Toward a psychological design process for interior architecture

Abstract EN

The aim of interior architecture is to achieve functional improvement, aesthetic enrichment, and psychological enhancement.

The design process starts on a rational level that deals with function, while considerations of the emotional response come later.

The compromise between function and aesthetic is a conflicting issue.

In order to give priority to aesthetics to achieve creative forms and symbols, this study sets out to build a psychological design process for interior architecture.

This process explores the paths and stages in the design process and describes contributed design decisions.

To tackle the research problem, 50 architectural students contributed to the design process in five phases.

A qualitative approach and descriptive method was adopted, and a hypothetical model of the four stages of the design process was built.

These processes were: analysis, synthesis, modification and feedback.

The analysis process depended upon fragmentation into three layers.

The first layer was characterized by rationality and dealt with functional criteria and a bottom-up method.

The second and third layers were characterized by psychology and dealt with aesthetic criteria and a top-down method.

The synthesis stage used the superimposition of layers.

The design process relied on two simultaneous aims: (1) the psychological aim as the key generative concept, and (2) the formal metaphor of artistic or natural references as the big idea.

The conclusion indicates that the current design process represents an appropriate selection of design tools that shift attention toward subjective values.