Asian Interior Design Symposium: Malaysia

Speaker

MSID did our Think Tank in November 2010, in which we called upon only interior designers and academics

What is design, and how does design process differ from invention, planning, strategic and tactical thinking, and problem solving?

• Interior Design Process involves the Marriage of Function + Aesthetics

• When we get a brief from our client, we understand functionally how they want to use the space, and at the same time, we look into the aspirations of the clients in terms of how they want the place to look and feel.

• An Interior Designer looks into the of aesthetics & function in their design process whereas other professionals that design will mostly consider the functional aspects alone, however at the end of the day in terms of design process Interior Designers and others still look into how to solve problems through their creativity.

• Engineers will be more concerned about the performance of their design and the functional aspects, but as interior designers we add the dimension of aesthetics.

What are the core values of interior architecture/design, and how do they differ from building architecture and decoration?

• Although Interior Design is part of the Building Industry it differs significantly from Architecture & Decoration.

• There is a lot of overlap between the work of a Decorator & an Interior Designer as well as that of an Architect.

• Function, Form, Performance are important considerations in an Interior designer’s work as compared to a decorator who is more concern in the “artistic” end result. Interior design is not just concerned with beauty.

• An interior designers work is a combination of science & art

• The difference in value systems is that Architects have a macro aspect, whereas decorators looks at things from a micro aspect, and interior designer sits in the centre, and tries to marry the two.

What advantages/disadvantages would result from separating the task of preparing design briefs (including incorporating a thorough knowledge of human factors, the social sciences, and systems theory) from the task of realizing that brief through the application of thorough knowledge of the fine arts?

• Design briefs should not be separated. There is no advantage in separating this as interior design should be look in totality in relation to function, aesthetics, behavior and human factors.

How does/should interior architecture/design education differ from other design and architecture disciplines?

• Interior Design Education is similar to Architecture, yet different, though it is significantly different from other creative disciplines.

• Interior Design education should not differ from Architectural training though the subjects may be somewhat different, as both are involved in buildings, however it can be very different from other design disciplines like graphics, product design, etc , which does not deal with building.

• Without Architecture or buildings there will be no Interior Design, hence ID education has to be align with that of architecture.

Should the emphasis on aesthetics and the visual realization of client requirements be re-balanced to include a greater exploration of the effect of aesthetics on occupants?

• Interiors are designed for people, hence the effect it has on people is always important, and all design briefs must involve this

• Interiors are designed for people where they will use it to eat, work, play or live hence it is very important to understand how aesthetics affect the end-user of the space.

What is the role of human senses and emotions – other than vision and vision related – in the study and practice of interior architecture/design?

• Interior Design should give emphasis on the 5 senses of man

• all people possess various ability to receive information, this involves,

- feel/touch, – visual, – sound/hearing – taste and – smell

• a good designer must involve the audience in as many of this sensation as possible as some of the things that we handle can still convey a message without being visual, example:

- texture which may give you as sense of warmth, – even air-conditioning has an effect on comfort of people, hence it is encouraged that interior design education to go beyond just visual or the vision related.

Are interior architects/designers by nature and education able to relate their profession and discipline to basic concepts such as ecosystems, evolution, epigenetic , relationships? Should they be?

• It is inevitable for Interior Designers to relate their work apart from aesthetics to include Heritage, History, and Evolution of Mankind and Culture.

• as interior design deals with people and environment it is inevitable that we have to relate with the heritage, history and evolution of mankind and culture as this affects the behavior of people. At the same time environmental issues also have a direct or indirect impact on people so interior design have to be able to relate to these factors too. /li> By the 20th century, human activity has shifted largely to the indoors. Has this shift been reflected in a similar shift in the nature of interior architecture/design education?

• The shift of human activity indoors in the 20th century has no bearing on Interior Design education as the profession only started after the 20th century.

• this question is quite irrelevant as Interior Design education only started in the 20th century, prior to that Interior Design was always part of architecture

Relevance

• What is the proper relationship among urban design, building architecture, interior architecture/design and furniture and equipment design?

• in our region the normal relationship of the various profession will usually follow with the following pathway :

- urban design – landscape and environmental – architecture – interior design – furniture and product?

• Sometimes these roles gets mixed up, as interior designers do architecture and vice versa

• although geomancy sometimes takes precedent even before urban planning, as well as all stages of the process. Often he has the last say because the client value his opinion more!

Interior architecture/design is frequently regarded as an exercise in decoration. Is decoration truly interior design?

• Decoration is not Interior Design :

• Interior Design involves in the research and study of space, human behavior, technical aspects of building and services and performance of materials and building-bye-laws. Decoration is more pure art and cosmetic effects and may not involve functional aspects of spaces and how it affects the people using the space.

How should/could the value of design be measured?

• There is a definite need to measure the value of design so that clients will appreciate that good design goes beyond mere aesthetics only

• The value of design can be measured through research and surveys conducted on the users alternatively this can be measured by collecting data on sales, turnover, absenteeism, productivity, before and after input of new design taking into consideration that all other factors remain the same.

• There is a need for research and surveys to develop a database to show users the benefit of good design and how it affects profitability, well-being of users and productivity.

To what extent is the practice of interior architecture/design regulated in your locale/region?

• Interior Design profession is legislated in Malaysia since early 2007

• In Malaysia, the ID profession is legislated though still in its infancy. Benefits have yet to be realized as execution and enforcement has not been fully in place. Benefits which we hope to realize is:

- increase professionalism – better regulated fees – protection of designers and the consumer/user – increase recognition of the profession – awareness and understanding of the public – development of the profession and the ID’s role in the industry

What is the perceived value of interior architecture / design in your locale/region?

• The Interior Design profession is still not at par with some other professionals

• There has been an increase awareness of people and public towards the use of good interior design, this is very much in line with better exposure and the increase affluence of the society of our country, though there is still a need to further develop this awareness and value as still a number of people are still reluctant to pay for good design although they want good design.

• Interior Design still cannot be compared to professions like the legal profession and the medical as they deal with life and death, or freedom which people seem to value more.

What role does the interior built environment play in the survival and well-being of humans?

• As human activities become more indoor based the interior built environment becomes a very important factor in the survival and well being of mankind

• interior built environment will always be important and an integral part of mankind as it affects man’s shelter from the elements, comfort, how they project themselves to others, how they interact with people, as well as health and ergonomics and how we consume the limited resources of the earth, how we consume power and how we affect the environment though sustainability or pollution

Considering the visual aspects of interior architecture / design as means to an end, what are those ends?

• The Visual aspect of Interior Design is very much dependent on the Design Brief

• e.g. if a person who if rich and wants to flaunt their wealth then the end result of the design is to achieve this, as in a the case of a retail outlet the effect may be to create an ambience that entices people to buy; also in a fast food outlet the ambience is created to make sure people eat fast and leave.

What are the underlying specific objectives of interior architecture / design?

• The purpose and objective of interior design is to create spaces that add value to mankind as a whole

• Such value may mean different things to different people, but at the end of the day interior design must be able to add values that include better comfort, higher profits or better efficiency.

What is the responsibility of interior architecture / design to address various basic human and organizational needs?

• Interior Design must always address the various human and organizational needs to be successful

• Such needs include adequate light, clean air, social interaction, general ambience for comfort in the space, acoustics, safety and ergonomics.

Did the interior architecture / design profession or discipline play any significant role in the banning of smoking in the interior environment in your area?

• The role of banning smoking is seen more of a Government initiative than that of Interior Designers as it is more effective this way.

• This is driven down by the government, though this will affect how interior designers design spaces. The political will of this depends on the lawmakers

• No smoking laws have a big effect on interior spaces, for example on restaurant design.

Generally, what is the responsibility of interiors educators to teach students to understand the important values/needs of clients?

• Interior Design students should be taught in addition to client needs also other aspects like sociology, etc.

• Although educators do teach students on the requirements and needs of clients, this usually caters to the behavior aspect of the end user. However we feel that there is a need to study sociology and socio aspect so that students can better understand various cultures as our country is a multi-cultural and multi-religious country

• For example, different cultures have different preferences for color

Are design educators more responsible to teach preservation of the natural environment/sustainability or to teach students to create better and better interior environments?

• Key area of design education is to educate students to create better “Interiors”

• We believe that Interior Designers should be taught more on creating better interiors rather than natural environment/sustainability as this are specialized subjects which are offered by specialized courses.