Materiality and Narratives: Exploring Culture and Perception in Interior Architecture (WIP)
Interior architectural environments are physical constructs that reflect cultural and political texts: spaces that communicate values, identities, and ideologies through material composition. For centuries, architects, designers, and patrons have selected materials—wood, stone, textiles, composites—not merely for their aesthetic or functional qualities but for their capacity to convey stories. Whether the grand marble halls of political institutions or a sustainable community centre’s muted recycled finish, materials serve as agents of meaning and narrative. Nevertheless, how these material decisions shape cultural contexts, political influences, and user perceptions remains insufficiently examined.
This research proposes a critical inquiry into the relationships among material choices, narrative construction, and socio-political underpinnings in interior architecture. By focusing on how interior spaces indirectly or openly communicate intellectual messages, the study aims to deepen understanding of how materiality resolves perception. Such insights will enrich theoretical dialogues within architectural and design studies and guide practitioners
and policymakers in crafting environments that are thoughtful, inclusive, and resonant with diverse user groups.
A robust body of scholarship recognises architecture as a cultural artefact (Borden & Rendell, 2000; Tschumi, 1996), with interiors acting as intimate stages for everyday social life (Pile, 2005). Material culture and interior design studies have highlighted how materials carry symbolic weights, signifying heritage, technological progress, or ecological responsibility (Attfield, 2000; Forty, 1986). Similarly, the politics of space has been well documented by theorists who see built environments as arenas where power, identity, and ideology converge (Lefebvre, 1991; Massey, 2005).
