Function first or form first—a comparison of two design methods for undergraduate basic course

South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China

Abstract

Talking about form and function in the architecture, two major traditions in design are always inevitable. They are two methods of architectural design: the first one is used by Beaux-Art system which takes form and order as the core; the second one is of Bauhuas system which focuses on function. Architecture is closely related to the interior, so are there also two design methods in the field of interior design? Through analysis of interior design textbooks in different academies, it was found that most existing design methods are based on function. Function-based design methods have a series of operable standard methods for function, but also have the problem of high level of functional logic and low level of formal logic. Does interior design also have a design approach starting from form and order and unifying function logic and formal logic? By transplanting the “kit-of-parts approach” in architectural design into interior design, applying the two design methods in undergraduate course of environmental design and comparing the two course design results, it was verified in this paper which design method is easier to balance form and function in basic design course.