Difference between Architecture and Interior Design

Every building tells a story, a story embedded in its walls, a tale told by its originators. Such stories are crafted by the intricate work of both Architects and Interior Designers. Both Interior Design and Architecture are considered a generally young profession. Throughout history, the differences between architects, builders, designers and other professionals involved in building a structure have been very blur and drawing the line between all the disciplines has been a rather recent occurrence. The practice itself, has of course, always been around. Since both Architects and Interior Designers have a similar work profile that involves designing, people often get confused between these overlapping professions.

An Architect designs the structure of a building. They are responsible for the structure and façade of a building. They create new, colorful, interesting, creative spaces that light up our surroundings and don’t let boredom set in. Empty spaces built to perfection with a delicate balance between planning and execution are the work of an architect. She/he creates a structure in a given space that is both functional and pleasing to the eye at the same time. They also plan the basic structure of the building including the placement of rooms, kitchen, dining room, garden, and ensure that appropriate space is rewarded to them by the client’s requirements.

The interior designer determines how the inside of a house will look and where vital building systems will be located. Interior designers bring things into a space to make it functional or appealing. They choose things like furniture and arrange the materials that are used to design rooms. In our modern, technological world, most of us spend a major part of our lives indoors. Like things, home means an indoor place—a room, an apartment, a house, a mobile home, even a trailer or van. Obviously, any enclosure is serves several basic purposes. It protects us against the weather; it provides privacy; it gives us places where we can keep the things we need in some more of less convenient relationship. The work that goes into creating a successful interior is masked by the simplicity of an individual’s personality. Our modern habits of living indoors are destined to remain the norm. This gives us a powerful motive for attempting to make the indoor spaces we occupy as satisfactory, useful, pleasant and generally supportive as possible. In most commercial and office buildings, vendors are assigned more-or-less uniformed spaces within an already existing structure. It is within the role of an interior designer to manipulate the space to fill the need of the client while working within the parameters of the building. A rectangular room can become a chic fashion boutique, an interesting antique store or a dentist\’s office. The interior designer can completely transform a space within a building without changing or damaging the structure itself.

An interesting way of looking at these two closely related professions is if we see the architect as the conductor of an orchestra, responsible for making sure that all the elements of a building; the materials, structural design, plumbing, and wiring all come together harmoniously to create a functional symphony. The role of the interior can be seen as the first violinist or concertmaster, usually considered as the leader of the orchestra, responsible for the melody and technical flourishes needed to create the appropriate mood to the symphony. The interior designer\’s role in the orchestra that is building a structure that fulfills its function is one of technical expertise combined with creativity and excellent communication skills required to derive opinions from clients and effectively suggest ways and materials that will aid in creating a space that satisfies the client\’s aesthetics and the purpose of the space.