The Significance of Furniture Arrangement in Architectural Space

Abstract Book of the 3rd International Conference on Art Studies

Year: 2026

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The Significance of Furniture Arrangement in Architectural Space

Prof. Dr. Luis Jorge Benítez Barajas

ABSTRACT:

The research focused on the arrangement of furniture within the architectural space of social dwellings and a question arose: why this arrangement in the space? This phenomenon was addressed by questioning the following explanation: is it possible that the arrangement of the furniture is determined by the meaning that the resident attributes to it? The objective was to explain this problem. Social, environmental, functional, and semiotic theories were involved, from which different types of dispositional meanings were derived and how these ones explained the relativity of furniture. The explanation was based on three aspects: the ways in which we perceive the surrounding space and in which we internalize this perception through mental processes, and the mechanism that integrates it into a communication structure.
Two instruments were used: a questionnaire to assess the frequency of different types of meaning by exploring the attitudes and habits of residents; and the use of a cognitive mapping, in which the drawings made by residents were interpreted to identify types of meanings associated with each space. The results of both instruments were compared, and a significant trend in the hierarchy of placement was found, indicating saturation of certain areas based on differentiated spatial functional dynamics depending on time and day, with very limited furniture arrangement options, and disruption in interspace travel. It is recommended to adapt the shape of the furniture to the space, to use multifunctional furniture and implement the functional continuity of this.

Keywords: Architectural Decor; Interior Design; Privacy; Proxemics; Semiology