In the history of design, it may be remarked that the world is in a new paradigm shift at the level of breaks in the transition to agriculture, industry, and information societies. As in many fields of design, interior design is also evolving in terms of design thinking as well as being subject to change in all processes under the influence of intensive technological development. While information technologies are implicated as aides in the design processes in the early stages of this evolution, they are now used for creating unique design and production approaches. This chapter discusses and re-interrogates the contributions and effects of these developments on the structure of interior design methodologies.
TopIntroduction
The concept of standardization, developed, and settled with the industrial revolution, is the result of mass manufacturing logic based on the principle of fast, economical, easy, and verified quality products. This approach, which provides great advantages in terms of fabrication feasibility, was adopted quickly and led to the consideration of all items manufactured as per this principle at the design stage (Guise, 2000, pp. 132-160). Standardization manifests itself as a unit not only intangible objects reminiscent of industrial assemblies but also in all software, operating systems, internet infrastructures and interfaces that enable computer technologies, which are integral parts of today's information and communication age (Smith, 2000, pp. 45-78). The fact that standardization in industrially produced items is so widespread and adopted has led to the establishment and validity of the same principles not only in machines adapted to daily life but also in architectural design and production (Kolarevic, 2004, pp. 165-174). Thanks to the integration of these systems into the interiors at the design stage of the space and the ability to program in line with the expectations and needs of the users, interactive customizable interiors can be designed; this situation also triggered important changes in the interior design processes and the experience of space (Figure1).
Figure 1.
Interactive customizable interior design process.
With the developments in communication technologies and ease of access to information, the experience of architectural space begins with a thought. While the subject's experience of space is not yet in space, it starts with the prior knowledge of space. Architectural experience is realized by the stratification of a perceptual process including factors in particular access to the space, perception of the facade, the threshold-interior space relationship, the atmosphere of space, the space arrangement, the relationship between the space and the interior, and the function. With the digital revolution in the 21st century, this process has undergone a radical change from the production of the architectural space to its experience. Therefore, it is important to examine the transformation of the architectural space experience in the digital age.
According to McCarter and Pallasmaa (2012), architectural space can be created in a sequel of combining the elements that shape space in certain coordination with morphological decisions as balance and harmony, or it can be realized with random constructions, regardless of the exact formula. Since the Industrial Revolution in the 19th Century, there has been an on-going relationship between space and technology. Technological developments transform the assembly of space with the improvement in materials and construction techniques. The digital revolution, which has been affecting the present day since the end of the 20th century, had a similar effect on the space discussions. This effect is reflected in architectural space manufacturing styles, design processes, and architectural space experience. Until the digital age, we are in, teachings based on thinking about how the result should be in the construction of space and how to achieve the foreseen result were dominant. Today, the ways of thinking that discuss the emergence of the resulting assembly come to the fore. The design action and the design process are gaining importance.
With the advent of computer-aided design programs, the process of designing architectural space has undergone a revolutionary change. Space designers have developed methods to obtain new forms using these programs. Before the digital revolution, a system that was phased out in preliminary design, planning, project design, engineering, and construction sequencing was implemented. With the digital revolution, this hierarchical order has been disrupted and has become a single practice (Tanyeli, 2016). While traditional approaches are still in use, the design process is now mainly carried out with computer-aided design applications. Spaces produced with these applications may be random results by using the limited inputs given at the beginning. Many alternative results can be obtained in the final complex. Thus, architectural space becomes an experience at the production stage.