Interiors that draw: the in-between spaces for the sake of the experimental

Abstract

The gap between representation and embodied experimentation in contemporary design practices has distanced the design process from lived experience, while also opening new possibilities for experimental engagement through drawing. This gap has been explored through representational works–such as paper or visionary architecture–as well as through installations, performances, and happenings. Although these categories (“the experiment in the space of drawing” and “the experiment in bodily space”) differ significantly, they share fundamental qualities, such as being research- and criticism-focused and having an interdisciplinary nature, which are also common in Armstrong’s research on “experimental architecture.” Following a review of the literature on representation and embodied experience, this paper examines the concept of the "experimental interior" through the juxtaposition of drawing and installation art–both of which generate knowledge through experimentation and their unique spatiality. These practices are theorized as ways to transcend limited definitions of drawing and interior–conventionally confined to mental-material and interior-exterior binaries–by proposing them as “interiors that draw.” Such interiors are framed, in Armstrongian terms, as “wicked experiments” that address uncertainty, the unknown, and complexity through materially engaged, speculative designerly ways. By focusing on experimental interiors through “interiors that draw” as wicked experiments in interdisciplinary artistic research, this paper aims to highlight their capacity to foster agile designerly approaches. © 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.