Architecture and interior design can change our behaviour in many ways. It can influence our minds and trigger psychological control and persuasion. Architecture has to be aesthetic but also practical.
Early humans lived by very carefully picking where we chose to live, with the idea of “prospect” and “refuge”. This was so we could see what’s out there and see what’s coming, but also having a place to hide.
For over 99% of our time on this planet, we’ve lived outside. “when we’re in nature, we’re home”.
Edward O. Wilson coined the term Biophilia – “an innate and genetically determined affinity of human beings with the natural world”. Biophilia is about the bond humans have with nature, plants, and animals. If you’re sitting at a desk and you can see a tree within a hundred feet “your cognitive performance goes up, and your stress goes down”.
Visiting Kettles yard, back in 2019, seeing art in the average home… it gave me an insight to light, space, and nature. These are all aspects that should be considered in architecture and interior design, because each one impacts so much to the ultimate atmosphere.
Nature. Objects from the natural world play a very important role in architecture and interior design. At Kettles yard Pebbles are arranged on the round tables in Jim Ede’s bedroom and sitting room, plants are displayed in the two large windows, and seeds, shells and bones are scattered amongst the rooms. There is even the breastbone of a bird displayed amongst plants. Ede was very fond of ‘found object’. He saw joy in the simplicity of nature and in presenting items from the natural world among a range of man-made objects.
Space. By stripping a building back to its frame to considering how the changing light conditions animate and reveal spaces. Each new placement of an object, furniture and artworks should be carefully considered in relation to the other objects, the light, and the spaces themselves, focusing on the spaces that exist between and around objects. This creates dynamic moments of contrast, where space and objects are in ‘conversation’ with each other. The experience should have an emotional impact on a person, fascinated you and how the space can influence wellbeing and mental health.
If you are in a space with a high ceiling, “your ability to think spatially and conceptually is improved. Your cognitive performance in that area goes up”. If you’re in a space with a low ceiling, “your cognitive performance for mathematics will improve”.
The set of the 1979s film Alien, was designed by HR Giger and Les Dilley, and HR Giger's work is extremely easy to point out, given its often provocative, always macabre trademarks. The pilot of the derelict ship in Alien is very Giger, in that, it’s difficult to discern what is (or once was) organic and what is part of the ship. This is partially due to the way that the prop was constructed. It's mostly a plaster sculpture, but there are animal bones built in, giving those details an uncanny level of realism.
The derelict ship from Alien is another great example of Giger's design influence, made manifest on screen with full size interior sets. For the exterior, the massive model ship and the accompanying landscape are convincing on their own. Give them lots of fog, the right environmental sounds, and those beautiful interiors to cut to, and it's near perfect.
The perspective of the corridors creates that sense of vulnerability, Alien is an iconic set as its one of the only movies to have the ceiling, floor and both walls in their scenes. The perspective really communicates the cramped and claustrophobic feeling.
Light. An appreciation of light is important in interior design and architecture. In different weather, at different times of day and during different seasons, light transforms places. As the light shifts, the emphasis in a room changes, and new connections are made. For example, at Kettles yard, “Radar II, by Romanian sculptor Ovidiu Maitec, only casts its shadow onto Ben Nicholson’s Still Life with Knife and Lemon, in October. The dots of clear autumn light form a new relationship between these artworks that is hidden at other times of the year”. The house at Kettles Yard is rich with architectural features that create a dynamic space flooded with light: “semi-circular bay windows in the cottages; skylights in both levels of the extension; and roughly finished white walls”. Ede capitalised on these features by filling the house with reflective surfaces – mirrors, pewter goblets, paperweights, coloured finishing floats and delicate glassware.
Jim Ede’s intention for Kettle’s Yard was to create a house to display his collection where the architecture and the space within were as important to the whole effect as the artwork and objects. Ede evolved Kettle’s Yard into an environment that allows contemplation. During his renovations of the cottages, Ede stripped the building back to its frame and spent time considering the changing light, space, and nature. The Kettles yard House itself has often been described as an artwork, with all parts of the collection essential to the whole, it reflects Ede’s ideas about the fundamental requirements for an effective and balanced space. The response of artists to the natural world and look at the ways they are inspired by nature, landscape, and the environment, natural forms, man-made objects, plants, light, and space all contribute to its sense of balance and harmony.
In Mitaka, Japan, the architect Shusaku Arakawa collaborated with Madaline Gins, a poet, to compose this idea of “Making dying illegal”. The project was called Architecture against death, and the idea is you should be aware and paying attention that’s how you stay young and keep you thinking. “if life is predictable, you’re a zombie.” Arakawa designed ‘Reversible destiny lofts’ which pushed the boundaries of architecture and questioned; why do floors have to be flat? What if you had to pay attention while you walk? Why do we have rectilinear corners? All these things contributed to the unusual architectural design.
In the first few weeks of our lives, we only see in black and white. Parents love to decorate nurseries in pretty pastels. However, in reality, these aren't naturally stimulating colours for a baby's vision. Black and white, along with primary colours, such as red, orange, yellow, and blue, are much more stimulating so should be consider in the interior design of a baby’s initial bedroom.
Colours don’t just affect our lives as an infant. When designing the interior of a dining room, there are certain colours that stimulate appetite. So, having a red feature wall will make a person feel more hungry, and intern, eat more food. The same thing applies for the plates we eat off, a good tip for dieting is eating of a blue or green plate as there colours don’t stimulate hunger as much as red and yellow do, also eating off a smaller size plate makes it feel like you’re eating more food because the plate is fuller.
you see this type of application of colour and size used in businesses logos, architecture and interior design to try and trick you into buying their product or buying more of it. This technique is seen a lot in fast food businesses. Take McDonalds for example. McDonalds wear the red and yellow colours to entice customers in to buy their burgers and buy larger portions.
Scott Wyatt was assigned to design a Police station; he was told by the chief of police he needed to put in a pink room. The purpose of this room was to calm down ‘ornery’ criminals. They found that by placing them in this room of a specific shade of pink, for a specific amount of time (17 minutes), it calms them down.
Many religious Architecture will be on large scale forms and made of robust materials surrounded by intricate details in the designs around it. This is to invoke you to feel intimidated and small, and that the building or statue has an intense power over you.
The Sistine Chapel is one of the most famous pieces of artifacts. The ceiling and walls were carefully painted and sculpted making up one of the most sacred places on Earth in the Catholic faith. The work is attributed to the great, Michelangelo. He alone painted the 65-foot ceiling of the chapel by illustrating biblical stories that make up Christianity. The masterpiece took countless months, carefully constructing one of the most legendary pieces of artwork the world has seen. A visitor to the chapel is overwhelmed by the massive amount of emotions and feelings that fill you at once from the architecture of the building, the diligent and mesmerizing artwork above and on all the walls of the chapel. Engulfed in the colours, details, and contents. The chapel has the intense power that invokes a large sense of pride and passion as you take in the breath-taking images that surround you. 25,00 people visit the Vatican each day, yet while standing in the middle of hundreds of people that come from all over the globe, the chapel makes you feel nothing but the presence of God. There is nothing like it.
Architecture and interior design play a big part in our health and wellbeing, it can influence emotions and feelings. It can provide a safe place, a workplace, a religious place, a home. Intricate designs keep our minds at work and simple one’s help reduce stress. A good design can improve Your cognitive performance in a certain subject area.
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