About Center for Interior Studies
Center for Interior Studies explores the interior as a hybrid and multifaceted phenomenon, which in addition to its physical, spatial and design related aspects, is also shaped by and shapes social, cultural, aesthetic, political, economic, religious, virtual etc aspects.
The interior is the built environment that is in closest proximity to the human body. We spend the greatest amount of time of our lives inhabiting the interior, where many of our habits and customs, our perceptions of the world around us, our relations between one another and our understandings of architecture, design, objects and spaces are shaped.
Great societal perspectives from small spaces
The interior dimension is related to a number of trends within the society: Demographic changes, which in many places presupposes a different way of organising square meters of floor area; Technological changes and the many screens that now characterise our daily lives and that establish a virtual space next to the perceived space; A problem of resources, which calls for recycling/upcycling in a field characterised by a high frequency of change; Globalisation, which challenges the notion of the vernacular and situated interior; Social change, where the notions of belonging, identity and therefore spatial organisation are challenged; New cosmologies and understandings of art, which give rise to the transformation of interiors into public, as well as private spaces.
From taboo to trend
In addition, the interior dimension points to a number of fields of relevance for the disciplines of architecture and design, as the subject concerns tectonic, aesthetic and morphological aspects, which integrate with social relations and cultural perceptions in everyday life. For some time, the interior has been a taboo subject within the fields of architecture and design, however, this has been replaced by a renewed interest in the subject and therefore it is a phenomenon that calls to be viewed with an impartial gaze. As the interior dimension concerns the space that is in closest proximity to people’s bodily and sensory experiences, and which forms the concrete framework for everyday life, this field is of great importance.
Interdisciplinarity
The purpose for Center for Interior Studies is to analyse, discuss and reveal these aspects of the interior with a focus on the changes that are taking place within the field, and with the inclusion of what it can say about the surrounding society, of which it is a part. Center for Interior Studies explores the interior as a complex phenomenon, which is illuminated by historical (architecture and design), morphological and anthropological perspectives, as well as incorporating perspectives from humanities and the social sciences.
The interior as seismograph
This field of research gives rise to significant socially relevant discussions and analyses of the relationship between social life, cultural ideas, design and architecture, between design objects & space and between the various overlapping private, public, intimate, welfare-orientated, collective and virtual zones that constitute the times in which we live. The interior can be seen as a seismograph for society and culture; where phenomenon vaguely observed in larger cultural and societal contexts can be more clearly revealed and studied.
The center’s activities
Center for Interior Studies brings together researchers to investigate a range of concrete cases. The researchers arrange meetings, seminars and workshops, furthermore, they are planning conferences and producing publications. We also organise PhD courses and teaching activities that can convey and develop our insights and projects. Finally, several of the researchers are involved in the development of artistic research projects. Our activities are aimed towards other researchers, artistic research practitioners, general practitioners and other interested parties, however, we also aspire to enter into dialogue with broader societal currents through a variety of media streams.
Spatial design
The researchers at Center for Interior Studies are predominantly affiliated with the international masters’ programme, Spatial Design, which works with architecture and design from an interior perspective. This affiliation is important, as many of the themes and perspectives developed in the center are also utilised in teaching. The students also inspire the teachers through their ways of approaching the architectural and design possibilities that are associated with different interiors, just as the researchers’ ways of approaching social, cultural, aesthetic and various other dimensions of the interior influence the center’s approach to these topics.