On the Nature of Public Interiority

This essay explores the intersection between interiority, urbanism, and the human perception. I view interiority as a condition of the senses rather than an indoor place.  Revelations of interiority can be discovered within urban realm, in public spaces, and in intimate interior conditions. I am especially interested in “public interiority” or these cases of interiority that can be found in exterior urban places. Understanding interiority as a perceived condition grounds the built environment in phenomenology, varied human experiences,  and everyday conditions. Herein, I begin with an ontology of interiority, which focuses on various ways of perceiving the nature of things – phenomenology, structuralism and object-oriented-ontology (OOO). From there, I will analyze a taxonomy of public interiorities including various strains of form-based, programmatic, atmospheric, and psychological public interiorities. Using real-world examples from my previous research in Bucharest, Romania, New York and [location hidden] as well as well-established examples in art and design, I will then analyze various urban experiences of interiority and the way built conditions shape experience. In this way, I will bring the interior to the city.