PLACE IDENTITY and INTERIOR SPACE DESIGN

How an individual establishes a Role Locus is one of the most important aspect of sociological responses. Possession and occupation of a space immediately translates as to the degree of social reactivity.

A person marks, possesses and occupies a place for inhabitation, and it becomes a meaningful space. 

For the person, the geographical spread becomes a Role Locus for behaviour. The place identity leads to a place attachment, because here a person can satisfy biological, social, psychological and cultural needs. The experiences of inhabitation at a place create a legacy of personal values, attitudes, feelings and beliefs. As a person interacts with various places and spaces, one is able to evaluate which properties in different environmental conditions fulfil various needs. A place and space begin to merge as a complete form or setting to sustain the behaviour.

• Harold Proshansky, etc. of City University of New York have explored the concept of place identity as a ‘substructure of the self-identity of the person consisting of broadly conceived cognition about the physical world in which the individual lives’. Tuan (1980), Relph (1976) and Buttimer (1980), share a couple of basic assumptions. As a person lives and creates memories within a place, attachment is built and it is through one’s personal connection to a place, that he or she gains a sense of belonging and purpose, which then gives significance and meaning to their life.

• ‘There is reciprocal interaction between people and their physical environment; people affect places, and places (and the way places are affected) influence how people see themselves’.

• Casey (2001) states that identity is created both internally in the mind, and through the body's interaction with the outside world -there is no place without self, and no self without place.

THE LOCUS

The Role Locus is a setting or a realm for behaviour with many facets. It is a
       1    ‘Space for inhabitation’ 
       2     a ‘Zone of individuality’
       3     an entity existing in its ‘Formal and allegorical or abstracted form’.

The role locus has the individual or a group leader as its focus. In this sense it is subjective.

• The Role Locus is an inhabitable place. It is space defined by the bounding barriers. So it is a physical reality, a dimensioned territorial entity. It is a non-transient location. It is finite in scale, sized and shaped for the occupant. It also reflects the cognitive capacities and ‘reach capacities’ of the occupant.

• As a zone of an individuality, it has a personal imprint or relevance. It has associated beliefs, intuition, etc. It is intensely evident at the point of origin or close to its creator, then diffusing out into infinity. Such a place as metaphysical entity may not have territorial markings of own, but sometimes are ‘incumbent with the metaphorical markings’ of values, beliefs, feelings, intuition, etc.

• In formal and allegorical or abstracted form a place is a representation. It arises from the few essential elements that allow us to perceive ‘a substantial space entity’. Such a representational space entity could be part of our experiences or are intuitive part of the psyche. A metaphoric place is effective till it is consciously accepted as a representative form for its economics (efficiency), and also so far as it is beneficial in spite of its myth remaining unresolved. A metaphoric entity prevails amongst certain class of people, who tacitly agree or have been socially or politically conditioned to accept such symbols to represent certain expressions, actions, etc. Such places are space impressions that are representative, immaterial, allegorical, pseudo, make-believe, or of ‘virtual reality’.

A Locus is also:

         # Marking    -a ‘place’ in the universe
         # Spread       -a ‘territory’ for occupation
         # Space         -an entity for ‘enactment’ of inhabitation

   # Markings that define a place in the universe are:

• Physical: such as the sphere of sensorial perceptibility and reach, communicable distance, consistency of the spatial characteristics (similarity of  space and environmental conditions creating a unique space segment) etc.

• Metaphysical: such as awe, prestige, discipline, belief, fear, etc.

   
     #  Spread is a territory that is fit for occupation. It could actualize as an act of intuition or as a learned activity. Often one cannot explain why, and how it actualised.

   #   Space that is for enactment of inhabitation with three essential qualities:    

• Location value of a space place reflects the strength of its connections. The connections are due to both proximity and convergence of other spatial elements.
• Physical features are environment conditioning factors, dimensional accommodations, amenities and facilities. It also includes associations that personalise the space.
• Potential for improvisation are pre-eminent in the space marked for occupation. Possession is personal branding with ‘something’ that is very intimate and exclusive.

How an individual establishes a Role Locus is one of the most important aspect of sociological responses. Possession and occupation of a space immediately translates as to the degree of social reactivity. It regulates the nature of interaction with others, privacy, degree of accessibility or isolation, as reflected in aloofness, loneliness, alienation, participation, leadership, devotion, cohabitation, etc.

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