Interior Design Commons^™

Meanwhile Interiors, Interiority And Becoming Exterior, Cathy Smith

Interiority

This paper explores the resonances between stakeholder conceptions of 'meanwhile' or transient urban interiors and the notion of interiority as a mobile construct intertwined with wider social and material forces. The focus is on the positioning of these interiors in relation to broader community and neighbourhood agendas, invoking what Jill Stoner describes as a becoming exterior. Although the so-called 'meanwhile use' of vacant or sub-market-condition buildings is an increasingly common tool for activating and managing underused property assets in global cities, much of the existing discourse focuses on policy and placemaking implications rather than design dimensions. Drawing on interviews with …

Soft Korsi: An Embodied Spatial Interior System For Communal Warmth, Faezeh Panahandeh

Graduate Final Projects

ABSTRACT

Soft Korsi: An Embodied Spatial Interior System for Communal Warmth reconceptualizes the historic Iranian Korsi as an innovative textile-based interior system. Traditionally, the Korsi functioned not only as a heating device but also as a spatial, material, cultural, and embodied system, which brought people together around a shared warm focal point. The integration of a heat source, textile coverings, floor seating arrangements, closeness of bodies, and domestic traditions related to warmth made possible a collective experience, rather than an individual or environmental one.

This design project seeks to address the disappearance of the Korsi from contemporary domestic environments as …

Where My Memory Settles, Rachel Kobb

Masters Theses

My memory is blurry but ever present in an atmospheric state. Through my investigations of memory and sensorial experience, this thesis is an attempt to understand how the body recalls the spaces I have spent the most time: my various homes through life.

The output of this thesis is a paper installation that layers and translates spatial qualities of my past homes. The home is not a neutral container, but instead a space that should support a sense of retreat and security. Drawing upon Gaston Bachelard’s zones of experience, I explore how a domestic space is moved through distinct zones. …

Jadughar: The House Of Magic, Dhruvi A. Shah

Masters Theses

Jadughar or the House of Magic is what people call a 'museum' in parts of South Asia. The practice of museum making, at its origin, is the act of collecting, preserving, interpreting and representing a culture’s tangible and intangible heritage to make it accessible to diverse audiences. Since the early 19th century such practices have been performed at various kala bhandars (art centers) in India, without the need of a formal or institutional organisation. The British introduced the model of a ‘museum’ in South Asia, with the aim of not only preserving ethnographic collections, but also showcasing their power and …

The Birdwatching Pause: Reframing Campus Life Through Everyday Bird Encounters, Katherine Zeng

Masters Theses

Birdwatching, typically framed as a leisure pursuit removed from everyday life, becomes here the organizing logic for a three-site campus route of restorative pause. The thesis departs from the assumption that nature must be sought out and instead asks what happens when the birds already present in urban space are made legible through design.

Three existing RISD buildings anchor the project, each organized around a distinct mode of encounter. At Carr Haus Café, a furniture-scaled insertion creates conditions for attentional reset through passive listening rather than active looking. At North Hall, a semi-open balcony garden introduces incidental, distanced contact with …

Strata: Portraits Of The Alvarado & The Southwest, Kayla R. Duncan

Masters Theses

History isn't the past; it is a continuing unfolding of the moment, yet we cannot feel time. We see traces of age through patina on copper, the wrinkles on a face from decades of laughter, or the holes in your favorite shirt. Similarly within architecture, what remains: ruins and fragments serve as layers that indicate the passage of time. In what ways are these layers exposed? Hidden? Erased? How do we determine what layers are worthy to be erased, maintained, or glorified as use of a structure or place continues to evolve through time?

The history of Albuquerque spans the …

Care Ecologies Between Knots, Eliza R. Marris

Masters Theses

Discarded fibers like raw wool behave the way harm reduction does. Harm reduction resists stigma and works to move beyond assumptions and oversimplifications of substance use and addiction. Wool is irregular, complicated, and emotionally charged. It resists compression and maintains its own being even when pulled apart. Working with raw wool is in relationship with complexity, as is harm reduction.

At its core, harm reduction is grounded in thoughtfulness and empathy towards people, their lived experience, and its nuances. It is a witness to lives, memories, and imprints, acknowledging the entangled realities of addiction. Our detachment from fiber remainders, materials …

Fallen Leaves:The Unseen, Forgotten, Presences That Live In Us, Juhee Cho

Masters Theses

The fallen leaf is a material figure of the unseen, forgotten moments that have made us and holds us still while remaining outside our sight. In urban environments, fallen leaves are managed as seasonal waste, collected and quickly separated from everyday encounter. Yet within ecological systems, they continue to participate in cycles of regeneration, becoming the soil that sustains new life. This quiet continuation is unavailable to the eye, yet known by the body. As a proof of this, the leaf’s transformation reveals itself not to the mind, but to the hand. The curling fiber wears out, the deepening brown, …

The Marathon Without Running: Experiencing A Runner's Sensorial Journey, Harin Kim

Masters Theses

The marathon is defined not by motion alone, but by the changing conditions a body moves through—and remains within—over time. Breath, cadence, heat, sound, crowd compression and attention fluctuate, producing phases that structure the race from within. These interior states are difficult to access by spectators from the sidelines, yet they are precisely what shape the runner’s experience.

This thesis begins with a simple but unconventional question: How can an exhibition translate the runner’s physical sensations and emotions into a multidimensional experience for spectators who do not run? Through a sequence of pop-up exhibitions placed along the New York City …

Mirth, Lauren Schell Farias

Masters Theses

In an era defined by unease, uncertainty, paranoia, distrust, and literal, limitless, and constant surveillance, the human condition has been sliced in half, scraped out, and plopped down to rot under a microscope and then sold skincare because we can see it’s crow’s feet. It’s not a pretty picture. If we zoom in a little and look at the minutiae…it’s even worse. But! If we zoom out a little bit after we zoomed in and try to get the focus right, it’s possible to distinguish the little squiggly shapes of joy.

If you can’t quite make that out, you might …

The Reality Of Aging In Rural Kenya, Kim Van Drunen

Interior Design Capstones

Kenya’s elderly population is growing, but access to professional eldercare is still limited, especially in rural areas. Most retirement homes and care facilities are in urban centers, leaving many rural communities without reliable support for older adults. This capstone project focuses on designing an Outreach Center for Elder Support in rural Kenya to improve access to healthcare, community services, and social activities. The goal of this project is to create a safe, comfortable, and easy-to-use environment for older adults. The design uses human-centered principles with clear layouts, wide circulation paths, accessible restrooms, and comfortable seating. Spaces such as waiting areas, …

Redesigning The Welcome, Lauren Ogrin

Interior Design Capstones

Airports serve as the first and last impression of a city, yet they are often remembered by stress, sensory overload, and a lack of cultural representation. This project explores how storytelling can be intentionally integrated into airport design to improve the overall human experience and create a more meaningful sense of welcome. Through the frameworks of user-centered inquiry, phenomenology, and narrative design, this research examines how materials, spatial sequences, sensory cues, and cultural narratives can influence traveler emotions, cognitive clarity, and feelings of belonging. By understanding how people move through and interpret transitional public spaces, this project proposes design strategies …

Is Design A Form Of Caregiving?, Sidney Jordan

Interior Design Capstones

This thesis challenges the traditional hierarchy of clinical architecture, which historically prioritizes patient outcomes while overlooking the practitioner’s human experience. By investigating whether environmental design can act as a form of caregiving, this research addresses the critical gap between the physiological demands of healthcare labor and the holistic needs of the people performing it. The project argues that burnout is not just a result of high-stakes medicine, but is actively produced by physical layouts and a workplace culture that treats providers as parts of a machine rather than valued individuals. The methodological framework utilizes a tri-layered approach to bridge the …

Designing For Emotion: Reframing The Design Of Cancer Care Environments Through A Cinematic Lens, Alexis Booher

Interior Design Capstones

This capstone explores how cinematic design principles and techniques can inform interior design to shape spaces that support emotional well-being and human connection. Focusing on cancer care spaces, the project addresses the inherently emotional nature of these environments, where emotional impact is often underemphasized in traditional healthcare design, highlighting a critical gap this project aims to address. Drawing from cinema and environmental psychology, this project analyzes how film constructs emotional experiences through visual techniques and translates these principles into the built environment in order to prioritize emotionally supportive design within cancer care spaces. The outcome demonstrates the potential of reframing …

Design For Death, Serena Domsic

Interior Design Capstones

Although cemeteries are the eternal final resting places for countless souls, the design and purpose of burial grounds are often rudimentary and their impact has turned obsolete throughout the years. Cemeteries have become forgotten in the community landscape and are perceived as sinister and morbid through the eyes of modern American culture. Because encounters with death have dwindled for most of the population, many people ignore developing their beliefs about death and how to cope with loss until they are in the midst of emotional distress. This capstone project proposes an enhanced cemetery design that engages the community so individuals …

Unity In Design: Life As An Immigrant In The Built Environment, Julia Sainz

Interior Design Capstones

In the United States, Latinx immigrant communities often face social and systemic challenges that contribute to heightened levels of stress, anxiety, and displacement. While the built environment plays a critical role in shaping emotional and social well-being, architectural and interior design practices frequently overlook the lived experiences and cultural identities of these populations. This study explores how culturally responsive and participatory design strategies can foster safety, access, and empowerment for Latinx immigrants. By examining the intersection of migration, identity, and the built environment, this project proposes design as a tool for community resilience, cultural expression, and holistic well-being.

Where Do We Go: Rethinking Public Libraries, Emma Jouppi

Interior Design Capstones

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors contributing to the decline in public library visits and to identify practical strategies for increasing community engagement with library spaces. Public libraries have long served as accessible, inclusive environments for learning, technology access, and social connection. However, recent years have shown a decline in visitation, raising important questions about public perception, awareness, and accessibility. This research seeks to better understand how these factors intersect and what can be done to strengthen the role of libraries as vital third spaces within their communities.

This study aims to bridge the gap between …

Spring 2026 Title Of Blueprints For The Mind: How The Design Of Public Built Environment Impacts The Mental Health Of Youth, Faith Holton

Interior Design Capstones

Blueprints for the Mind investigates how public built environments influence the mental health of youth, with attention to rising rates of anxiety, depression. Through a multidisciplinary approach bridging environmental psychology, public health, interior architecture, and usercentered design, this project identifies the environmental factors shaping young people’s emotional well-being. Findings reveal that sensory conditions such as lighting, acoustics, layout, materiality, and predictability directly affect youth comfort, focus, and emotional regulation. Field research with students (ages 13–15) and an expert interview with licensed social worker Carmen Ortega-Cline further demonstrate that overstimulating, crowded, or unclear environments heighten stress, while semi-private, naturally lit, and …

Through The Lens Of Zoology, Madalyn Haun

Interior Design Capstones

Current zoo and sanctuary models often fail to meet the complex psychological, behavioral, and spatial needs of endangered and rehabilitated wildlife, resulting in chronic stress and welfare compromises. Beyond the Cage presents a transformation approach to zoological design, shifting the paradigm from entertainment-based displays to a “welfare-first” philosophy. This book argues that effective captive care requires expansive, species-appropriate habitats that facilitate natural behaviors, rather than merely simulating natural aesthetics. Through the lens of modern zoology, this work explores the implementation of groundbreaking exhibit re-creation, focusing on habitat enlargement, precise climate change control, and innovative environmental enrichment. A central pillar of …

Designing Across Generations: Bridging The Gap Through Ecclesiastical Architecture, Aurora Thompson

Interior Design Capstones

The purpose of this capstone project is to develop an intergenerational worship environment that reinforces a sense of unity and harmony among the generations through intentional design strategies. This work addresses the widening generational gap within religious communities and responds to the growing departure of younger generations who often feel unseen or disconnected within traditional church settings. By integrating generational preferences into the architectural and experiential components of the worship space, the project seeks to create an environment where all age groups feel represented, valued, and spiritually engaged. Situated within the context of increasing religious disaffiliation, this project highlights the …