Navigating the Past: What Does history offer the Discipline of Interior Design?

Abstract

IntroductionAt the university where I teach faculty members are often bemused by what might be referred to as a Millennial's approach to design. Our concern typically revolves around student research-particularly the use of design precedent. Almost too tempting to ignore, Pinterest and Google images on the World Wide Web provide the student with ready access to a plethora of ideas and concepts on which to base interior design projects.But how sound is this footing? These pinned and Googled images are more often than not gathered in isolation from any type of context: the student picks a "cool" light fixture or material or form. And with great regularity, when questioned, the student cannot explain why such images offer a conceptually solid driver for their projects.As we know, interiors are more than material artifacts where novelty is valued over contextual meaning. Interior design is much more than surface embellishment. To get beneath the surface, it is our educational imperative to provide a broader and deeper interpretation of interior design-to stress the larger social context and impact of space. The alarming propensity to plunder the Internet for inspiration often prevents the student from connecting with the less tangible yet more impactful aspects of the design, such as user experience, the creative process behind the design, and the social values it embodies or to which it responds. 1 More than ever, the Millennial student needs to learn the value of this context, to be armed with the analytical skills to wade through the oceans of online information in which they immerse themselves almost constantly. In the face of this unprecedented technological access to information, can design history offer a way to deepen the perspective of the Millennial and give the next generation ways of connecting design to context?In a field that emphasizes practice and action, to students the history of interior design-whether that involves interior spaces, the decorative arts, material culture, furniture design, architecture, or art history-can sometimes appear irrelevant, and the connection between the past and the newest generation of building integration modeling-specious.This Perspective essay explores the utility of history to the practice and study of interior design. It looks outside the field for inspiration to professions like law, another discipline that has traditionally straddled professional and academic worlds. It proposes the idea of "interior design in context," a concept borrowed from legal scholars, to advocate the closer study of interiors as experiential, human centered, and socially embedded. Interior design's professional commitments do not allow us to let the past or present sit in isolation from its context. History, if used critically, offers nonhistorians-be they students, faculty colleagues, and practitioners-a new way of looking at the field of interior design by creating more socially engaged spaces.

The Women of the Architects’ Small House Service Bureau: Contributions to the Well-Designed Single-Family House

“…Perhaps mentioning them here will lead to more discovery of their histories and contributions. As Kirkham (2002) and other researchers have noted, documenting these individual stories is an important piece of the history of the interior design profession and discipline (Cunningham, 2014).…”

“…In her perspective for the Journal of Interior Design , Cunningham (2014) discusses the utility of history for the discipline of interior design. She argues that taking a more nuanced approach to the past can underscore the diversity of individual perspectives and experiences of interior design within their historical context.…”

Redesigning Public Libraries in Flanders: Triggering the Societal Context Awareness of Interior Students

“…Therefore, interiors can be seen as “the dynamic backdrop for human social activity, embodying human social interaction, perception and personal, social, psychological and cultural dynamics, which are contextualized around the complex yet everyday interface with objects, other people, and the surrounding three‐dimensional enclosure” (Poldma, , p. 31). To emphasize the importance of the contextual responsiveness of interior design, the notion of “interior design in context” has been introduced as essential within the current theoretical underpinnings of the discipline (Cunningham, , p. vii) . Accordingly, the theoretical debate also bears witness to an increasing interest in the societal impact of interiors (Anderson, Honey, & Dudek, ; Antiquino, ; Caan, ; Danko, Meneely, & Portillo, ; Embrechts, Manders, & Somers, ; Gaines & Bourne, ; Guerin & Martin, ; Mendoza, ; Pable, ; Pable & Fishburne, ; Pable & Waxman, ; Poldma, Jutras, Labbé, & Tissaoui, ; Smith, Lommerse, & Metcalfe, ; Vaikla‐Poldma, ).…”

“…However, the traditional legal history narrative, which tended to isolate law, fell short of her expectations. She found that most historical accounts did not “embed law in social context” and “often treated legal issues and periods of time in isolation” while “non‐legal histories” typically ignored the role of law in shaping the world (Cunningham, , p. vi). Cunningham points out parallels between the legal and the interior design discipline.…”

Competence-based learning and societal awareness: Building up experiences within the discipline of interior architecture

“…In order to take up the previously mentioned design challenge, our future society is in need of interior architect students that can sense these societal ambitions and integrate them into the interior design process that generates "fitting" or suitable interior designs (Giunta, 2009;Attiwill, 2011;Caan, 2011;Cunningham, 2014).…”