Innovation and creativity in sustainable interior design
Authors: Obeidat Islam M , Hasan Salwa 
Published: April 2015

During the Renaissance, science, art, and architecture adopted a philosophy and methods that required separation between subject and object. In design, this was reflected in the formal spatial arrangements of renaissance gardens, the axial layout of structures and gardens, and the spatial isolation between rooms within buildings. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, architects began to blur the boundaries between spaces and forms. This resulted in building designs with dynamic spatial interiors that were reflected in exterior appearance. At the same time, artists (e.g. cubists), scientists (e.g. physicists), and philosophers (e.g. phenomenologists) were also exploring how objects and subjects were part of each other. Through ecological practices such as roof gardens, urban wildlife habitat restoration and solar energy, urban ecologists have attempted to move beyond the dualistic concepts of culture and nature to demonstrate that they belong to the same system.Designers must take ethical responsibility for the environment because design aesthetics shape and express everyday realities. Sustainable architecture is often too focused on visual qualities that appear sustainable, but fail to function more ecologically than conventional buildings.Problem statementsInnovation and creativity refer to the development of awareness and responsibility to identify, learn, and apply elements of sustainability to create a unique sustainable design. Studying competing notions of ecological reform may help create diverse approaches to eco-design. Design directly affects societies; decisions about design and technology involve not only scientific and technical issues but also social ones.Research purposesThe purpose of this study is to discuss innovation and creativity in design ideals and to investigate how innovation and creativity can lead to better sustainable interior design.The objectives of the studyThe objective of this study is to examine innovation and creativity in sustainable interior design adopted by academia and professionals, and the strategies that can be implemented to add on to it.The significant of the studyResearch questionsHow innovation and creativity can lead to better sustainable interior design?MethodologyThe author conducted a review of literature on architectural, artistic, and scientific development of space, form, and knowledge from the Renaissance to the present day with emphasis on the links between culture and nature.FindingsFinding the appropriate means to learn and apply sustainability principles to solve design problems and generate creative/innovative environments is a challenging educational task. It requires:- Improvement of decision making for design projects by identifying sustainability issues, assembling and evaluating relevant data, and creating an appropriate strategy with defined tasks.- Recognition of relationships between laypersons and experts to better integrate social and environmental issues into the design process.- Awareness to allow research to facilitate informed and balanced design without adversely affecting creativity.- Recognition of the complex relationship between research and design and the different integration approaches which are not mutually exclusive.- Integration of research and design by incorporating pre-design research, acknowledging research as an integral part of the design process, and using research to evaluate and modify design.