbolizes government, authority, and dignity in totally original and contemporary terms. There is little valid reason to consciously introduce symbolism into residential interiors, unless it is the kind of cultural symbolism exemplified in Japanese interiors, such as that of the Zen tea house (cha-shitsu), where certain design features reflect a way of life and have ceremonial meanings.
Physical components of design
The foregoing section on aesthetic components stressed the fact that, in design, the whole or total effect is more important than the specific device or element used. The same is true of architectural components, and this should be kept in mind in the following discussion.
Although ceilings are in most interiors the largest unbroken surface, they are often ignored by amateur designers and even by professional designers. The result, especially in public and office interiors, is frequently a mass of unrelated lighting devices, air conditioning outlets, and the like. Ceilings were emphasized in the Baroque and 18th-century traditions: beautiful interiors of these periods had highly ornate, decorated ceilings, with painted surfaces or with intricate plaster details and traceries.
Few modern designers take advantage of the design possibilities offered by ceilings. One such possibility is the creation of textural effects with wood. Of course, one must respect the effect of a simple plaster ceiling in an otherwise well-designed interior; often the white plaster ceiling is needed to reflect light and to provide a calm cohesiveness to the space. Since most modern ceilings are low, a heavy texture or a strong colour could create a depressing feeling; hence, the popularity of a plain white ceiling. It is important for a plain ceiling to be just that: a surface without blemishes, without bumps, and without small unrelated areas of different height.
In contemporary public buildings there is frequently a "hung" ceiling below interior concrete structural slabs. The space between the slab and the "hung" ceiling is needed for mechanical equipment as well as to allow for the recessing of the lighting system.
An earlier section of this article discussed the variation of heights in relation to scale and space. It is important to keep such varying ceiling heights related to the plan of the room if such a device is to succeed. A lowered ceiling in a dining area, for instance, can be pleasant and intimate, but a lowered ceiling covering only part of the area can be most distracting.
Basically, there are two kinds of floors for interiors: those that are an integral part of the structure and those that are applied after the structure is completed. Interior designers working together with architects have the opportunity to specify flooring such as slate, terrazzo, stone, brick, concrete, or wood, but in most interiors the flooring is designed at a later stage and is often changed in the course of a building's life. Sometimes it is possible to introduce a heavy floor, such as terrazzo or stone, in a finished building or during remodeling, but these materials, beautiful as they are, tend to be too costly as surface applications.
Man-made, or synthetic, floor coverings are usually classified as resilient floors. The oldest of this type is linoleum. The resilient flooring materials marketed in the late 20th century include asphalt, vinyl asbestos, linoleum, cork, and vinyl. Cork, which is not a synthetic, is handsome, but is difficult to maintain and is not exceptionally durable. Basically, other resilient floor tiles are excellent flooring materials that are both economical and easily maintained. They can be given almost any appearance, which is a temptation that manufacturers are unable to resist. When the tiles are plain, in good colours or textures, they are very attractive and appropriate, but often they are made to imitate stone, brick, mosaic, or other materials, and the results are generally of a less satisfactory nature. Pure vinyls are the most expensive of the resilient floorings and have been the most tortured in terms of "design." The vinyls are the softest and most resilient of the tiles and are very easy to maintain. Asphalt tile is the least expensive and consequently the most widely used resilient flooring, although it is quite brittle and hard underfoot. Vinyl asbestos is somewhat softer underfoot and, being grease resistant, is easier to maintain than asphalt, but its cost is generally higher. Linoleum, which ranges in cost between the asphalt and pure vinyl floorings, is strong and suitable for heavy-duty uses.
Ceramic tiles and quarry (unglazed) tiles are made not only for such areas as bathrooms but, particularly in the case of quarry tiles, are suitable for almost any space. Installation usually requires a cement bed over the existing subfloor, making this material difficult to use in existing buildings. Like other natural materials, quarry-tile floors possess a natural beauty and have the additional advantage of easy maintenance.
Wood floors still account for a very large percentage of all floors, especially in residences. In addition to the strip oak floors, the standard for many apartment houses or homes, many beautiful prefabricated parquet patterns are available in a variety of woods and in many shapes and sizes. These wood tiles can be installed, just like the resilient floor tiles, over existing floors. Wood floors have great warmth and beauty but have the disadvantage of needing more care than do some of the synthetic tiles or quarry tiles.
Every wall is a material in itself; and ideally no material, if it is properly used, needs to be covered up. Some elegant buildings constructed since 1960 have used concrete in its natural texture—i.e., showing the formwork left by wooden forms as a conscious expression of the material. During the 19th century, fakery in design was very popular, and part of the concern with the true expression of materials today is a revolt against the earlier tradition. In the 20th century, for instance, interior brick walls are considered very beautiful and desirable, yet many old townhouses have layers of plaster and paint or wallpaper on top of attractive brickwork.
It is not unusual for a decorative detail or device to survive long after the valid reason for it has disappeared. Wall panelling has been popular for hundreds of years, and, indeed, a natural wood texture adds warmth and elegance. The only way the craftsmen of earlier periods were able to apply wood panelling was in frames (stiles and rails) or wainscotting, since wood panelling was made of solid wood and had to be broken up into narrow dimensions in order to prevent warping and shrinking. Out of that need developed beautiful details of moldings, carved details, and carefully proportioned panelling. A similar art developed somewhat later in plaster. Obviously, 20th-century building costs and methods rarely permit real quality in elaborate panelling or highly ornate plasterwork, nor would this sort of imitative design be appropriate in a modern building. But wood panelling and plywoods in many beautiful veneers are readily available and provide a vast range of beautiful, if expensive, wall surfacing for important spaces. Prescored, pre-finished inexpensive plywoods, on the other hand, are often used as finishing materials for basement, recreation, or utility rooms in many homes in the United States.
The use of fake moldings, with printed moldings or panelling or with any of the countless imitation wall-surfacing materials from brick wallpaper to artistically poor wall murals, is the kind of decoration that a good designer avoids. Even so, not every interior should be a plain space with nothing but the natural walls. Highly decorative wallpapers have long been available in bold and exciting patterns. Often in 20th-century design a strong paper is employed on one wall only, instead of having the whole space surrounded by a dominant pattern. Many wallpapers, such as grasscloth and shiki silk papers from the Far East, have natural textures. For public spaces and for any space requiring easy maintenance and special cleanliness, a number of wallpapers have been developed that are completely washable and sanitary. Most of these are vinyl-coated fabrics, and some of them are extremely strong and durable and are particularly suited for such spaces as hospital or hotel corridors. Because these vinyl-coated wall fabrics are usually specified by designers and architects, the level of design is far superior to those made for the home.
There are many wall-surfacing materials using fabrics laminated to paper. These coverings provide warmth and texture, as well as acoustic properties. Fabrics in general have been used widely as wall-coverings in the past and continue to be popular.
A designer's imagination and the client's budget are the only limitation on the materials that may be used for wall surfacing. Some, such as ceramic or mosaic tiles, are extremely practical; some, such as cork, have excellent acoustical characteristics. For functional or for aesthetic reasons the designer may elect to use such materials as leather, metals, plastic laminates, or glass. No wall in itself should be designed or selected without relation to the total scheme.
Windows and doors
Windows and doors in contemporary design are not placed as decorative elements or as parts of symmetrical compositions but are primarily considered as functional elements and are expressed as such. If windows are carefully designed and placed for light, for ventilation, for air, and for view, decorative treatment is often unnecessary and a simple device such as a shade or shutter will suffice to control light and privacy. Most buildings, however, need window treatments, since no particular care in the placement of fenestration was taken by the builders.
The most frequently used devices are curtains and draperies. Although semantically there is no clear distinction between the two, drapery implies more elaborate treatments with lining, overdrapes, valances, and tassels. A curtain, on the other hand, is lighter, more direct, less theatrical, and more functional. Frequently, a light material is chosen to provide privacy or light control with minimum emphasis. Curtains, however, offer only partial control over light, glare, and privacy; complete control or privacy often requires shades, blinds, or shutters. Window shades without overly ornate borders and tassels are a perfectly good device for those controls, and Venetian blinds are also a most acceptable treatment.
Since the 1960s designers have tried to simplify window treatments, and, if curtains, shades, or blinds were not deemed appropriate for functional or aesthetic reasons, devices such as chains or beads on windows or very simple sliding panels were found to be more effective than more elaborate treatments.
The essential considerations for windows must be based on the functional needs and on the overall aesthetic intent. If a space is well designed in architectural terms and presents a cohesive image, it rarely makes sense to feature a window or door. Poorly detailed windows in office buildings or apartment houses are often overcome or played down by using a simple curtain material covering a complete window wall. The wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling treatment of a window wall is frequently the only way to screen out unattractive details.
Doors must be carefully planned, relating the swing and location to the functional needs, and their heights, colour, material, or textures to the adjoining wall surfaces or design elements in the space. Most doors used in the 20th century are "flush" doors—that is, they have unbroken surfaces made of wood or metal; even where glass is used the attempt is usually made to have maximum glass area unbroken by frames and moldings. Sometimes the entrance doors to important spaces are designed or decorated as compositional focal points, but usually the emphasis is on excellence in detailing and hardware rather than on decorative surface designs.
Other components
The detailing referred to in connection with the handling of doors is one of the most important factors in interior design. Every architectural component must be detailed well. Poor details make for poor design. The meaning of detailing in a design sense is more than the graphic explanation of certain components on a drawing. It means the way materials are put together, the way one part is fastened to another, the way parts and materials are expressed and articulated. Stairs or ramps are architectural components of great importance, whether in stores, in public buildings, or in homes. Since these structural features represent large vertical forms in space, they often become the dominant design feature in an interior space (see photograph). Stairs in hotel lobbies, for example, are usually in very prominent locations. The actual stair design, however, is surprisingly restrictive and set. The height of riser and its relation to the tread is fixed, and variations for normal vertical circulation are extremely limited. Matters of detail involve such considerations as whether the stair is open or enclosed, whether it is a bold sculptural form or an airy dynamic shape (resulting from the use of open treads without risers), whether the stair honestly expresses its material (be it wood, steel, or marble), or is wrapped in carpeting. The many detailing possibilities present a real challenge to designers and, unlike mass-produced windows, light switches, or plumbing fixtures, give designers a chance to design in a completely personal or creative way.
Components such as heating units, electric outlets and switches, and telephone connections offer no design choice other than the limited selection among mass-produced products and the best placement within the space. The pattern created by the placement of fixtures is as important with walls or any other surfaces as it is for ceilings. A given wall may have doors, windows, electric outlets, switches, air-conditioning registers, and heating units (radiators or convectors). It is the designer's job to deal with all of these components by design, by organization, by placement or elimination, and by detailing. Often, the more bulky components, such as radiators, can be "eliminated" by building the unit into the wall or, in existing, poorly detailed buildings, by creating a "built-in" appearance through the inclusion of some design feature. Radiators or convectors are often housed in neatly detailed enclosures that may run the whole length of a window wall and may at the same time provide an additional surface under the windowsill. Depending on the location, a continuous enclosure may contain some shelving or storage elements, thus making use of the extra space not needed for the actual heating unit (or air-conditioning unit).
In large, nonresidential interiors, the mechanical components are often massive. For instance, the telephone installation needed in an office for several hundred people requires a very large space and a complex installation of conduits and other elements that affect the interior design. The air-conditioning or heating unit for a simple store may be fairly bulky, and again the designer deals with the allocation of space as well as with the mechanical function of the equipment. All of the mechanical equipment for buildings is specified or engineered by specialists, but it is essential that an interior designer have the basic knowledge and understanding to be able to coordinate the various specialties. The many pipes, stacks, and vents that go into a plumbing system, although not exposed and shown as a rule, are of real concern to the designer. Whether architectural components are expressed and detailed, whether they are concealed or built-in, they are incorporated in the design.
Furniture and accessories
To the layman, furniture is the most important aspect of interior design. It is a significant component of design to the professional as well, since it is the most personal and intimate product relating man to a building. It is also personal because it can be moved from one home to the next and handed on from generation to generation, and often furniture takes on important sentimental value. Accessories are even more personal, but they are less significant to the overall effect of the interior, since they are by nature smaller than furniture. Almost anything that people own or collect could be called an "accessory," including functional objects, such as ashtrays, and decorative objects, such as porcelain, glass, or ceramics.
Although some quite sophisticated furniture existed in ancient Egypt, the use of furniture was rare during the Middle Ages and only became significant in the West during the Renaissance. During most subsequent periods there have usually been close interrelations between architectural and furniture styles and modes of interior design. The 20th-century pioneers of design and architecture—such as Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, and Marcel Breuer—were not able to find any suitable contemporary furniture available in the 1920s and 1930s when they built structures without historical references. They designed much of their own furniture, and some of these modern "classics" are still very much in demand. Well-designed modern furniture developed in Scandinavian countries in the 20th century out of the long tradition of craftsmanship and design prevalent in those countries. The real beginning of modern furniture design in the United States came only after World War II, and much of it was first developed for nonresidential uses. Charles Eames, George Nelson, and Florence Knoll are among the distinguished American designers who have pioneered furniture design and manufacturing processes. Their furniture primarily was introduced to the public through use in public or work spaces. A large segment of furniture manufacturers, however, has still not been touched by design of any kind, and furniture under such invented names as "Mediterranean" or "Italian Provincial" (both nonexistent historic styles) is still being foisted upon the public.
Whatever material or manufacturing process may be used, the important criteria that must be applied in furniture are function, comfort, and durability, together with aesthetic considerations. Architects and interior designers often prefer to build in furniture wherever possible, and, indeed, some of the best historic and contemporary interiors contain little movable furniture. An interior without any furniture or accessories would probably appear stark and uninviting, and it is clear that the personal touches possible through selection of appropriate furniture and accessories are very important.
One can use a vast array of decorative objects or plants as accessories. In a way, every accessory used in a home, office, or public space is in some way a part of the total composition, and must therefore be selected with care. No rules exist on what is "proper" other than the basic principles of design that were discussed earlier.
Light is one of the key elements of interior design. Most interior spaces constructed in the 20th century are used as much with artificial light as with daylight; because of this lighting has become a very significant tool for the interior designer. There are three major aspects to lighting: function, aesthetics, and health. The latter factor is often ignored, but insufficient illumination can cause eyestrain and physical discomfort. Illuminating engineers have established recommended standards of illumination for various tasks and have also provided rules and standards relating to brightness of the source of lighting and controls for shielding the eye from direct glare. Light can be diffused and can, in general, be controlled very accurately.
Two basic types of lighting are used in modern interiors: incandescent and fluorescent. The former is somewhat redder than daylight but contains all colours of the spectrum. Since fluorescent light has an uneven spectrum, colours tend to appear distorted. A mixture of the two is often the best way to achieve colour accuracy. Some of today's fluorescent lamps are close to daylight accuracy, and manufacturers continue to improve the quality of available lamps. Both types of light can be used in "direct" or "indirect" lighting in interiors or in a combination of these methods known as semidirect or semi-indirect.
Designers and architects strive to build in lighting as much as possible. Recessed lighting, lighting coves, and architectural lighting in general can be controlled much more efficiently than portable lamps.
A good lighting scheme must provide some variety in highlights, shadows, and accent lights to avoid monotony. An even, overall lighting system, such as a luminous ceiling, can be highly efficient, but it lacks character and interest. Most interiors require a certain flexibility for different functions within the space at different times of day and night. In certain interiors, such as stores and shops, lighting becomes a display and sales tool, and in festive spaces, such as ballrooms or theatres, the quality of light can provide sparkle and mood more effectively than any other component of design. One can think of the potential of lighting in terms of the theatre. Some productions are staged without formal sets, yet the changing mood and setting can be suggested by controlled illumination.
Most intimate interiors depend to some extent on portable or fixed (ceiling and wall-mounted) lamps. The design of lamps, especially table lamps for homes, has somehow brought forth a vast array of bad designs, together with a smaller number of good ones. Many lampshades are similarly banal in design, but a shade as such is an excellent diffusor of light and shield against glare. Some lamps and shades are designed for specific tasks, others for accent lighting.
There are three basic aspects that determine appearance and suitability of fabrics for interior use: fibre content, weave, and pattern. Fibres are either natural or man-made. The important natural fibres are cotton, wool, linen, and silk. Although silk has long been considered the most elegant and desirable of all natural fibres, it does not stand up well under direct sunlight and heat and, in general, requires more care than most other fibres. Wool, like silk, is an animal fibre; depending upon its weave, it can be made into extremely strong and beautiful fabrics and is therefore very much in demand for contemporary interiors. Both cotton and linen are made from vegetable fibres and are both durable and pliable. Unless cotton and linen are interwoven with other fibres, however, they are not generally as strong as wools or man-made fibres and tend to be restricted to light-duty interior purposes.
Man-made (synthetic) fibres in the 20th century abound under a variety of trade names, and new synthetics are continuously being developed. Some of the major families of synthetic fibres are glass fibres, acetate, acrylic and modacrylic, nylon, olefin, polyester, rayon, and saran. The chemical composition and processes used in the manufacture of man-made fibres make possible a variety of specific qualities. Some offer strength and elasticity; some offer resistance to fire, stain, mildew, sun, or abrasion; and some offer resistance to moisture and organic agents, others to crushing and wrinkling.
Many fabrics are woven in a combination of two or more fibres in an attempt to improve the appearance or utility or both. Another factor in selecting or specifying fabrics is the touch of the fabric, or the "hand." Certain fabrics made from man-made fibres seem unpleasant to the touch compared to silk or wool fabrics.
Weaving is an ancient art, and fundamentally there is little difference between the very early handlooms and the power looms found in major textile plants today. The three most common weaves in use are plain weaves, which include basket weaves; floating weaves, which include twill and satin weaves; and pile weaves, which include both cut and uncut weaves. Weaving techniques of lesser importance to interior design include knitting, twisting, forming, and felting.
The pattern of textiles, especially in contemporary terms, is frequently the natural pattern created by the weave of the fabric, although patterns are also created by printing. In traditional textile terms, reference to pattern usually meant a historic style. The history of textiles ranges from early Egyptian and Oriental patterns to the present. Each era has developed fashionable and popular patterns. Contemporary textile designs, for instance, are usually abstract or geometric, but floral and large flowing patterns were also popular in the 20th century.
Colour is one of the most important aspects of fabrics in interior design, inasmuch as the colours of fabrics are frequently the most important areas of colour in interiors. Dye colours can be added to unspun fibres, spun yarns, or woven textiles. Colour fastness is a major concern to interior designers, for faded fabrics can be quite detrimental to an interior.
Natural elements
No man-made object can equal the beauty found in nature, and it is not surprising that the introduction of natural elements into interiors has always been considered desirable. In spite of their beauty, one cannot arbitrarily introduce a plant, a tree, or rocks, or water into an interior. The foremost considerations must be the location of the space, its climate, and its relationship to the outdoors.
Climatic considerations determine the kind of plant, flower, or tree that can prosper in an interior. The most beautiful plant will not survive long under adverse conditions, and a dying tree or plant certainly offers no decorative advantage.
The location and orientation of interior to exterior spaces is another important consideration in the introduction of natural elements. In warmer climates, it is possible to have a gradual transition between interior and exterior, and plants providing this natural transition will look well and will prosper. In colder climates a real barrier of glass or a solid wall separates the indoors from outdoors, and at best the transition can be made visually.
There are a number of simple devices that make it possible to keep delicate plants and flowers alive under controlled conditions. Greenhouses in all sizes, ranging from window size to room size can be the most delightful areas of an interior, but obviously special conditions and maintenance must be provided. The scale of plants or small trees must be considered. One large indoor tree can be a beautiful accent in even a small space. Too many trees or plants in a small space would be overpowering, unless indeed the space is designed primarily as a greenhouse space or plant room.
Natural elements other than plants and flowers that can be used in interiors are water, rocks, stones, or pebbles, and planting areas in natural soil. For large spaces, usually public buildings, pools or contained areas of water can be extremely beautiful and exciting. Some interior features have been created with running water and small recirculated waterfalls. Sometimes a small area of pebbles with a few plants or carefully chosen rocks can add a touch of real beauty to an interior. Even collections of rocks, minerals, seashells, and other natural elements provide the touch of nature that can make an interior come alive.
Design procedure
Professional interior-design assignments may range from the design of a small apartment to extremely large and complex jobs such as the planning and design of all of the floors in an office building or the design of all the spaces in a hotel or resort. The procedures vary somewhat from one job to the next and depend upon the size of the design organization, but the following basic outline covers the usual procedures followed by professional designers.
Preliminary phases
The first step is the interview with the client. This is often a series of conversations and must eventually lead to a mutual agreement. Clients usually have a good idea of their needs and preferences, yet an experienced designer frequently sees some needs not envisioned by the client, and often he must reeducate the client's attitude about preferences. Obviously, the interview must also convince the client that the designer is the right one for his needs. Most established professionals do not commence any design work nor engage in prolonged meetings and conversations without a retainer for their services. Depending upon the scope and complexity of the job, agreements between clients and interior designers range from simple letters written by the designers to lengthy legal documents, covering precisely the services to be rendered, as well as the procedures and responsibilities. The designer makes a survey, including an analysis of the client's present program, and he often prepares a new program. Frequently, for instance, a designer upon surveying existing facilities finds that the redesign of these facilities would be more suitable to the client's needs and more economical than the leasing of a new space or the adding of additional space. More often the situation is reversed: the client does not realize that investing in a major renovation of his space does not permit room for future change or expansion, and upon the design firm's advice new premises are obtained or built. Sometimes there is a question of whether a particular interior of some value or meaning should be restored or reconstructed, and again the experience of the interior designer is needed for those decisions.
When the job involves redesigning existing spaces, at a very early stage the interior designer will require very accurate plans of existing conditions. In many older buildings, there are no up-to-date plans, and the design firm must take exact field measurements in order to obtain plans and elevations for the existing spaces. These plans must also reveal whether walls are bearing (supporting) or whether they can be demolished. The electrical and mechanical system must be carefully evaluated, sometimes by engineers.
For large jobs pre-architectural planning and programming can consume many months or even years. Major corporations contemplating major building projects need precise programs, analyses of existing facilities and equipment, and a number of alternate schemes and proposals. Based upon the functions performed by the various departments of a corporation and the interrelation of these departments to each other, designers actually prepare a schematic building shape (such as a high-rise building or a series of smaller structures), including a basic system for offices or other functions.
The final program outline is eventually presented to the client for approval prior to any actual design work. The budget obviously is a paramount consideration. Together with the program analysis, designers must frequently prepare an approximate budget or attempt to make their proposals based upon a budget set by the client.
Among the additional factors that must be considered are availability of materials and furnishings, maintenance of the interior, and the character or appropriateness of the planned scheme. Business interiors often represent large investments for the clients, and a delay of several weeks in the completion of a job, due to the non-availability of products or furnishings, could represent a sizable loss. In public interiors, such as hotels, stores, or educational institutions, the maintenance factors must be carefully analyzed. On a smaller scale, residential interiors must be considered with similar care. Maintenance factors for the floors of kitchens or children's rooms are important.
Design and presentation
After the completion of a program and the acceptance of the program by the clients, the actual design work can begin. Designers usually work on many alternative schemes. A single space such as a restaurant or a carefully designed store takes many days of preliminary design studies. As the size of the job increases, the interrelation of individual spaces increases the complexity of these studies, and it is quite likely that the designer will need a rough study model in order to visualize the spaces three dimensionally. Drawing and drafting at that stage is the designer's way of visualizing his own ideas and at the same time putting them in such a form that they can be communicated to his associates for discussion and eventually communicated to his clients. All the aesthetic components come into play at that stage of design, including colours, lighting, and textures, although at the early design stages no precise selection of materials or objects is made. Obviously, this creative phase of interior design is based on thorough research and critical analysis and is not simply the result of a sudden flash of inspiration.
Once the designer or the team of designers feels that a scheme has been arrived at within the stated objectives, a preliminary presentation will be prepared. Although a competent designer will try a number of possible schemes for every job, he will, as a rule, decide which of the many ideas he explored in rough form is the most successful and that will be prepared for a preliminary presentation. For important commissions, such a presentation might consist of a number of sheets or presentation boards showing plans, elevations, sketches, and renderings, and, in many cases, models as well. Most clients are not trained to visualize space from plans and elevations, and perspective sketches and renderings are necessary to fully explain a scheme. At the preliminary presentation the specific colours, furnishings, and details are not resolved yet, since the aim at that stage is to obtain the basic approval from the client.
Final drawings and specifications
If a preliminary presentation has been completely accepted, the designers can proceed to the final design stages. If changes have to be made, another meeting (or meetings) with changed presentations may be necessary.
The next stages of the design may consist of a series of drawings done by professional draftsmen or by the interior designer himself, if he works as an individual. Depending on the type of job, final drawings may consist of just a few sheets or a very large number of drawings. Plans, elevations, details, sections, and specifications are the language of architectural and design offices, and they are prepared with carefully drawn dimensions and notes for the many contractors who carry out the actual construction. Certain drawings may be done by subcontractors or related trades; for instance, the air-conditioning system is usually designed by air-conditioning engineers, and the duct work must be designed in connection with the lighting system in order to assure that lighting fixtures do not conflict with ducts. Similarly, mechanical equipment—such as heating or plumbing pipes, telephone cables, and electrical lines—must be coordinated to avoid conflicts and problems. Before outside firms or subcontractors become involved, the designer or design firm usually prepares the design drawings with sufficient information to enable various contractors to submit bids. Almost all major jobs are sent out for bid to several contractors, in order to provide the client or the designer as his agent with a series of competitive estimates.
On complex and costly design commissions a final and elaborate presentation may be prepared after the acceptance of the preliminary presentation. This might include very carefully drawn perspective renderings in colour. Many presentations include scale models and may consist of nothing but carefully crafted models.
Together with the preparation of final drawings, interior designers begin the process of final selection and specification of all furnishings. The process of selecting and ordering fabrics, furniture, lighting, and all other furnishings requires a thorough knowledge of available products. In large cities there are often hundreds of sources, but, in spite of the vast product choice available, it is not always possible to find just the right fabric or just the right piece of furniture. In such cases interior designers may have to design special furniture, floor coverings, lighting fixtures, or fabrics. Most interior designers are familiar with quality products and maintain within their offices samples and catalogs of furnishings that they consider of merit. The products that have been selected by the designer are usually submitted to the client either as part of the original design presentation or in a separate approval step. Methods of placing purchase orders vary. Many design firms and individual designers prefer to limit their activity to selection and specification and arrange to have the client's purchasing office place the orders. In other cases the designer places the purchase orders but then submits the invoices to the client for direct payment. In either case ordering and specifying is an exacting task. Delivery and availability is an important concern that the interior designer is responsible for. If a hotel is scheduled for opening at a specified date, it may be necessary to place orders for furniture and furnishings as early as two years before completion date in order to assure delivery on time.
The actual building of the interior, be it a renovation or a new construction, needs considerable supervision by the designer, although constant on-site supervision is not always required. For an office or residence, a few visits may be sufficient. The thoroughness of working drawings and details influences the degree of supervision that is needed: the more complete the drawings and specifications for a particular job, the less time must be spent on the site during the building stage.
In spite of the fact that the workers are usually highly skilled craftsmen, there are questions that can only be answered on the site, and there are always unforeseen problems that require changes or on-the-spot decisions. Many interior designers have considerable understanding of construction and building technology, can communicate with tradesmen intelligently, and are able to offer valuable advice and suggestions. The situation can also be reversed. Many construction workers are very skilled and knowledgeable and are able to offer suggestions that designers are happy to accept. The supervision must proceed through all stages of a job. Knowledgeable designers spare no effort to see that every phase of the job is done in the best possible way.
As with other furnishings, interior designers select, commission, or purchase artwork, plants, and accessories. In residential interior design, clients usually own many of these things or will certainly be involved in the selection and purchasing, but in interior design for commercial or public spaces this responsibility is in the hands of the designer.
From the foregoing discussion, it will be clear that the design of large interior jobs involves many detailed considerations from the inception to the completion. For this reason most large design firms dealing with hotels, governmental or institutional clients, or large business firms have developed work sheets and checklists for all aspects of the work. Each phase of a job is usually under the supervision of a job captain or chief designer, and each checklist or form is controlled and checked repeatedly in order to assure that everything has been considered and that the job is moving smoothly to completion.
Kinds of interiors
Although the foregoing sections have mentioned different kinds of interiors, in reference to both aesthetic and physical components of design, there has been no specific discussion of different design considerations for varying interiors. The aesthetic criteria suggested in earlier sections are subject to considerable variation, depending on the kind of interior involved.
Residential interiors
Residential interiors are obviously much freer and much more personal for both the interior designer and the occupants than other types of interiors. In fact, homes that have been designed unconsciously by creative occupants without any standard decorative rules are often the most beautiful ones. Certain planning and functional considerations are constant in any residence, and, although these too may be ignored by the occupant who wishes to be strongly individualistic, they can provide at least basic guidelines.
The planning of modern houses or apartments must take into consideration the location of certain needs in relation to others. The dining space should be near the food-preparation area, and the food-preparation area should be accessible to the entrance used to bring in food supplies and remove waste. Access to children's sleeping areas should not be through the adults' living spaces. Access to bathrooms should be close to the bedroom areas and should not be through living or dining spaces.
The furniture arrangement for a living space must take into account the occupant's life-style and preferences. If a space is planned for young people, no seating might be provided other than the floor, but, for the more conservative or older occupants, comfortable seating for conversation and other activities is essential. Open-plan houses (living, dining, eating facilities without separate rooms) work splendidly and beautifully for some people but might not be the ideal answer for a family with many children and a desire for privacy at the same time. The special storage needs that must be considered for many homes vary from bookshelves to storage areas for bicycles, from facilities for recorded music to storage of sporting equipment. Such facilities can often be added by interior designers, if not provided by the architect.
There are several types of residence, and each one may require a different approach, partially based on economic considerations. The private house owned by the occupant warrants not only built-in designs and other permanent design features (lighting, flooring, etc.) but, in general, lends itself naturally to anything within the imagination of the designer and the budget of the owner. Cooperative apartments are prevalent in larger cities, and those that are bought outright by the owners can be designed and changed as long as the structure of the building is not tampered with. A different approach is usually called for in rented apartments or houses. Major changes and special furniture and other built-in features would be considered a poor investment by the client and would, as a rule, be frowned upon by the landlords.
In the past, professional help for residences has been basically reserved for wealthy clients. The residences involved were often status symbols, and the furnishings were to a large extent traditional furnishings and antiques. The best of such ornately designed homes are authentic, museum-like interiors, which indeed only the very affluent can afford. (Most status-conscious interiors, however, consist of reproductions and imitations and have little to do with good design.)
Today, instead of being limited to the service of the wealthy, the designer has a widening and important opportunity in a totally different aspect of residential interiors: mass housing and low-income housing. Although only in recent years have some designers involved themselves in this area, with an increasing concern on the part of both government and private enterprise for the effect of environment, the field should offer a growing opportunity for challenging creative work. Such designers, as well as helping to create more liveable spaces for those with limited housing budgets, can also be of great help in assisting occupants to choose simple, sturdy, attractive, and functional furnishings. A major problem for many people, on a variety of income levels, is the high cost of furnishings; mistakes in judgment are too costly to be discarded and thus must be endured. The help of professionals can minimize this problem and also protect low-income families from being induced to buy installment-plan furnishings of poor quality and design.
Public interiors
Space planning
Although many designers are engaged in residential interior design, there has been a marked shift away from that field since 1950, and more designers than ever work in the design of public, institutional, and commercial spaces. Space planning for business firms, governmental agencies, and institutions is a significant aspect of office design and is concerned primarily with planning, allocation of spaces, and interrelations between offices, departments, and individuals. The aesthetic or design phase varies with the degree of importance attached to offices by the clients. In a large firm, the clerical, accounting, or filing areas tend to be well designed in terms of lighting, efficiency, space, and function but have few frills or design features. The executive offices, reception areas, and conference rooms, on the other hand, are frequently elaborately and luxuriously designed, since they serve as images for the corporations as well as status symbols for their occupants. Decisions relating to size of offices and their furnishings are basically arrived at through functional considerations. An executive frequently must seat groups of people in his office. A department manager or clerk will rarely need more than one or two extra chairs.
Pre-architectural planning has taken on such importance that many design firms provide this service. Through careful study and analysis, standards of typical offices, relationships of offices and departments to each other, the need for flexibility and storage, and many other aspects of work within a given business can be arrived at, and such a study then becomes the program for the actual design of a new building or premises. When truly large firms or governmental agencies are involved, space studies preceding the actual design may take several months or even years.
A rather recent innovation in office design is known as office landscape (from the German word Bürolandschaft). Above, in Modes of composition, it was noted that the appearance of a "landscaped" space might seem chaotic. Actually, however, the system was developed in the 1960s by a German team of planning and management consultants who made intelligent use of computer technology to arrive at predictable relationships between persons and departments in a given organizational structure. Office landscape also takes into consideration the high cost of building and the continuous need for change in large corporations. The solution offered by these planners was not to build the traditional permanent walls and private offices but to arrange a large open space in a purely functional plan. Divisions between people and departments are created by free-standing screens, and plants are often used to divide and enhance space. Office landscape has been used in several major installations in the United States, following considerable popularity in Europe, but there are skeptics who question the basic claims of office-landscape supporters that less space is required and that the resulting democratization creates a better spirit and working relationship among staff members.
It is interesting to note that even in conventional office planning there is controversy about whether or not the occupant of an office should be involved in its design. Designers tend to insist on making all decisions, and management usually supports that point of view, yet psychologists, among others, counsel that a greater involvement of the individual with his own personal environment would be desirable.
Governmental interiors
A notable characteristic of interior design for public buildings—such as court rooms, assembly halls (on all levels of government including the United Nations), city halls, and cultural buildings—is that the consumer is excluded from participation in decision making. Another is that in all cases the interiors try to present a very definite image or symbol. Governmental buildings, especially in the past, were designed to present a solemn, awe-inspiring, majestic, and even slightly ominous look, both in their architectural composition and their interior treatment of spaces. For centuries, marble, stone, lofty ceilings, and imposing architectural elements have been traditional.
Institutional interiors
Schools, hospitals, and universities are examples of institutions now extensively using the services of interior designers and architects. Many universities have staff designers dealing with the institution's many design needs, from office spaces to dormitories. Certain institutional needs, such as operating rooms in hospitals, are strictly functional, yet the patients' rooms and many other hospital facilities are very much within the scope of interior design. Until recently, however, such involvement was not prevalent, and it has been common to refer to a sterile, dull-looking space as "looking like a hospital." A greater recognition of the influence of the environment upon human behaviour has brought about increased emphasis on interior design for all kinds of institutional interiors. Indeed, even though up to now little work has been done by designers in penal institutions, it is a safe prediction that in a short time there will be considerable concern for the environmental qualities of these institutions, as well.
Commercial interiors
Contemporary designers are much involved with commercial spaces—such as stores, hotels, motels, and restaurants. Many designers and design firms specialize in highly specific spaces such as restaurants, and others may become specialists in the design of showrooms for the garment industry. Frequently, the design of a restaurant, shop, or hotel must be keyed to a theme. It might be a nautical theme for a yacht club or a theme based on the artifacts of the particular region in which a hotel is located. Obviously, all commercial spaces must be designed in a highly functional way. A store with a beautifully designed interior will fail if it does not work for circulation of customers, for display, for storage, and above all for sales. Some of these functional needs create difficult design problems. A hotel or motel room, for instance, must be designed for use by individuals, couples, and family groups. Maintenance is also an important factor in the design of commercial spaces.
Religious interiors
Religious architecture is heavily influenced by symbolic concepts as well as by the ritual and traditions of a particular faith. Designers of religious interiors must, therefore, base their approach on a set of rules preceding all other design considerations. The simple and modest Quaker prayerhouses, for instance, express the tenets of that faith as clearly as some of the richly appointed Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
Industrial interiors
Industrial interiors do not usually involve interior designers. There are, of course, many industrial spaces, such as workshops, laboratories, and factories, that have been planned by architects and designers, and there are a few that have stressed some aesthetic considerations. By and large, however, industrial interiors are created as strictly functional spaces. For this very reason, some of these spaces are quite beautiful. This may sound paradoxical, but, like the modern bridge or airplane, they can be extremely handsome without the conscious attempt to create beauty.
Special interiors
Although an attempt was made to classify the kinds of interiors that are the prevalent concern of interior design, there are many kinds of special interiors that at times fall within the larger field of environmental design and that do not fit into a particular category or even a professional subspecialty. Transportation design may be part engineering, part industrial design, part architecture, and part interior design. Interiors of ships are certainly interior design, but the interiors of automobiles, aircraft, and trains are often a combination of many specialties. The advent of large commercial aircraft has taken the aircraft interior out of the area of the strictly functional, and, indeed, the introduction of these large planes has seen an intense competition among the airlines to create spaces that go beyond the concept of mere seating. Also included in transportation design are the terminal buildings associated with air, road, and water transportation systems.
A less spectacular example is the field of exhibition design, another area of design having interfaces with other fields, including, in this case, graphics and advertising. Related to this field are museum design and exhibition and the preservation and restoration of historic buildings.
It is clear that any man-made interior or exterior space is influenced by design or its absence. More important than a listing of the various kinds of special interiors is the underlying fact that designers are becoming involved in all aspects of the environment.Arnold A. Friedmann


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RM38RM48Save RM10
Tue, 11 Dec 2018
2:00pm - 3:30pm
Wangsa Maju
19-1, Jalan Metro Wangsa, sect 2, wangsa maju, 53300, KL
+603 4142 0698
Bouldering is a form of rock climbing that is performed without the use of ropes or harnesses. While it can be done without any equipment whatsoever, most climbers use climbing shoes to help secure footholds, chalk to keep their hands dry, and bouldering mats to prevent injuries from falls.
This class is inclusive of chalk bag and shoes. First timers must attend this class before attempting the Day Pass. Please arrive 10 minutes before the class begins.
10 Dec 2018, 11:59 PM +0800
This is a rare find! Nobody has booked this before, so do share some thoughts after your session and be the first!

subset: commoncrawl


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Rule throughout time and create your own legacy as you guide your civilization from the dawn of man through the space age and beyond. Implement new technologies, conduct diplomacy or wage war to grow your society and become the most powerful leader the world has ever known. History, as you know it, is history!
This game has consumed many a late night hour for me and my wife.


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This event has been cancelled. If you have any questions, please contact the event planner directly.
This five-day solution-focused class offers an introduction to Riverbed® SteelCentral™ NetProfiler,SteelCentral Flow Gateway, SteelCentral NetShark, and SteelCentral Packet Analyzer for networkperformance management. It covers hands-on installation, configuration, and reporting using theseSteelCentral products, as well as an introduction to packet analysis using Wireshark.**This course will be delivered in Russian**
December 10, 2018 - December 14, 2018 9:00 AM - 5:00 PMRussian Time
Riverbed Technology LimitedCroc5 Block 1Volochaevskaya StMoscow 111033+44 1344 401050
Isabel Baker
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Moya Brennan
Moya Brennan's Forum
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Susann wrote:What a pity!
I saw it in 2005 and 2008 in the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. I love it !!!
I can't really understand why they stop now.
In Bochum "Starlight Express" plays in an especially adapted theatre since June 1988. And it runs and runs and runs.
Grania wrote:I think I'd be right in saying that this is only their last tour IN THE UK!!!! At least, that's how it's been advertised on their site. It's a while since I signed into their forum, but it's still a very active place and I don't think the show is over yet
Any of you fancy checking it's www.riverdance.com
"But it's the best way to end – if you are going to finish it's good to finish on a high. You don't want to flog a dead horse. I think the show could tour for years and years and never lose its appeal. Audiences love coming back again and again to see it."
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Remember how cynics called the iPad an oversized iPod Touch? We all know now what a ridiculous assertion that was. But the comparison is more apt for the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the second consumer tablet PC to become available from all four national carriers. The Tab is essentially a large, Galaxy-class cellphone without the cellphone. This is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you don't already own a smartphone with a 3.5-inch screen or larger. Even though the Tab is a lovely package of overgrown smartphone technologies, its biggest advantage as a tablet is its immediate access – it fits neatly into the inside pocket of a suit or other jacket or overcoat. That may sound simplistic, but the Tab's pocket friendliness could end up being its biggest draw.
Features and Design
As you no doubt know by now, the Samsung Galaxy Tab has a 7-inch, 1024 x 600 pixel screen. It runs Android 2.2 Froyo OS, and shares the same Cortex A8 1 GHz Hummingbird processor powering Samsung's Galaxy smartphones. It's got 2GB internal memory, and the Sprint version (the one we reviewed) comes with a 16GB microSD card pre-installed. It's equipped with 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, the Sprint mobile hotspot that can support up to five Wi-Fi users, and, disappointingly, a proprietary iPhone-like jack rather than a microUSB connector.
Up front is a 1.3 MP camera for QIK video chatting, a 3-megapixel sensor with a single LED flash on the white plastic on the rear. Notably, all Android tablets will also support Adobe Flash. Currently, only combined 3G/Wi-Fi versions are available, although Samsung has indicated a Wi-Fi-only Tab will be available at some point.
At 13.6 ounces, the Tab is heftier than you'd expect, but still about half the weight of the iPad. We spent an afternoon with the Tab perched in the inside breast pocket of a suit jacket, and a week with it settled in the inside pocket of a leather jacket, and in neither case did we feel overburdened. Only two-thirds of the Tab's length fit inside the suit jacket pocket, though, and the exposed top third rode a bit high – not uncomfortably, but if we leaned over, it may have slipped out.
The Tab also will fit in the thigh pockets of a pair of cargo pants, as well as the rear pocket of any pair of slacks or jeans. We would only trust it in deep cargo pockets, though, and even then, the Tab will slap your thighs (not in a good way), while walking. As for rear pockets, do you really want to take the chance of accidentally sitting on your Tab?
The Tab is a slippery devil; you have to be careful removing and replacing it in a pocket. It cries out for a case, but any added protection short of a Wrapsol or other clear plastic wrap and Tab would no longer fit in the aforementioned pockets, which could be a problem.


text: Use mouse scroll wheel over image or pinch-to-zoom on touch devices. You can also click and drag around on image. Park it 1 1 Follow Suzuki LTZ400 Parked to ATV'n by Suzuki Vehicle Info: 2009 Suzuki Keywords Sign up to add your own keywords More from this Garage: More from this Profile: Garage For the street Garage MotoGP 2015 Garage Road Racing


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Tazmodz is a series of addons,mini-mods,and many other things that I have put together. There will be new maps, weapons specs, and many more. I do not have the programs or knowledge to get into 3DS Modeling, so for now new vehicles, animations, people, buildings,etc will be future projects for Tazmodz when I can afford those programs and learn the necessary knowledge. Please enjoy my downloads and feel free to post your reviews and anything. Thanks!
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