"Of Other Spaces"

Creator

Aaltonen, Salla Tuulia -- Leung, Yik Hei, Faith 梁奕希

Title

"Of Other Spaces"

Subject

Interior decoration -- Design -- Exhibitions

College graduates

Date Created

2019-06-24

Relation

PolyU Design - Projects gallery (1)

PolyU Design - Projects gallery (2)

Format

Photographs

Identifier

ASSD2019BAEDD04P001

ASSD2019BAEDD04P002

ASSD2019BAEDD04P003

Is Part Of

BA (Hons) in Environment and Interior Design

Description

'Of Other Spaces'

‘Other spaces’ is a term introduced by philosopher Michel Foucault to discuss certain spaces that are considered “other”. In the field of medicine, the term refers to a condition in which an unexpected tissue is found in an area of the body where it does not belong - an anomaly. This project brings together the medical context, the rational and irrational.

Conventional spaces of treatment are a natural consequence of understanding body and medicine, while there is limited understanding of phobias, the irrational, and mental health. The three phobias the project explores are agoraphobia (the fear of open and public spaces), acrophobia (fear of heights) and claustrophobia (fear of confined spaces). The design discusses the experience of having phobias, how they perceive physical spaces in their mind and its spatial realities.

This project aims to discuss to what extent does the interior conditions such as colour, lighting, shape and form affect the mental and inner experiences of space, to control or amplify reactionary processes of what people with phobias see and what is really there.

The adjustment and changes in the interiority of space does affect the way the user experiences fear and other symptoms of phobias. Spatial decisions can have a positive or negative impact on the user; either by triggering the phobia or enhancing the feeling of security. A set of options and combinations of various spatial elements are clinically eliminated to two types of spaces: one to induce and the other to counteract the phobia.

Two sets of testing were conducted to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. The first stage of primary research utilised a set of box models, which represented the pattern and colour combinations in a space. The test subjects were then presented with 2 or 3 options, from which they selected the one that they considered to be answering the set question the best. Second round of testing was conducted with VR environments. Focusing on colour and pattern combinations as well as lighting, producing the VR tests placed people in the specific spatial conditions allow more reliable feedback from participants.

After both primary and secondary research, the final combinations of colour and pattern were narrowed down. From here started the spatial translation of the collected information. These finalised patterns are now translated into various interior design elements that would mimic the same effect that the original pattern would to the patient, such as lighting, material choice and spatial configuration. In this final stage all the knowledge of medical context is brought back in to redesign the same spaces of treatment, which were demonstrated in the earlier research.

As a final design, the project proposes individual design solutions to change the patients experience of the process of diagnosis and treatment. As discovered through vast testing and analysis, these new interior elements implemented into existing sites would improve the spatial experience.

Project objectives

This project aims to discuss to what extent does the interior conditions such as colour, lighting, shape and form affect the mental and inner experiences of space, to control or amplify reactionary processes of what people with phobias see and what is really there.

*****************************************

Other spaces’ is a term introduced by philosopher Michel Foucault to discuss certain spaces that are considered “other”. This project brings together the medical context, the rational and irrational. Conventional spaces of treatment are a natural consequence of understanding body and medicine, while there is limited understanding of phobias, the irrational, and mental health. The three phobias the project explores are agoraphobia (the fear of open and public spaces), acrophobia (fear of heights) and claustrophobia (fear of confined spaces).

This project aims to discuss to what extent does the interior conditions such as colour, lighting, shape and form affect the mental and inner experiences of space, to control or amplify reactionary processes of what people with phobias see and what is really there.

Two sets of testing were conducted to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. The first stage of primary research utilised a set of box models, which represented the pattern and colour combinations in a space. Second round of testing was conducted with VR environments. Focusing on colour and pattern combinations as well as lighting, producing the VR tests placed people in the specific spatial conditions allow more reliable feedback from participants.

Collection

PolyU Design Annual Show 2019: beyond the surface = 二〇一九理大設計年展: 表裡以外