Interior space: representation, occupation, well-being and interiority

This article will provide an overview of space as it is understood and engaged with from within the discipline of interior design/interior architecture. Firstly, the term interior will be described. Secondly, the paper will discuss space as a general concept, before exploring what space is specifically for the interior design/interior architecture discipline. How is space understood? What does space ‘look’ like for interior designers/interior architects? This paper will argue that space for the interior discipline is concerned with the following key issues – representation of space; occupation and use of space; and well-being of users in space. In these ways, space is understood through its application to design, and through the potentiality of space to be manipulated in various ways through the built form. Finally, and countering these three approaches, the concept of interiority will be introduced. Interiority provides a more theoretical, abstract means of engaging with space, which also frees the interior discipline from its structural constraints.