Interior Design: from the Traditional to IKEA

Perhaps the most common form of art is interior design.  We all live in homes that include aspects of design and care for their aesthetic layout. In my own home, I defer entirely to my wife, who has an eye and a knack for placement and layout, and a wonderful sense of color and texture.  I also  find the interiors of homes in African, Asian and Middle Eastern countries to be among the world's great exemplars of interior design.  Consider the example of the image below from this interior in

PLACE IMAGE HERE

The following websites offer reviews of contemporary Arab women designers' work.

  1. Arab Women Now 




Unlike the prefab designs found in industrial and postindustrial cities in the US or Europe, the range of traditional textures and furnishings found have shapes, form and textile patterns that are unique and varied in their potential for arrangement.

Do forms follow function, as some art theories of early 20th century modernism advocated for a late industrial society of consumption, or do we have much greater choice?  Where traditional patterns and arts prevail, we find an array of aesthetic experience and material choices that allow a much broader array of possibilities.  The notion that "form follows function:" is too simplistic I believe.  A sofa need not be a set of standardized form, but an array of artfully configured pillows and cushions as are found in North African or African arrangements.  

Interior design has several areas of occupational career choices.  Interior designers make their living by advising and preparing designed interiors for home owners, apartment and condominium dwellers and office interiors for corporate clients.  Interior architects combine the features of designers with a detailed knowledge of architectural and engineering construction techniques and design whole room and floorplan layouts and customize various features including lighting, utilities and structural components.

A new emphasis on green technology and design has encouraged interior designers and interior architects to incorporate more natural and recyclable materials in their materials and designs.

From Bauhaus to Our House


In Germany during the Weimar Republic of the 1920s a unique architectural school emerged known as the Bauhaus.  Led by the architect Walter Gropius (1883-1969) this school of architecture and design invented multiple forms and functional elements and objects now used on an everyday basis.  These included mechanically opened windows, glass and steel framed facade architecture, chairs, tables and cafeterias that are recognized today for their widespread influence.

I've placed some links to explore the phenomenal range of architectural and functional interior architectural elements and designs set forth in the Bauhaus project.  We'll use these to examine how many of these have had lasting influence upon late modernist international architecture.  We'll also try to locate examples of how these elements pop up in cities like Dubia or Sharjah.

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