Today we all met up at a cafe to discuss and brainstorm about the industry that was given to us, namely spatial design industry. It's a term that no one of us was completely familiar with and therefore we needed to do some research on the topic. We found out that spatial design deals with the design of interior and exterior environments by crossing the boundaries of traditional design disciplines such as architecture, interior design and landscape architecture.
Because the term was new to all of us, we started with the basic mind mapping tool. The whole design process starts with the question: what is the purpose of this particular building/space and what is it used for? The second question is that: how can the designer design the space so that it in the best possible way serves the goal? Things that we associated with the main word "spatial design" were for example architecture, interior design, 3D-design, knowledge of materials and regulations in construction and landscape architecture. The descriptive words / adjectives that we linked with it were sustainability, functionality, (work) efficiency, creativity, comfort, cosiness and adaptability. Spatial design is a relatively new industry and that's why we associate it mostly with modern architecture.
The core words for the industry are aesthetics, functionality, comfort, efficiency and sustainability and the whole design process should build up on them. Spatial design industry has its roots in the beginning of the 20th century and it has been influenced by different modern architects and their thoughts. The Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, who can be seen as one of the pioneers for modern architecture and who was famous for his stating "the house is a machine for living", believed that efficiency and functionality should not only be applied in the design of assembly lines but also in architecture. The American architect Louis Sullivan is often called the "father of skyscrapers" and known for spreading the ideology of "form follows function", which means that the shape of a building or object should be primarily based upon its intended function or purpose. This is even the basis for the architectonical principle called functionalism, which was popular during the 1920s and 1930s.
The next tool that we used was the question tool, which we applied in the task by asking a lot of "why"-questions and in that way researched the core words even more in detail. The questions were aimed at the personal feelings and experiences of the participants and tried to get us to understand why we need aesthetic, functional, comfortable and efficient places. Aesthetics have to do with the visual look of the premises that affect our mood. A well designed and beautiful environment can make us feel ourselves happy, energized, playful, cosy and comfortable, and to stop and to be amazed for a while. A functional environment is an adaptable and flexibel space where we can move with less restrictions, do things faster and enjoy of convenience and comfort. When people want to stay longer in a place and can concentrate (because there are no extra distractions), they become efficient.
Our last tool was called "I wish", with what wishes can be turned into general theories of needs/emotions behind them. Existing theories related with spatial design can be put into creative practice with the tool. One could for example start the wishing with aesthetic perspectives in mind and then continue with wishes that have to do with functionality, comfort and efficiency. Wishes are continued as long as they get more concrete and start to develop some solutions. We tried to apply the tool but it didn't function well because we don't have anything concrete to start with, this tool would probably be more useful later when we get to know our company. Instead of that we decided to create a simple mood board with emotions and colors that we associate with spatial design.
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