Putting it Together 3

1. Religion

Since the beginning of the roots in interior design, I would argue that religious reasons are easily the strongest roots of design. A lot of the biggest and best architectural achievements in history can be traced to some religious origin; much like I mentioned in an earlier rationale in “putting it together 2,” these temples were often the epicenter of an ancient civilization, and by result often the biggest as well. Possibly the greatest example of our dedication towards religion, in my opinion are the Great Egyptian Pyramids. These structures were easily the biggest accomplishments of their time, so big that a normal person of that time would have a hard time fathoming the completion and how they would get it done. They have even been recorded as taking thousands of years to complete – that’s dedication to your religion. Another great example of religious motivations at play is the Angkor Wak in Cambodia. This is known as the largest religious temple in the world, measuring over 1 million square meters! It goes to show just how much the average man of that time would place himself so far below the gods in their hierarchy, enough to devote all of their best materials and time to structures representing them.

II. Class & Power

First of all, I originally was going to split class and power into two different themes or sections and touch on both individually, however I came to the conclusion that they have so much in common it would be better off lumping them together; plus I have a much better fifth theme. Interior design, or design in general, contributes a great deal towards the representation of someone’s class, and the beautiful thing about that is sometimes it is not always on purpose; like it is by default. For example in ancient times, and not really just ancient anytime across history, a man or family is obviously only going to build and design as much as their budget will allow, and by default examination of this space can easily be used to determine your class or how much power you have. For example, take the Mercedes-Benz I have provided an image of above. While factors such as reliability, and overall how well made it is, that Mercedes will not necessarily get you from point A to point B any better or more efficient than a Ford Taurus; more or less, the owner did not have to buy the Mercedes for practical purposes. He chose this car because its very hood ornament displays a sign of power and high class.

III. Assimilation/Borrowing

Assimilation and borrowing has been taking place in the world of interior design as far back as civilizations have been being conquered by other city states, either forcing them to adopt their ways, or people moving into that area to adopt the native’s ways. For example, the instance in which the Romans finally took over Greece. Immediately after this event, we see properties of both cultures combining in order to make a diverse state; anything from religion, to food, and design was definitely one of those as well. Perhaps the easiest example to show in this instance is the rapid accommodation of western and eastern worlds. As you can see in this picture, it is an American-version recreation of an every day Japanese bedroom, complete with a quill, a bed low to the ground, natural wallpaper, and a tea set complete with floor seating. Oriental influence became very prevalent in the United States dating all the way back to the Industrial Revolution, when masses of Japanese and Chinese immigrants began to flood to our land. Possibly even more noted, the assimilation grew even more rapidly after the second World War, floods more of oriental background people began to immigrate and bring their designs together.

IV. Genius Loci

Webster’s Dictionary defines genius loci as “the prevailing character or atmosphere of a place,” but the definition can be a little ambiguous to interpret. In my opinion, genius loci can really involve many different principles and themes of design, and all of these incorporate an atmosphere of ‘feel ‘ to a space. If you have ever walked into a space and thought ‘this has a very rustic feel,’ or maybe even ‘this has a classical feel,’ then you know what I am talking about. Some people maybe even sometimes confuse this with representation, and while they are very similar, they are kind of on different levels. In my opinion the representation of all of the items and attributes to a space lead to its overall genius loci, and really give it a mood or feel. For example, I have used a picture of a waterfront pool on someone’s property. The barrier on the pool in set quite low with water almost to the brim, and the idea is to create the perspective of one cannot tell where the pool ends and the ocean begins. This is a great example mainly in the sense that it does such a great job with creating a sense of place, which you are actually out in the sea or could be very easily by just swimming straight out there. It overall gives a very serene feel.

V. Art

Like many other themes I have mentioned previously, art has contributed its fair amount to the evolution of design. In fact, the line between art and actual design has gotten quite blurred since ancient times. I would say that whoever made your furniture, or even finished the inside of your house if you lived in ancient times, was probably an artist. However, some may be wish to called artists, some designers, and yes sometimes maybe even decorators. In my opinion, I would say that it is all a mindset and has a lot to do with the background that you came from. For example, many people have very artistic mindsets about design, and these qualities show in their work; they are usually very meticulous and careful, and put a great deal of pride into it. Others, on the other hand, may approach design as a purely engineering standpoint and thinking how can we make this the most efficient space as possible. Not to say that these people take any less pride, they are just completely different mindsets. The image I have provided is actually a representation of the art nouveau movement, and it shows a time in which design was transitioning back to its very artistic ways of the ancient world.