In a way, Interior designing for one’s community is a little like having the entire community as your Interior Design client! Community buildings, and their Interiors, belong to all of us, are used – sooner or later – by almost all of us, and also by our Visitors, Tourists and Guests.
Therefore, when designing the Interiors of Community structures, your Interior designer approaches the Vision, the materials, the themes, the functionality, the accessibility and the central purpose of the structure’s use, with careful considerations for that plurality. The Interior design end results are not charged with satisfying just one individual client, but rather, the specific entity’s purpose, and the overall Community.
In designing Community buildings’ Interiors, ordinarily your Interior designer will be working with officials or leaders who have been placed in their positions by the Community –through one process or another. That official or leadership person becomes the Interior designer’s Client, and Project Authority, on your behalf.
In some situations, there are regulations, stipulations, protocols and disciplines that drive the parameters of the Interior design project. Some Community structures have a very specific singular function and use for the Community – such as law enforcement. Some Community structures have Interiors designed for multi use.
Understanding the particular end-use of a Community building (or part of a building) is very important in the front-end planning process. Even with a “multi use” designation, the most probable variety of uses must be taken into consideration. Obviously, flexibility of the considered components is paramount! (Can all possibilities be anticipated? Of course, not!)
Some buildings that are used by the community, although privately owned, present the Interior designer with additional responsibilities and challenges. Some examples: Churches and some Associations. The entity in focus will want their building’s Interior to reflect their special use, their belief system or their societal goals and procedures. Concurrently, the facility will want their “invitation” to be clear: join us in our community purpose (Elks, Rotary, etc.) join our congregation (Churches, Synagogues, etc.).
We have all experienced such institutions that, while privately owned, may invite us in. Who has not admired, for instance, the interior of a building of faith, its color, art or statuary? Behind all of it is an Interior design specialist.
An individual business owner, or a residential client, knows what they personally prefer for theming, colors, materials and appointments. They know their customers or clients; they know their family. Designing Interiors that will have a more universal appeal requires knowledge, experience and skill interpreting and addressing the specific project requirements. An Interior design team must envision how any one individual will interpret the community Interior space. Infusing a personal dynamic into a broad collective concept is a specific skillset.
Knowing the community personality, so to speak, helps an Interior design team when planning the design vision for common-use Community Interior space. And, the research for learning “who” and “what” the community is can be a really great adventure! If the Interior design team is not familiar with the Community, it is both interesting and informative for the team to attend some of the meetings, events and functions that are relevant to the specific Interior space on the drawing board! Familiarity helps.
Way in the past, Community Interior space was viewed as “institutional” in character, with straightforward, let’s get down-to-business somber character and color. They were just places to get a job done! The chairs were back breakers, no need for coffee and snacks; and art was for a gallery – not usually present where the town council met to hammer out ordinances and see to trash collection. So, color and furnishings tended to the utilitarian.
Fortunately, the tide turned. It’s clear that doing the functional work of a Community can be more interesting, pleasant, and even more efficient in beautiful surroundings! Where seats are more comfortable, might folks linger longer? If the color’s interesting, and the coffee hot, might the issues get a little better attention?
Robert Boccabella, B.F.A. is principal and founder of Business Design Services and a certified interior designer in private practice for over 30 years. Boccabella provides Designing to Fit the Vision© in collaboration with writingservice@earthlink.net. To contact him call 707-263-7073; email him at rb@BusinessDesignServices.com or visit www.BusinessDesignServices.com or on Face Book at Business Design Services.
