What Is Architecture?
Best defined as the “big picture” view of design, architecture focuses on the exterior structure of a building, playing a role in everything from engineering to material selection and safety issues. Architects may work on residential, industrial, and commercial buildings, as well as buildings designated for public use. In short, any building that you encounter had to be designed by a professional architect.
Architects draw up plans for the design, determining the visual appearance of the exterior, as well as considering factors like sustainability, energy performance, regulations, and building permits. In some cases, architects assist with parts of the interior layout, such as cabinetry and elements related to the overall structure and stability of the building.
What Is Interior Architecture?
Blending elements of interior design and architecture, interior architecture focuses on the structure of a space’s interior. Elements like the placement of doors and windows and ventilation are key to this discipline. While not always the case, interior architects often focus more on adaptable reuse, which involves redesigning the interior of an existing structure for a new, modern use, such as transforming an office building into apartments.
Like an architect, an interior architect must understand the art of design and science in architecture as it relates to structural considerations. However, an interior architect also takes on some interior design elements in their practice, such as lighting, lighted mirrors, textures, and colors within a space. They may even partner with an interior designer to create a cohesive result.
Interior Architecture vs. Interior Design
While interior architecture often bleeds over into interior design elements, interior architecture focuses on the structure and functionality of a building, as well as how details like windows, doors, storage, plumbing, and heating and cooling impact a space’s overall aesthetic and usage. Interior architects must understand the fundamentals of architecture as it relates to the interiors of buildings and how to adapt existing spaces for new uses.
The difference between interior design and interior architecture is Interior design’s emphasis on the visual sensibility of an interior, such as the color palette, artwork, and window treatments. Interior designers work to improve both the look and function of a room through things like furniture selection and placement, luxury brand selection, and material choices.
Both disciplines require creative thinking and innovation, as well as the skill to visualize how a space can be transformed and improved, whether in choosing the best bathroom mirrors, as an interior designer might, or in determining the proper layout for a space, as an interior architect does.
Interior Design vs. Architecture
While interior design places an emphasis on the aesthetics inside a space, architecture focuses on the outside of a building. Architects develop plans for buildings, both residential and commercial, placing emphasis on structural stability, materials, and sustainability.
Both require creative problem-solving and knowledge of styles and forms but apply these skills in very different ways. An interior designer may work in collaboration with an architect to determine how furniture, cabinetry, and other parts of a room are laid out, and how that layout may affect their design and use of textiles and artwork.
Architecture & Interior Design