Life from the Inside: Perspectives on Social Sustainability and Interior Architecture

VOLUME FROM THE INSIDE Perspectives on Social Sustainability & Interior Architecture ABOUT THE BOOK CONTENTS Foreword Tim Costello ....................................................................................8 1. An introduction to social sustainability and interior architecture Sarah Beeck, Dianne Smith, Marina Lommerse, Priya Metcalfe ............................................... 13 Community Engagement and Interior Architecture 2. Working together: interior architecture creating with the community Marina Lommerse ................................................... 24 3. More than bricks and mortar: lessons in design and world citizenship Kelley Beaverford ..........................................58 Social Justice and Interior Architecture The ield of Interior Architecture is deined by the way we act, and the opportunities for a shift in, and challenge to, perception. 4. Interiors can address Social Justice: fact or iction? Dianne Smith ................................................................................ 76 5. Interior voices: commentary and relection ........................110 5.1 The importance of interior design professionals' engagement in policy development to efect change for underprivileged individuals Jill Pable and Lisa Waxman .......... 112 5.2 Interior design by expediency Rodney Harber and Angela Buckland..........................................................................118 5.3 Inside the remote-area Aboriginal house Paul Memmott .......................................................................... 124 5.4 Too ‘nice’ to be socially responsible: relections of a Danish interior practitioner Marianne Frandsen ...................132 Cultural Heritage and Interior Architecture 6. Cultural Heritage practice through socially sustainable adaptive re-use of industrial buildings: a Western Australian narrative Priya Metcalfe ............................................................... 142 7. Ambiguity and permeability in historic Modern interiors: a challenge for Cultural Heritage and social sustainability Penny Sparke ............................................................................. 170 Acknowledgements .................................................................. 184 Introduction Endnotes ............................................................. 186 About The Authors ................................................................... 187 TABLE OF CONTENTS AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE SARAH BEECK, DIANNE SMITH, MARINA LOMMERSE, PRIYA METCALFE While writing we considered the term ‘social sustainability’ — a concept that captures how sustainable practices apply to the way people live. However when applying social sustainability principles to interior architecture, we found the question that needed to be asked was: does social sustainability need to be redeined and developed to suit this discipline? It became clear that there are three key areas within social sustainability where the discipline can meaningfully contribute: Community Engagement, Social Justice and Cultural Heritage. Each area is critical to understanding the relationship between social sustainability and interior architecture in the twenty-irst century. Social sustainability captures the human dimension of the sustainability discourse, and to deine it in terms of interior architecture it was necessary to think about the terms ‘sustainable development’ and ‘sustainable communities’ as well. Sustainable development is: ‘… development sustainable to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’1 whereas sustainable communities are characterised by a strong connection to place, building capacity and resilience to external forces; these stronger connections protect the community and create alliances beyond that community.2 The former is an eco-centric approach, emphasising the efective use of resources, and the latter is an anthropocentric approach, focusing on human relationships, needs and quality of life.3 It is the emphasis on people and communities that resonates with interior architecture. As a result, an anthropocentric focus is adopted in this book or, as Helen Jarvis puts it, the connection between people’s ‘livelihood and environments.’4 We believe that social sustainability is the ability of a society or an individual’s lifestyle to continue in a way that suits their needs and those of subsequent generations. The values and spiritual aspirations of the people should be complemented in their interior environment, and the processes and activities involved respect their history, current needs and future potential beliefs and rituals. Access to such environments should not be at the expense of others. Social sustainability recognises that the environment and its design facilitate relationships and experiences fundamental to who we are as people and as a society; and that the basic human rights to dignity, security and shelter are met now and into the future. DEFINITIONS OF SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITy Intersections between the interior architecture discipline and the intrinsic connectivity between people and their environment create an awareness of social and cultural contexts. Geographical location and cultural practices form a number of cultural and social discourses that assist to deine that society. Therefore, societies that are both socially and environmentally sustainable cannot be identiied without recognising the cultural and social discourses within which they currently exist. Likewise, built environments are constructs formed through geographical and cultural practices. As the disparate needs between societies are linked directly to geographical and social constructs, how the discipline of interior architecture may provide new insights into these needs is addressed in the following chapters. Social, economic and environmental requirements need to be met, which include the physiological needs as well as the psychological wellbeing of a population. In order to understand the interconnection of these multiple relations we can refer to VOLUME ONE LIFE FROM THE INSIDE Environments people inhabit and experience have the power to enhance the wellbeing of individuals and their communities. In this unique collection of writing, Life from the Inside: Perspectives on Social Sustainability and Interior Architecture shares new ways of thinking about interior architecture by reconsidering theories, processes and outcomes that relate to how people live now and in the future. The issues raised by the authors are relevant for individuals, government and non-government organisations, professionals, students and communities. SAMPLE TEXT - INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE AUTHORS Dianne Smith BSc, Australian National University; BArch, Queensland University of Technology; Grad Dip Int Des, Queensland University of Technology; Grad Cert Ed (Higher Ed), Queensland University of Technology; PhD, Queensland University of Technology Dianne is an Associate Professor and Program Director of Interior Architecture at Curtin University, and an Adjunct Professor with Queensland University of Technology. She has served as a board member of the Interior Design/Interior Architecture Educators Association (IDEA) and National Council of the Design Institute of Australia (DIA), and was awarded a Fellowship of the DIA for her contributions to design education. Her research focuses on the person–environment relationship with a particular interest in design for special user groups, such as people with cognitive impairment. As practitioner and academic she has long been involved in facilitating practitioners, educators and students to reassess the potential value and impact of interior architecture and architecture in assisting people who experience less fortunate circumstances. Marina’s central inspiration in practice, research and teaching is Community Engagement, such as involvement in Indigenous Cultural Heritage and career development in creative industries. She has won recognition for teaching excellence at the national level. As practitioner and academic she has worked in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Priya Metcalfe BAppSc (Architectural Science), Curtin University; BArch, Curtin University Priya is a Lecturer at Curtin University and has 15 years’ experience in practice, specialising in conservation and heritage. She has given heritage advice and prepared conservation plans for a wide range of public and private buildings, including The Old Maritime Museum, and The Chief Mechanical Engineer’s Oice and Block Three at the Midland Railway Workshops. As a dedicated teacher she communicates to students her passion for the poetics of place, the layers of stories in buildings, the sustainable re-use of existing buildings, and teaches the need to bring sensitivity and restraint to the relationship between the early/original and the new. Marina Lommerse BID, University of Manitoba; Licensed Interior Designer, Alberta; MA (Design) Curtin University Marina is an Associate Professor at Curtin University. She was Managing Director, Marshall Cummings and Associates, now MC / IBI; founding Department Head of Interior Architecture at Curtin University; Chair of the Interior Design/Interior Architecture Educators Association (IDEA); founding International Director, Interior Architecture ofshore programs; and curator of a number of state exhibitions, as well as the international exhibition in Milan ‘Salone Internazionale del Mobile’, showcasing Australian furniture designers. Priya’s Master of Philosophy dissertation, ‘A Geography of Colour: the Expression of Social Relations in Western Australian Domestic Architecture 1890-1914’ relates to issues of Cultural Heritage. Sarah Beeck BAppSc (Architectural Science), Curtin University; BAppSc (Interior Design), Curtin University Sarah is a Lecturer in Interior Architecture at Curtin University with over 10 years’ professional practice in interior design, having worked previously as an Associate at Geyer. Her interests are in sustainable design, which aims to transform domestic consumption of scarce resources and facilitate sustainable interi ABOUT THE AUTHORS or renovations. As a practitioner and academic she attended the Regional Sustainable Building Conference in Madrid, and was a winner of Innovative Design in Housing Industry Awards for the Green Smart Category. Sarah is interested in the interface between interiors and architecture, and the associated seamlessness of space, as well as the integration of arts processes into design studios and creative production as research. Kelley Beaverford IDT, Lakeland College Alberta; BID, University of Manitoba; MArch, University of Calgary Kelley has over 10 years experience as a design educator in Canada, Sri Lanka and Qatar, and is currently is an Associate Professor with the Department of Interior Design, Faculty of Architecture, University of Manitoba, Canada. Her passion for community-based non-proit design has led her to numerous projects in Uganda, Ghana, Tanzania, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Cambodia, Nepal and India. She is a recipient of a University of Manitoba Outreach Award, a YWCA Woman of Distinction Award, and a Canadian Bureau for International Education Award for her work with Service Learning in the Global Community. Kelley is also the Executive Director of Architects Without Borders, Canada. Angela Buckland MA, University of Central England, Birmingham Angela taught for many years in the Fine Arts Department at Durban University of Technology. She currently runs her own private photography school and works as a freelance photographer in Durban, South Africa. Through her photographic work she explores deeply personal themes and is held in private and public collections. She has exhibited nationally and internationally. In 2006, she published Zip Zip My Brain Harts, and illustrated Light on a Hill: Building The Constitutional Court of South Africa. Her practice focuses on private stories of seemingly ordinary people and ‘their lived experience’, how we interact with friends, lovers, our families and even strangers; how we desire connectedness and a sense of belonging. Marianne Frandsen Dip (Interior Architecture & Design), Danish Design School Marianne has worked on assignments in Denmark and the other Scandinavian countries, and the Middle East, including Iraq and Kuwait. She volunteered in organisational work deining the emerging profession of interior architecture in Denmark as well as internationally. In the early 1990s she was appointed Head of Interior and Furniture Design at DKDS, The Danish Design School. In September 2010, she was one of 12 designers invited by The National Art Foundation to give her design visions to the White Paper regarding the future design of hospitals. Marianne is an Honorary Member of Danish Designers, and Honorary Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia (FDIA), Past President of the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI), and a board member of Design for the World. Rodney Harber BArch, KwaZulu Natal; MScURP, KwaZulu Natal Rodney is a retired Professor from University of KwaZulu Natal, School of Architecture, Planning and Housing. He is the Principal of Harber & Associates, Architects, Urban & Regional Planners, and teaches part-time at Durban University of Technology. He is Council Member of the Africa Union of Architects, and member of UNESCO/UIA Validation Council, with the role of upgrading architecture education throughout Africa. He was awarded the UIA (International Union of Architects) Vassilis Sgoutas Prize & SAIA Medal of Distinction for ‘work for the poor in projects with community participation’. He was a participant in Global Studio. His award-winning practice has worked mainly in rural, developmental projects along the eastern seaboard of ABOUT THE AUTHORS South Africa, concerning sustainable settlements, impact of HIV/AIDS, poverty alleviation and community buildings. He has lectured widely, from Norway to Australia. His projects have been exhibited in London, Rotterdam and Turin. Paul Memmott BArch, University of Queensland; PhD, University of Queensland Professor Memmott is an anthropologist and architect. He is Director of the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre (AERC) at the University of Queensland (School of Architecture and Institute of Social Science Research). From 1980 to 2008, he was the principal of a research consultancy practice in Aboriginal projects, which provided specialised services to Aboriginal organisations and government departments throughout Australia. Current research in the AERC addresses social problems of housing design, crowding, homelessness and family violence in both metropolitan and remote parts of Indigenous Australia. The AERC maintains research linkages with other scholars in New Zealand and the Paciic Rim who are also addressing indigenous issues. Jill Pable BSc, Appalachian State UniversitY; MFA, Florida State University; PhD, University of South Florida Jill is an Associate Professor in the Department of Interior Design at Florida State University, USA. Jill served as national president of the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) from 2009–2010 and is the author and co-author of two design textbooks: Sketching Interiors at the Speed of Thought (Fairchild Books, 2004) and Interior Design: Practical Strategies for Teaching and Learning, (Fairchild Books, 2008). Her service and research focuses on design for the underprivileged, and her papers, presentations and creative works have garnered top honours seven times at educational conferences and competitions. Through her guidance, two of her students are the holders of a US patent for the design of a cradle for use by families in homeless shelters. Penny Sparke BA, Sussex University; PhD, Brighton Polytechnic Penny is Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) and Professor of Design History at Kingston University, London. She oversees three Faculties — Art, Design and Architecture; Business and Law; and Arts and Social Sciences — and chairs the Research Committee, the Campus Development Board and the Cultural Strategy Group. She has published over a dozen books and numerous articles and book chapters over the last twenty-ive years. They include As Long as It’s Pink: The Sexual Politics of Taste (Pandora, London, 1995), Elsie de Wolfe: The Birth of Modern Interior Decoration (Acanthus Press, New York, 2005), and The Modern Interior (Reaktion, London 2008). She is a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects’ Research and Development group, an Honorary Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Lisa Waxman BSc, Florida State University; MSc, Oregon State University; PhD, Florida State University Lisa’s qualiications are in Interior Design and Art Education. She is the Professor and Director of the graduate program in the Interior Design department at Florida State University, USA. Her current research includes the design of third places and spaces that foster community, as well as housing for special populations. She is a National Council for Interior Design Qualiication (NCIDQ) certiicate holder, an accredited professional in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), and a licensed interior designer in Florida. She is currently the President-Elect of the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC). She teaches environment and behaviour, research methods, computer-aided design, sustainability, and graduate studio. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Print Form ORDER FORM Return Form via Email SCHOOL OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT POSTAL ORDER FORM PLEASE RETURN yOUR ORDER FORM & PAyMENT DETAILS TO: School of Built Environment Curtin University GPO Box U1987 Perth, WA, 6845. Australia Tel: +61 - (0) 8- 9266 7344 Fax: +61 - (0) 8- 9266 2711 e-mail: l.burnett@curtin.edu.au • CRICOS provider code 00301J LIFE FROM THE INSIDE Perspectives on Social Sustainability & Interior Architecture Dianne Smith, Marina Lommerse & Priya Metcalfe, eds, Curtin University Interior Architecture Publication Series, Paper and Pencil Press, vol 1, 2011. Quantity Title Cost per book Life from the Inside $45.00 Total Cost (GST included) (Please contact us for bulk order discounts) Domestic Postage $2.50 International Postage $6.50 TOTAL $AUD: Name: Signature: Address: Postcode: Telephone: Please debit my MasterCard OR Visa Card (tick one) the amount of: $ Card Number: Expiry: / Veriication No: I’ve enclosed a cheque* for the amount of: *Please make cheques out to CURTIN UNIVERSITY Cost Center deposits: U108250 - 5150 - 43341 BUy ONLINE FROM THE PUBLISHER: www.paperandpencil.com.au HOW TO PURCHASE