Perception and evaluation of interior space: Experimental study on color and pattern

The phenomenon of perception and visual illusion in interior space is a topic that attracts multidisciplinary interest. From the perspective of architecture and design, the complexity of the subject gains momentum, as it is also associated with experiencing the influence of design elements and tools on the quality of indoor environments, which subsequently involves subjective, individual and emotional concepts that play all together an important role as intermediating variables. Aiming to evaluate the experience of interior architectural space, how its properties and visual weight is perceived, a descriptive type of survey research was used to conduct an experimental assessment, with involvement of 93 participants who rated 27 spaces/rooms in eight experiential categories. For the exploratory purposes of this study, a methodology presented by Gerald Franz (2006) was used, who evaluated the perception of space and color, and perceived surface qualities of indoor environments. To achieve an approximative descriptive visual response in this model, the semantic differential was employed as a simple and widely used method. In order to detect the three primary dimensions of emotion as occurring in affective appraisals (pleasure/valence, excitement, and dominance), the combination of pairs of oppositional adjectives with a Likert scale are applied. In addition, ratings of openness and spaciousness were included to detect possible interactions between selected parameters, surface characteristics and experienced space proportions, and ambience.