A Reflection on the Theoretical Field of Interior Design

“Interior Architecture” or “Interior Design” as names for professional specialties and academic disciplines, have a history of nearly a century. Most of the research done during these years has been related to practical and applied design issues, but the need for research in the theoretical field, has called for attention in the last two decades, more than ever. One of the most important works published on this subject, is the book, Toward a New Interior: An Anthology of Interior Design Theory. In the book, Loise Weinthal, formulates a theoretical framework and places emphasis on a collection of essays within his proposed layers of framework in order to draw out themes. A diagram of this anthology’s organizational strategy concieves the interior in eight asymmetrical onion-shaped layers that occasionally have overlaps here and there. The book, according to the model and corresponding to the sections, is comprised of selected essays related to a broader set of concerns than interior design. In this article, in order to reflect on the theoretical framework of Interior design, we analyse and interpret the views of Louis Weinthal in this book. The article has two main sections; The first part, with a question-based structure, is about Weinthal ideas of what and how is interior, but the second part, is dedicated to the description of his proposed theoretical framework and a review of articles related to the model. The aim of the present article, is to contemplate on how to formulate a theoretical structure for interior design. The article can be a way of thinking and research in the theoretical field of interior design, furthermore, can help students and professionals in the field become more familiar with interior design literature, related issues, and theoretical resources; An area that deserves more attention due to its emergence and, consequently, its lack of resources.