Inner Worlds: Geometries of the Interior

Since the eighteenth century, the architectural interior has been directly associated with subjectivity; an inner world bound up with psychological content—moods, sensations, and affects. After the exteriorizing treatments of universal space and the banality of Junk Space, architects interested in a post-linguistic set of effects or constrained by tighter economic conditions are reconsidering the potential of interior as a carefully curated alternate universe. Often left underdeveloped or unconsidered by architects, the design of the interior is peripheral to logics of construction, organization, and urbanism. This seminar attempts to establish a set of criteria with which to approach the design of interior spaces, by examining interior effects produced by “exterior” settings and media (photography, painting, film, and design). Speculations on the contemporary interior are developed in the context of material and geometry—by working with specific materials and processes of cutting, carving, and assembly at 1:1 scale. Students exploit the inherent complexity of material fabrication to develop full-scale interior surfaces that produce specific and richly affective interior environments. Limited enrollment.