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1. JenniferLoustau
A TheoreticalBase for Interior
Design:A review of four
approachesfkomrelatedfields
Abstract zyxwvu
Drexel University
Philadelphia,Pennsylvania zyxwv
There is presently no zyxwvut
h
d
v cf literu-
ture compr&ing the theow zyxwvu
oj‘interior
design. Thereure. however. munv theo-
rctic.crl upprouches.from reluted ,fields
that huve upplicution to the field of
interior de.sign.In response to the need
stutcd by othersj3r u bo& of interior
design theqv, this puper reviewsj i w
ihcoreticul upprcxrches und A ‘
wes er-
umples of existing literuture within
ewh upprcxlch zyxwvuts
.Thispuper jbcuses on
theow us un orgunizutionul tool und is
limited to theories thut ure relevunt to
“coitcept” und ‘:f.rm”. Exumples of
emh 1heot-y point towurd u potentiul
urcu zyxwvut
of explorution in the development
ofinterior dcsigii t h m y with the inten-
tionthutsuc-hu bin& of literuture would
hold meuning .fbr both students und
pructitionersof interior design.
Introduction
In the field of interior design, no
theory has been developeduniquely for
interior design. It is only a matter of
time before theory generated directly
from interiordesignexperienceswill be
developed. But. in the meantime. an
overwhelming body of theory from
related fieldsisavailableforapplication
to interiordesign. Existingtheoriescan
be adapted from other disciplines. par-
ticularly architecture and the fine arts,
and. to a lesser degree, environmental
psychology, other areas of psychology,
and philosophy. This paper reviews
four such theoriesdeveloped in related
fields: gestalt. semiotic, phenomeno-
logical.and
Theory -“the body of generaliza-
tions and principlesdeveloped in zyxwv
asso-
@Copyright. 1988. Interior Design Educators
Ccwncil.Journul .
fInterior Dwign Educccrionzyxwvutsrqpon
trnd Riwwrcli 14(2):3-8.
ciation with practice” (Wbster’s Dic-
riotitin! 198I) -should be studied and
evaluated s
o that those theories most
pertinent to the given situationmay be
used a
sguidelinesand organizingprin-
ciples. In reference to design. Eidson
( 1986) states that “design theory pro-
vides the languageand the connections
necessary to link knowledge and ideas
about designconceptswith the practice
ofdesigning.” (p. 19)
In drawing attention to the function
of theory as a tool of criticism in
evaluating studio and oflice projects,
Eidson sees criticism as the arbiter
between theory and practice.She notes
that value of a structure for thinking
critically about design is important in
liftingthe design act above accident or
intuition to a conscious act of doing
design. (Eidson. 1986, p. 19) In this
discussion. she breaks the design PIX&
cess into four parts: Concept. Form,
Task. and Technology.
While Eidson’sfour-part structureis
helpful for identifyingthe relationships
of design concerns, it is vague on just
exactly where theory fits into the struc-
ture. To clarify this. a diagram can be
constructedshowing Eidson’s four-part
structure within the theory-practicere-
lationship. (Figure I)The broken line
represents the criticism that mediates
between theory and practice. Concept
and Form fall on the Theory sideof the
diagram. and Task and Technology on
the Practice side. When accepting the
term “theory” a
s limited to the Con-
cepVForm side of the Eidson mcdel. it
can be seen that Conceptand Form are
closelylinked, forthe second manifests
the first. I
This paper will limit discussion to
theory that addressesconceptand form
in Eidson’s structureand addressesthe-
3

2. THEORYzyxwvuts
n
Concept
Technology
PRACTICE
Figure 1
Diagramdevelopedfrom Eidson’sfour-
part structure within theory-practice
relationship. zyxwvuts
oretical approaches as organizational
tools. Specifically. four conceptual ap-
proaches are outlined with suggestions
of their relevance to the teaching of
formalprinciplesto interiordesign. The
four approaches outlined here zyxwv
are the
following: zyxwvut
- Gestalt
- Semiotic
- Phenomenological
- Rational
While these four approaches are not
all-inclusive. they do identify four
schoolsof thought. At times they over-
lap; often they draw inspiration or
methodology from one another. They
correspond loosely with Broadbent’s
( 1980)four “modes of designing” for
architecture:the Pragmatic,the Iconic,
the Analogical. and the Canonic. He
claims that these four modes are the
basisforthe majorformsof architecture
developed throughout history. Broad-
bent’sterms are generic and are applied
with a historical perspective; this paper
employs the more current terminology
with the intentionof charting some path
through the maze of contemporary
thought.
Gestalt
The Gestalt approach to design be-
gins with the assertion that the whole is
greaterthan the sum of its parts. Analy-
sis of the parts of a whole cannot
provide an understandingof the whole;
rather. it is theconfigurationof the parts
within the whole that reveals meaning.
“Gestalt” means “put together” and
was an importantconcept in the field of
psychology in the early twentieth cen-
tury until it became absorbed into the
mainstream of psychology in the
1950’s.(Gombrich, 1979. Bullock and
Woodings. 1983.)It is also basic in the
field of design, according to Lang
( 1974). as the conceptual structurefor
many of the Basic Design curricula in
American schools since the dissemina-
tion of Bauhaus principles following
World War 11. In Lang’s discussion of
the strengths and weaknessesof Basic
Design founded on Gestalt, he states,
“Central to Gestalt theory in the 1930’s
and its congruence, if not impact, on
architectural concepts of formal aes-
thetics was its focus on perception
theory.” (p. 49)
In terms of the visual arts, Gestalt
provided “elements” of form and
“laws” for putting the elements t
e
gether. or a system of visual organiza-
tion. Gombrich (1979)has applied this
theory to a study of the decorative arts.
stating, ‘There is an observable bias in
our perception for simple configura-
tions. straight lines. circles and other
simple orders and we will tend to see
such regularities rather than random
shapes in ourencounterwith thechaotic
world outside.” By analyzingthe frame
of a pictureratherthan the picture itself,
he looks at the designed.world for its
inherentperceptual order-as-meaning.
Gestalt theory is currentlyemployed
as a concept of abstractorganization as
well as a concept of visual perception.
Identifying patterns of behavior and
studying these patterns can give an
understandingof how space is used -
with or without an object pattern. For
example. if we all have carpet in our
bedrooms, it does not necessarily mean
that we all like the look of carpet, but
rather that we all want to keep ourbare
feet warm.
This is the theoretical approachof the
architectAlexander( 1977).He looksat
object patterns as indicators of con-
scious and subconscious behavioral
patterns through time. Alexander has
codified patterns of behavior, breaking
them down into 253 distinct patterns
that range in scope from “TheDistribu-
tion of Towns” (pattern #2) to “Things
From Your Life” (pattern #253). By
codifying these patterns, he is inviting
the designerto pick patternsappropriate
to a given situation, superimpose the
patterns, and allow the design parame-
ters to emerge. Based as they are on
behavior tested over time, he contends
that the end result will be “the most
beautiful place that you have ever seen
ordreamtof.” kactically speaking,the
4

3. “pattern language” does contain a
method for identifyingfunctionalneeds
and preferenceson aconsciousand sub-
consciouslevel. zyxwvutsrq
Semiology
Semiologyis the study of signs.The
foundations of the theory rest in the
field of linguistic analysis, originating
with the theoriesof Saussurein the mid-
nineteenth century. Semiology runs
parallel with the criticalschoolof Struc-
turalism which was very prolific in
France in the mid-twentiethcenturyand
which has spread its scientific method-
ology, through criticism,to all the arts.
(Blonsky. 1985. Scholes. 1974.)Basi-
cally. semiologyconsists of analysis of
symbols(such zyxwvuts
as a chair)in the context
of their use (it sits in a room) wherein
the meaning of the symbol depends
upon three simultaneousconceptualiza-
tions: the signifier (a Hitchcock chair),
the signified(a particulartype of imple-
ment forsittingon),and the intention of
the emitter (the designer of the chair,
Mr. Hitchcock)as to whetheror not the
emitter is evidentor not (Isthe fact that
this chair was designed by Mr. Hitch-
cock important or not?). The meaning
of any given symbol changesaccording
to changes in or omissions of any of
these determinants. Inherent to this
study is the hypothesis that cultures
determine such contextual codes of
meaning zyxwvutsrqp
. zyxwvuts
An example of a semiological ap-
proach to an interiorspace is a study by
anthropologist Bourdieu of “The Ber-
ber House” (197I). His footnote gives
a concise rationale for this type of
analysis:
All the descriptionsof the Ber-
ber house, even the most exact
and methodical ones..., or
those that are most rich in detail
concerning the interior organi-
zation of space...contain, in
their extreme meticulousness,
regular omissions, particularly
when it is a questionof precise-
ly situating things and activi-
ties. The reason for this is that
these descriptions never con-
siderobjectsand actionsas part
of a symbolicsystem.The pos-
tulate that each of the observed
phenomena derives its necessi-
ty and its meaning from its
relation with all the others was
the only way of proceedingto a
systematic observation and ex-
amination capable of bringing
out facts which escape any un-
systematic observation and
which the observers are incap-
able of yielding since they
appear self-evident to them.
(p. 98)
This semiologicalapproach has pro-
duced insightful analysesin art (Berger,
1972). in literature and film (Scholes.
1982).and in architecture (Broadbent.
1980).Kron (1983)discussesthe sym-
bol system of residentialinteriors:
The furnishingsof a home, the
style of a house, and its land-
scape are all part of a system
- a system of symbols. And
every item in the system has
meaning. Some objects have
personal meanings, some have
social meanings which change
over time. People understand
this instinctively and they de-
sire things. not from some
mindless greed, but because
things are necessary to com-
municate with. They are the
vocabulary of a sign lan-
guage...And what is truly re-
markable is that we are able to
comprehend and manipulate
all the elements in this rich
symbol system as well as we
do. (p. 19,20)
Kron’s book iswritten forthe layman
a
s homeownerkonsumer. As such, it
heightens awareness of the secondary
-and often contradictory-meanings
of everyday symbols to which Bour-
dieu refers, those that “appear self-
evident”and arethus never considered.
More extensive semiotic analysis of
interiorshas yet to bedone. In a field in
which the practitionersare in thc busi-
ness of determining who gets what,
sensitivity to cultural symbols is a
necessity.
Phenomenology
Phenomenology is the direct investi-
gation and description of phenomena
as consciously experienced without
preconceptions and assumptions. It
evolved a
s a philosophical movement
around the turn of the century in
Europe. Phenomenology shares with
semiologya respect for the distinctions
in shades of meaning of symbolicsys-
tems, such as language. but holds that
such systemsare not sufficientin them-
selves to reveal the complexity of the
phenomena.Intuition isalsoa sourceof
data for the experience of phenomena;
it is not restricted to sense experience.
For example. data concerningrelation-
ships and values, which are derived
intuitively. are acceptable and. in fact.
can be a rich source of information.
(Bullockand Wooding, 1983.Douglas.
1977.)
Rasmussen ( 1959)gives an example
that serves as an analogy
phenomenology:
The enormous church of S.
Maria Maggiore stands on one
of Rome’s seven famous hills
...The many tourists who are
brought to the church on sight-
seeing tours hardly notice the
unique character of the sur-
roundings. They simply check
off one of the starred numbers
in their guidebooks and hasten
on to the next one. But they do
not experience the place in the
way some boys I saw there a
fewyearsagodid....Theyhad a
recess at eleven o’clock and
employed the time playing a
very special kind of ball game
on the broad terraceat the topof
the stairs. It was apparently a
kind of football but they also
utilized the wall in the game, a
s
in squash - a curved wall.
which they played against with
great virtuosity. When the ball
was out, it was most decidedly
out. bounding down all the
steps and rolling several hun-
dred feet further on with an
eagerboy rushing after it....
I do not claim that these
Italian youngsterslearned more
about architecturethan the tour-
ists did. But quite unconscious-
ly they experiencedcertain ba-
sicelementsof architecture:the
horizontal planes and the verti-
cal wallsabovethe slopes...As
I sat in the shade watching
them. I sensed the whole three-
dimensional composition as
neverbefore.(p. 16. 17)
for zy
5

4. An example of phenomenological
analysis of interiors is Lears’ zyxwv
( 1987)
examination of domestic interiors dur-
ing the period 1850-1950. Referringto
both literature and psychology for
analogies, Lears finds in domestic in-
teriors content that reflects the social
concernsof the day. “Modernistcultur-
al forms...expressed the proliferating
tensions in the bourgeois imagination:
between male and female, nature and
artifice. memory and desire,an increas-
ingly evanescent interiorself and a too.
too solidexternal world.” (p. 4) Lean’
thesis is that the awareness of con-
sciousness fostered a self-conscious-
ness in design, and interiorsbecame an
expressionof the “fearsand yearnings”
of our modem society.
The philosopher Bachelard (1958)
discusses phenomenology in terms of
the analogy of the house with the self.
Bachelard moves from the image of
house as analogyto the actual house as
space. and then relates them both to
poetry. Based on the psychoanalytic
imagery of Jung. Bachelard puts forth
the argument that the archetypal house
is the site of our creativity, and that
actual houses, or any inhabitable
spaces, appeal to us for their primal
associationswith basic values.
If I were asked to name the
chief benefit of the house, I
should say: the house shelters
daydreaming. the house pro-
tects the dreamer, the house
allows one to dream in peace.
Thoughtand experience zyxwv
are not
the only things that sanction
human values. The values that
belong to daydreaming mark
humanity in its depths. (p. 6)
Two other applicationsof Jung’s ar-
chetypes to the design process suggest
possibilities for the study of interior
design. Cooper, an environmental be-
haviorist, has discussedthe use of Jun-
gian archetypesin “The House as Sym-
bolof the Self.” (1974)Koh (1984),an
environmental designer. makes a case
for drawing on the subconscious and
the unconscious layers of the brain in
the designprocess. Stressingthe limita-
tions of restricting design to Western
cultural symbols, he suggests that for
design to be appropriate in today’s
world community, it must be more
imaginative.He writes:
This approach may prove to be
far more fruitful than can the
semiotic approachand someof
the so-called “Post-Modern”
designs that employ “historic
allusion,” and cultural motifs
fk-om Judeo-Christian culture
and theClassicAge...It would,
creativelyemployed,have a far
more universal and enduring
effect.”(p. 38)
Macrae-Gibson ( 1985) employs a
phenomenological point of view in his
study of contemporaryarchitecture.As
a practicing Post-Modern architect, he
analyzes his peers Gehry, Eisenman.
Pelli. Graves. Stem, Greenberg, and
Vnturi. Contrasting Modernism with
what he calls “Lyric Modernism” (or
“the period we have reached”),he sets
up a model of three components:mem-
ory, expression,and morality. It is out-
side the scope of this paper zy
to go into
the definitionsof his terms, but the use
of these terms for an architecturalanal-
ysis is indicativeof his approach. It is
also telling that each of the analyses
begins with a detaileddiscussionof the
urban context,the immediate neighbor-
hood. the site, even the cartographic
symbolismof the roads around the site:
In formal terms this structure
telescopesinward from the city
and landscape to the building
and its details; but in terms of
meaning it expands outward
from the urban and architectur-
al facts to the specific imagery
of the building and then to the
mythical expresssion which is
the content of its secret life.
(p. xvii) zyxw
Rationalism
The fourth approach to design theory
to be discussed here is the Rationalist
approach.As a philosophy, rationalism
originated with Descartes and the hy-
pothetico-deductive model. Rational-
ism in architecturalterms has itsroots in
classicism and is based on the symme-
try and proportion of geometry. As
Vitruvius described it in the first cen-
tury, “Theory...is the ability to demon-
strate and explain the productions of
dexterity on the principles of propor-
tion.” In its contemporaryarchitectural
6

5. usage. rationalism zyxwvu
-or "neo-rational-
ism" to distinguish it from the Intema-
tional Stylefrom which it grew-sees
itself as grounded in historicprecedent:
ancientGreek and Roman. Gothic, Re-
naissance, and the neoclassic of the
Enlightenment.Historicismin this light
refers to the awarenessof history in an
intellectual sense. not the use of historic
styles for omamentation. Presently it
can best be seen in the work of certain
European architects: Rossi. Botta. the
Krier brothers, and Stirling. (Wemane. zyxw
1984. Kostof. 1985.)
A rationalist approach to theory is
one that is also grounded in history. As
Macrae-Gibson writes:
It is the view that the principal
aim of the social sciences
should be historical prediction.
along the lines developed so
successfully by the physical
sciences,achievedby discover-
ing the trends that underlie the
evolution of history. by laying
bare the "spirit of the times"
...As a result, architecturalhis-
tory was Seen as consisting of
discrete ages, each charac-
terized by a different spirit that
invalidated all previous tradi-
tions and cultural patterns. Ar-
chitectswere thuscommittedto
the revelation of the essential
spirituniqueto their time. mor-
ally superior to all others, and
tending toward ever more ad-
vanced development. (p. xii)
One such rationalist approach to in-
terior design history has been made by
Tate ( 1986).He tracesthe development
of perception through history beginning
with the single referencepoint. such zyxw
as
the temple that marked the sacred spot.
As the understandingof perception be-
came more sophisticatedand the princi-
ples of perspective were developed in
the Renaissance. a new sense of space
developed along with it. By the Ba-
roque period architects such as Bemini
and Bommini were designing with a
volumetric sense of space; the third
dimension had been understood and
incorporated intodesign.
Although Tate ends his history with
three dimensions,other writersindicate
that the 20th century absorbedthe con-
cept of the fourth dimension in such
temporal zyxwvu
arts as kinetic art and film.
Time as a building dimension is still
understood only as a limitation (suchas
obsolescence). It might well be that
designingwith CAD. with the capabili-
ty of "walking through" the space
while still in the conceptualstages, may
actually change the designer's percep-
tion of space again. It cannot come too
soon; scientists are already discussing
the possibilityof as many as ten dimen-
sions.' a concept that is beyond the
descriptivepowers of thiswriter. zy
Conclusion
Like dimensions. theories may be
endless. There is no lack of theoretical
material applicable to interior design.
One theoreticalapproach may be more
appropriate in a given situation than
another. Several theories may mesh.
The theoretical approaches employed
by related fieldscan offer a framework
as a starting point for interior design to
generateitsown body of theory.
Theory must be made manifest; it is
an important working tool for both the
academicand the professional commu-
nity. Without theory, the fieldof interior
design is vulnerable to criticism for
lacking organizing principles. With
theory, the enormousstoreof data inhe-
rent in the interior design field will be
revealed; it is this data that will in turn
be the source of a wealth of new
theoreticalinsight.
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