Exterior interiors: the urban living room and beyond

Abstract

Despite the best efforts of high modernist architects and urban designers to privilege openness and continuous space, to do away with enclosure altogether, the contemporary global city is as much an interior condition as an exterior one. Early manifestations of the 'urban interior' appeared in late-nineteenth-century America, when skyscraper architects designed elaborate lobbies mimicking and competing with the streets outside. In the post-war era the invention of new architectural technologies allowed these public-scaled interiors to extend beyond the boundaries of the city block. Air-conditioning, fluorescent lighting, the escalator and long-span structural systems made possible the vast interior spaces characteristic of our contemporary urban landscape: the shopping mall, the office complex and the airport terminal (Koolhaas, 1995(Koolhaas, , 2000. Intrigued by the possibility of these mega-scale interiors, late-modern architects and designers began to adopt strategies typically associated with urban design in their conceptualization of these spaces (Stickells, 2006; Rice, 2016). 1 At the same time, just as commercial interiors began to acquire the scale and form of the public street, huge swathes of exterior space came under the control of corporate entities or public-private groups such as Business Improvement Districts: organizations that employ almost domestic-scale housekeeping strategies, such as the installation of seating and lighting, in an attempt to render city streets safe and comfortable for middle-class consumers (Mallett, 1994).Consequently it may be argued that conventional concepts of interiority and exteriority, public and private, are of little use in describing the formal, spatial and social character of the late-modern megalopolis. In this proposition, to suggest a strict division between urban and interior design has become as problematic as drawing a clear line between built form and landscape, between the city and nature. How might we approach the analysis and design of such a confusing territory when conventional design concepts, practices and tools are no longer sufficient? In considering this question, the recent formulation of 'urban interiors' shows much promise. Discussing her self-identification as an 'urban interiorist', the designer

Kentsel İç Mekân: Kamusallığın Evselleştirilmesinin / “ İç” Selleştirilmesinin Söylemsel İnşası

“…Bu kısa özetten hareketle söylenebilir ki, "urban interior" kavramı literatürdeki kavramsal içeriğini ancak 1980 sonrası tartışmalarda kuramsal bir zeminde üretmeye başlamıştır. Kavramın direkt kendisini, içeriğini ve yöntemini hedef alan çalışmalar 19. yüzyıl sonlarında Amerika'da gökdelenlerin sokakları taklit eden, sokak gibi davranan kamusal nitelikli iç mekânları -lobileriüzerinden üretilen tartışmalarla görünür olmaya başlamıştır (Merwood-Salisbury & Coxhead, 2018). Mega ölçek iç mekânlar kamusal mekânın ölçeğini ve biçimini alımlayarak yarı kamusal bir niteliğe ulaşmış ve kentsel mekânın bir uzantısı gibi davranmaya başlamıştır.…”

The Importance of Shade and Shading Provider in the Creation of Urban Interior in the Tropics

“…In this way, the surrounding buildings acted as enclosure to the open spaces that made them an 'interior'. Meanwhile, Merwood-Salisbury and Coxhead [2] stated that early introduction to urban interior started in America in late-nineteenth-century, a period where architects designed lobbies for skyscraper that imitating and contesting with the streets outside.…”

“…The visual connection to surrounding gives sense of security within the park. Those elements, enclosure, sense of security, micro shelter, which according to Merwood-Salisbury [2] are vital to interiority of an urban space. Though, on the other hand, this park was created from void Shaw [3], thus no placemaking took place in its design as described by Del Aguila et all [1] because place making would happen to a design created in a place already has activity and function.…”

“…In this case, the public spaces are acknowledged as urban interior. In their study, Merwood-Salisbury and Coxhead [2] mentioned parks and urban space projects where they found concept of interiority in the urban place making, highlighting the importance of sense of containment and security with visual connection to the surrounding. The interiority was created by elements in the park provided by design.…”

House, Street, City: Le Corbusier’s Research Towards a New Urban Interior

“…These recent studies develop in a broader range the opportunities of theoretical reflections and practical intervention. In particular, they add to the Corbusian strategy of bringing the city and its component inside the building, 7 that could involve fragments of landscape (Snyder, 2018), its inversion: bringing the interior components of the building outside, in the city; the sensibilities, techniques, instruments of interior design to the urban environment (Merwood-Salisbury & Coxhead, 2018).…”