Metaphorical Approach in Interior Architecture Education

In this study, the project studio, which is the foundation of interior design education, has been designed using the metaphor method, one of the intellectual methods applied in education. The metaphor method is a technique used to make difficult-to-understand abstract concepts concrete and helps design students develop their critical thinking and creative skills. In this case, design, which is the verbalized form of abstract thought, is limited to an object and the responsibilities brought by this object. From this point of view, an experimental study of metaphorical methods for establishing spatial relations of objects was carried out in a 14-week design studio with the 2nd year students of the Department of Interior Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Design, Selcuk University. The purpose of the studio work is to draw the boundaries of interior architecture students in their search for solutions to design problems, and to enable them to come up with creative designs while making functional and formal decisions. In this context, a metaphorical approach was used in the context of object-space relations to guide students’ formal decisions in the functional solutions of the problems that arise in the interior design process. After working in the studio, the students have developed a working doctrine that will guide their interior design studio projects using the designed method, allow them to create unique forms and shapes, enable them to translate abstract ideas into concrete space and make it possible for them to design at various scales, from equipment to space design. The method is at a level that will set an example for students, designers and academicians working in the design discipline.