Defining interior architecture : necessitating academic and professional collaboration and creating collaborative social spaces within the university setting

Abstract

This thesis defines the discipline of Interior Architecture from an academic perspective, from a professional perspective, and through a series of case studies on various building types. The primary building type, which is studied in this thesis, is the university setting, with specific emphasis placed on the "social spaces" within the university, where people interact and collaboratively engage one another and the environment around them. Interior architecture is explored through a study of numerous design elements and psychological phenomena, including proxemics, control of one's environment, response to technology, location of social spaces, permanence versus flexibility, provision of spatial variety, public versus private realms, and multisensory perceptions of three-dimensional space.