Perceptions of Youngsters on Interior Space Quality in Relation to Materiality and Spatial Design

Studies discovered that humans spent around 80% of our time indoor and this phenomenon is deteriorating our health physically and psychologically. Thus, it is important to study the effects of different interior designs on our emotions. The previous studies and researches done on interior spaces are mostly focusing on measurable physical attributes of interior whereas the psychological relationships between interior design criteria and human emotions have not been well studied. Therefore, this research paper aims to determine the suitable interior space for youngsters from different backgrounds in terms of spatial quality and materiality. In this paper, 4 types of commonly-used materials in Malaysia, namely Timber, Concrete, Bricks and Stones are selected to be studied and analyzed based on the respondents’ preferences and perceptions of warmness or coolness of materials. The results showed that there is no distinctive relationship between respondents’ preferences to materials and their educational backgrounds but respondents of different races showed different degree of acceptance towards different finishing materials. The paper proof the respondents prefer to have warm-feeling materials such as timber and bricks for their home design as compared to cold-feeling materials such as concrete and stones. The results will serve as a material-selection guideline for designers.