Dr Charles Rice,, University Of Technology, Sydney
“Thinking Inside the Box: Interiors in the 21st Century – New Visions, New Horizons & New Challenges”, was held on the 1st and 2nd March at the Lighthouse Architecture Centre in Glasgow. It was organised by a collective of Scottish academics and was the first of what will hopefully be an annual event.
In an extremely intense couple of days, delegates from around the world debated the quality and character of interiors. The actual definition of the subject was discussed, the differences and similarities between interior architecture, design and decoration were deliberated upon, the influences of relevant and not so relevant historians and theoreticians were examined as well as the practical issues of education.
There were twenty-four presentations, and all were relevant and informative: Sally Stone (Manchester) and Graeme Brooker (Manchester) kicked off the event with a stirring keynote address, a discussion of the theoretical linked ideas that contextualism and installation art have with interior architecture. The other keynote speaker, Shashi Caan (Shashi Caan Collective, New York), discussed the importance of “place†rather than just “space†within the design of interiors.
Susie Attiwill (Melbourne) discussed the findings of the forum held in Melbourne late last year, the possibility or not that a significant collection or canon of interiors exists. C. Thomas Mitchell (Indiana) and Gennaro Postiglione (Milan) discussed the identity crisis (or not) within the subject and Andrew Stone (London) proposed that interiors are constructed from “…a coincidence of contextsâ€.
Patrick Hannay (Cardiff) despaired of the way forward for the education of interior architects and Lois Weinthal (New York), Mark Taylor (Wellington), Ro Spankie (Oxford Brooks), Saltuk Ozemir (Istanbul), Teresa Hoskins (Brighton), Julia Dwyer (Brighton) and José Bernardi (Arizona) presented papers based upon educational projects. Still on academic issues, Lynn Chalmers and Susan Close (both Manitober), Charles Rice (Sydney) and Luis Diaz (Brighton) discussed the problems of defining a theoretical basis for the subject.
There were a number of idiosyncratic and particular presentations, among them Gini Lee (Adelaide) talked poetically of the emergence of the “unreliable museumâ€. John Brown (Calgary) in a very charismatic presentation, described the advent of the “slow home†a reaction to the huge sprawling housing developments that are being constructed, just as slow food is a response to fast food. George Verghese (Sydney) pleaded for more consideration to be given to materials arguing that “…the handling of materials creates a sense of placeâ€. Lorraine Farrally (Portsmouth) described techniques that allow a translation of physical activity into the mapping space. Tara Roscoe (New York) discussed the relationship between cyber and physical space; and how the use of the theoretical ideas that underpin our notions of the security and sacrilege of the home, are being used to destroy or defile houses within extreme environments was very movingly examined by Terry Meade (Brighton).
The symposium was, as the organisers hoped, both stimulating and challenging. We are looking forward to next summer’s event in Edinburgh.