The research and teaching network ‘Urban Interiors’ explores interior spaces, privacy, and their implications for human beings in contemporary contexts. It focuses on interiors in urban areas, and the meetings and relationships that are created there between private and public spaces, both outdoors and indoors. The network enables interdisciplinary research projects, intersectoral discussions, teaching projects, and collaborations—facilitating the meeting of theory, history and practice.
The participants included designers, practising architects, historians of architecture, and researchers in the field of architectural design. In addition, the group comprised an anthropologist and an art curator. Despite our different approaches and backgrounds, we shared a common aim. This aim is to define and strengthen the field of interior studies from different perspectives and cultural contexts, with a focus on understanding interior space within a broader urban framework. Professor Kristina Fridh, a leading figure in the field and a driving force behind this distinctive network, has asserted that artistic research should be a shared, integral component for all participants.
The network includes representatives from the field of interior research and education in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark). The following institutions are involved in the network: Konstfack, the University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm; the Royal Danish Academy – Architecture Design Conservation; KHIO, the Oslo National Academy of the Arts, Department of Interior Architecture and Furniture Design; Aalto University, Department of Architecture/Interior Architecture in Espoo; Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Building Design in Gothenburg; KTH Royal Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and the Built Environment; ArkDes in Stockholm; and the Centre for Privacy Studies, University of Copenhagen. PRIVACY was represented by Dr. Natalie Koerner, who is also an associate professor at the Royal Danish Academy – Architecture Design Conservation, along with me, Dr. Carmen García Sánchez, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, in Madrid.
History informs important contemporary privacy questions. An interdisciplinary approach is essential to gain an in-depth understanding of the various perspectives. This was echoed by the presentation “An Early Modern Urban Interior” by Dr. Koerner, who reflected on the idea of the “open house”, which has been formulated by historians to describe the social, spatial, and economic relationships that characterized the Early Modern European house(hold). She compared a case from the 17th century with a recent news story of a hack on a private person to access their employer’s corporate data, illustrating how digital technologies, social media, and, paradoxically, the pandemic have once again opened up today’s home. This type of social openness requires spatial opportunities for privacy.
I presented “Modern Interiors: Ideas for Biophilic Design”, discussing how interior design can serve as a means of mediation in achieving a new alliance with nature, offering users of our buildings a much-needed sense of nature-connection. This connection can contribute to improved health and wellbeing. Some well-preserved postwar Danish houses were inspired by traditional Japanese architecture, particularly with regard to achieving a sense of interconnectedness with their gardens. The desire to open up to the garden inevitably compromises privacy, the experience of complex layers of daylight and darkness becomes intertwined with this.


Danish architect Knud Friis’ studio-house in Brabrand © Carmen García Sánchez
The presentation “Exploring publicness and interiority in insurgent Hong Kong” by Dr. Elton Chan, a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Building Design, Architecture, and Civil Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, was of particular interest. This prompted us to consider the intricacies of analyzing privacy issues within the Asian context and to explore potential parallels in the Nordic context.
When it comes to privacy issues and urban interiors, no concern is trivial. The forum, which took place at ArkDes museum in Stockholm on the 15th and 16th of May, provided a stimulating and thought-provoking space that gave rise to valuable ideas and points to consider and reflect upon.















