Exploration of Form Through Systematic Variations and Innovative New Materials. (original) (raw)

The design of interior space encompasses cognition of many factors such as site conditions, functional and behavioural relationships, structural form, symbolic meaning, and sensory responses. These factors influence materiality, and have been influenced by materials, forming a central principle in design. The narrative that we establish in the design of our spaces has to begin with material as a starting point of the story. Materiality within an interior sits within a nexus of the context and the body. The user who dominates the analysis of the program of use is not an abstract entity, but predominately a human being that relates to the concrete conditions of their world — a material world that is in constant flux and demands innovation. Designers are change agents, as we are charged with the task to encourage and direct change. Design deals with the responsibility of releasing or reducing tensions in the network of social practices. These social practices ultimately involve the user and their relationship with materials. Materiality becomes the driver for a user-centered view of innovation. This paper builds upon Ilkka Tuomi’s analysis of innovation, in which he comments on the systematic relationship of innovation to other elements of society and not just an outcome of a single business or individual. Using theoretical frameworks of innovation and materiality as a foundation, this paper will examine the material/space/form continuum as explored in an intensive studio experience. This experience was aimed at providing the design student with an alternative strategy to dealing with innovative idea generation in a user-centered social system in which material, form, and space all play vital roles. By using the increasingly varied and exciting new developments in new material technology, this educational experience reported here – in the form of a design studio and a masterclass, examined how the junction of materials could develop a strategy for form development. The students explored the various paradigms of joining as proposed by Warren Wake. Using this knowledge, further exploration was undertaken based on the work of Eskild Tjalve in a clear and systematic manner through a microanalysis of form, and was later extrapolated towards a generation of spatial experiences for the human body. These methodologies, usually associated with industrial design, but now transferred to the discipline of interior design will be outlined here. The amalgamation of these methods into a new approach to conceiving interior space will then be proposed. The mapping of this alternative method for innovative thought, supported by case studies from the studio experiences, will provide design students and designers with an alternative strategy to the usual spatial precedents, natural forms, and linguistic constructs that are commonly used as instigators for innovative design ideas. The exploration in this new model of a studio, an alternative understanding of the relationship of material and form to space and how they are all part of a design continuum. Future designers will now have a rich, varied, and versatile methodology for dealing with form-making.