Architectural and Spatial Design Studies: Inscribing Architecture in Design Studies

Abstract

The present article argues for the inscription of architecture – as well as studies of design in various spatial scales – within the fi eld of design studies. It claims the need for bridging these two areas of inquiry, architecture and design studies, and for creating a new fi eld that intersects architecture scholarship with design studies, but also with a variety of other fi elds, such as cultural and urban geography, vernacular studies, interior design, spatial anthropology, material culture, and media studies. This fi eld could be tentatively named as architectural and spatial design studies, showing its affi liation with a broader range of spatial disciplines and practices that include – but are not limited to – architecture, as well as with the fi eld of design studies.