Interior Design Commons^™

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 …

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 …

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 …

Res Historica, Volume 5, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta, Lindsay Rae Smith Privette Phd

Res Historica

The 2026 journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lindsay Rae Smith Privette, Julia Ackerman, Callyn Wright, Logan Davis, and John Hinton. Cover art by Mary Beth Lee.

From Lino To Luxury: Class, Taste And Identity In The Mid-Twentieth Century Irish Provincial ‘Good Room’, Angela Mehegan

Irish Communication Review

The aim of this paper is to position issues of class and taste within the context of the home and through the lens of the domestic in mid-twentieth century provincial Ireland from the early 1950s to the early 1970s. This was a time of unprecedented economic growth and heralded a period of social and cultural change. Our homes and the artefacts we surround ourselves with are central to our sense of self and how we wish to be seen by others. Issues of class, taste, status, gender, and aesthetic possibilities are unpacked by focusing on the ‘Good Room’ as a …

From The Pit, Joshua C. Goering

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

Clay retains histories; the memory of each action it experiences is depicted on its surface and in its form.  I am a potter focused on making objects that capture these moments. Pinching, scraping, trimming, throwing, and carving expose tooth and excavate form, revealing the qualities of the material and showing the marks of handwork. As a potter, I am interested in participating in a history of vessel making and understanding making through an interpretation of the historic object. The work acts as an archive, accumulating information about process, materials, and a greater context of elder objects. Integrating these vocabularies creates …

Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The current study investigates the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu (G 22). The study focuses on two objectives: the first objective is to describe the plant folk taxonomy in Chasu and the second objective is to determine the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu. Data were collected from rural villages in Same and Mwanga districts by using free listing, field interviews (jungle-walk-and-identify), and written texts containing Chasu plant names. The findings reveal that Chasu folk taxonomy reflects different ethnobotanical categories; including a unique beginner which is mmea/mimea ‘plant(s)’, and three life …

Unframing Venus: Redefining The Female Nude, Sage Leafsong

Masters Theses

Historically women have been excluded from becoming acclaimed artists due to societal, educational, and institutional barriers. This exclusion has had many repercussions in Western art––in a large part it has made celebrated male artists the norm, while celebrated female artists are the exception.

These same barriers often precluded women from depicting themselves in art. When women did paint, they were encouraged to paint domestic scenes such as flowers or still lifes and were prohibited from studying or depicting the nude form. This gap of representation was filled by male artists who have felt empowered to sexualize women with no consequence. …

Tile In Time: The Study Of Interiors Through Art, Lauren Nielsen

Student Research Symposium

Lauren is a senior in the Interior Architecture and Design program at Utah State University. Her design philosophy centers around storytelling—she believes that great design not only transforms spaces but also tells meaningful stories. When she graduates, Lauren hopes to work in a historic preservation capacity. This projects draws inspiration from the past as we step into the future.

For The Birds, Charlotte L. Middleton

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

For the Birds is a homogenous material exhibition of porcelain pottery that explores the relationships between, expectations of, and roles placed upon women and pottery. Using traditional craft processes, still life imagery, and the language and limits of porcelain, I create arrangements that expose the viewers assumptions of both subjects. Pottery- pitchers, cups, and vases—is a product of anthropocentrism and anthropomorphism and can be entirely taken for granted- their role is assumed and unquestionable—to serve. The language and expectations of these objects are the medium I build with.

The title of the show, For the Birds, is both a …

Beyond Display: Crafting Emotional Journeys For Belonging And Connectivity, Jiamin Yang

Masters Theses

In bustling urban areas like Manhattan, New York, the majority of interactions between individuals occur amidst the whirlwind of daily life. Yet, there is an absence of genuine connections within local communities, particularly among neighbors who are geographically close, creating a sense of detachment, untrusting, and anonymity. This thesis involves exploring innovative interventions with the ultimate goal of uncovering novel possibilities in interactive exhibitions, distinct from traditional displays. All of this is an effort to curate emotional journeys that transcend routine, fostering vibrant community belonging and connectivity. Against the backdrop of the city’s vertical living, where neighbor encounters are often …

Papering Over Colonial Legacies: Chinoiserie, Chinese Wallpaper, And Exotic Obfuscation At Harewood House, Carolyn J. Bishop

Theses and Dissertations

Harewood House is an estate emblematic of eighteenth-century evolutions in aesthetic philosophy, capital flows and social dynamics in the British empire. Built by the Lascelles family, it embraces an eclectic neoclassical decorative style that includes chinoiserie. This thesis argues that this exoticizing decorative strategy, and particularly its Chinese wallpaper – as both fine art and consumer good – translated the Lascelles' fortune, amassed through colonial exploits in the Caribbean, into advancement through domestic British hierarchies.

A Part Apart, Spenser Atlas

Masters Theses

I am fascinated by connections. Things that click, snap, slide, and hold. I care about the ways in which objects meet, looking for answers in the space between. What binds one thing to another?

I believe the world is presented to us in pieces. It’s hard to say how it all comes together. It's easy to believe things are shapeless and detached from each other. Connection is a bridge, a way of linking one thing to another that reveals interdependence, and eventually moves outwards to express a correlation between pieces, once assumed to be discrete and isolated.

This work is …

Adaptive Reuse Of Frosty Morn, Veronika Kalugina, Rebecca Tonguis, Heidi Gabriel, Peyton Kauffman

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

Frosty Morn, a former meat packing facility in Clarksville, TN, is now abandoned, dilapidated, and partially demolished. The site sits within the Red River District neighborhood, which consists of a diverse community of artists. The Red River District has been identified by the Clarksville Mayor’s Office as an area with potential for growth, catalyzed by repurposing the Frosty Morn building as an icon and beacon of the community. Highest and best use research, in addition to community voices, indicated programmatic needs of a farmer’s market, makerspaces, small business incubators, park space, and live/work units. Our presentation will describe how this …

"A Decorator In The Best Sense": Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, Lilly Reich, The Fabric Curtain Partition, And The Articulation Of The German Modern Interior, Marianne E. Eggler-Gerozissis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Contributing to the burgeoning study of the domestic interior, a field of inquiry existing in the interstices of architecture, design, interior decoration, and material culture, this dissertation presents a thematic study of the modern domestic interiors of German/American architect/designer Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1965) designed in collaboration with fellow German architect/designer Lilly Reich (1885–1947) during the 1920s and early 1930s in Weimar Germany. Inspired by a revealing but hitherto overlooked statement by Philip Johnson in the catalogue for the influential 1932 International Style exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York that referred to Mies as “a …

The Light Of The Revival: Stained-Glass Designs For Restituted Synagogues In Ukraine, Eugeny Kotylar, Magda Teter

Faculty Publications

The catalogue for the exhibition "The Light of the Revival: Stained-Glass Designs for Restituted Synagogues in Ukraine by Eugeny Kotlyar" held at Fordham University from September 10-December 10, 2023 offers a broad perspective on the revival of Ukrainian synagogues after Ukraine’s independence. It showcases three sets of stained-glass windows, which were designed by Eugeny Kotlyar and partially implemented in Ukrainian synagogues in the period from 1995 to 2005. Two early works shown here were the first samples of stained-glass designs for modern Ukrainian synagogues, which set a new trend. The first of them—the stained-glass windows for the Kharkiv Choral Synagogue …

Achakali Chickasha Holbachi Italatalit Ithana: Continuation Of Chickasaw Design Practices, Lily Shore

Interior Design Undergraduate Honors Theses

The project aims to create an accessible tool to document, preserve, and honor Chickasaw design techniques by creating interactive 3D models replicating ancestral structures available through an online gallery. A virtual exhibition focuses on structures commonly found in a traditional Chickasaw village. The constructions represented include a traditional council house, summer house, winter house, and corn crib. Each is accompanied by contextual information, including a collection of historical photographs, information concerning use, and conventional architectural drawings such as plans, sections, and isometric views. In fruition, the project aims to function as a resource to commemorate the history of traditional Chickasaw …

Robert Adam Interiors And Wakehurst's Yellow Drawing Room: Imported Period Rooms In The United States, Isabella Margi

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Covid-10, Healthcare Interior Design + Provider Experience - How Does Your Space Work For You?, Ruth E.P. Deibler

Graduate Research Posters

The lack of research on healthcare staff experience and interior design of the spaces they work in is evident. A focus on staff perspective is needed, particularly staff who navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. This research seeks to capture those stories to develop further research in order to improve staff experience. The initial phase of this mixed-methods approach is a survey. Hypothetically, by placing providers at the center of qualitative research related to healthcare interior design, we can better understand existing healthcare spaces. Ideally, we can develop additional evidence-based, human-centered solutions to transform interior environments in healthcare.

The 20-year Women’s Health …

Walter Gropius, Mies Van Der Rohe And Marcel Breuer: Designing For America, Shiri Chapman-Daniel

MA Projects

Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer: Designing for America examines interior and furniture projects by the three European modern designer after emigrating to the U.S. in 1938. Many of these projects are not very well known, or are commonly discussed solely in terms of architecture, yet the interiors in fact reveal interesting and significant developments in Gropius, Mies and Breuer's work. The exhibition highlights the evolution of their designs, as well as the extent to which they were affected by American tendencies and innovations and their lasting impact.

French Wallpaper Decors: Papiers Peints In Homes Of The American South, Christine Speare

MA Theses

French wood-block printed wallpaper is a very unique mural art form, yet often neglected. With this historical lack of attention, few academics have devoted themselves to the study of the topic, especially in the United States; and yet, wallpaper can reveal so much about past styles, settings, and collectors. Due to the historical changes in fashion, natural aging, weather, war, and neglect, a considerably limited number of collections continue to hang in situ in the American South in relation to the abundant examples found in the Northeast that have been better documented. Yet, the South’s historic affinity for all that …

Artistic Tiles, American Encaustic Tiling Co.

Artistic Tiles from the American Encaustic Tiling Company

A manufacturer's catalog consisting of 89 unnumbered leaves of photographs and illustrations of embossed art tiles, some displayed as surrounding a mantle and some displayed on their own. Details for the tiles are given including size of tiles and assigned numbers, presumably corresponding to their manufacturing number. Included is a drawing of "a modern bathroom," as well as "profiles, of a few of our base, cap, cove, bead, and door trim tiles."

Ceramic Mosaic Tile : Mounted On Paper, American Encaustic Tiling Co.

Artistic Tiles from the American Encaustic Tiling Company

A manufacturer's catalog consisting of seventy-one color plates which depict available patterns, sizing, colors, lettering and numbers for myriad styles of floor tile design.