Sixteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

This paper explores how mindful and contemplative thinking strategies can inform and structure the design process for the built environment. Mindfulness is commonly thought of as an individual self-care technique aimed at reducing stress and anxiety but it also plays an active role in non-design disciplines, such as education and pedagogy, politics, economics, indigenous rights, and social justice becoming a philosophy and methodology that transcends the private self-management needs of the individual to proactively engage larger communities and collectives. It is from this position where the potential of applying mindful approaches to interior design thinking and practice emerged. As a discipline that is centred on problem-solving, interior design thinking and practice could benefit from mindful approaches in developing critical design strategies and enhancing design practice. This hypothesis formed the basis of an interior design studio that examined how to integrate mindful and contemplative learning strategies into the initial research, ideation, and development phases of the design process by acknowledging the positive aspects of individual self-care while employing mindful, contemplative, and critical approaches in the understanding and resolution of interior design challenges. The results of the studio revealed an increased awareness of the student’s potential to understand, contextualize, and act in response to a series of design challenges. Under the guidance of mindful thinking and action, the students adopted new thinking strategies and achieved a new awareness of how interior design can make meaningful contributions to the world outside of themselves.