Louis Schump, IIDA

Creative Director
Gensler, San Francisco

Expertise/Specializations/Interests: design innovation and creative problem solving, client relationships, strategic business development, talent building and mentorship

What is the highest and best purpose of interior design?

The highest and best purpose of interior design is to support behaviors that enrich humanity/humans. how do we create places where individuals feel safe/productive/energized? How can space support groups in thoughtful/civic/respectful behavior? How do interiors connect us to the ecosystem to which we all belong? Interiors that make us see/appreciate/understand our world?

One approach is to think of interior design as an armature for our culture – spaces designed to evolve over time. Physically and culturally durable spaces that can be added to – and then subtracted from – as required. Spaces with a connection to their location – spaces with views to the exterior/windows that open/resilient local materials.

The five senses, the 16 myers-briggs profiles, all levels of ability and mobility, demographics. An interior designer that acknowledges and celebrates these variations of the human condition will be a catalyst for dialogue, a place where it is clear we have much more in common than we have differences precisely because those differences have been accommodated/celebrated in advance.

If design is the solution to an agreed upon problem then the first step is to identify the real problem. The problem – that if solved – will make society richer and individuals feel valued. People do not think about the design of cities nor the design of buildings. people respond to – and inhabit – interiors.

The airport interior that introduces you to a city. The elevator to the subway platform that is not an afterthought. The all gender restroom.  If we are to enrich humanity the details matter, and to capture all those details we need to treat design as a team sport where each participant is key to the success of the project. There is nothing more powerful than multiple points of view focused on solving a problem.