Étienne-Louis Boullée and Pierre Chareau: Two Approaches to an Emerging Utopian Idea in Interior Design

Abstract

The idea and concept of Utopia have been widely discussed in the contemporary world, and there is a wide post-utopic discussion regarding it. Furthermore, throughout history, the idea of utopia and its relation to architecture has also been discussed in many studies and can be observed in many resources. In other words, the idea and concept of Utopia and its relation to architecture and design thus have been widely discussed. A point of view to consider, however, is that there has been little discussion about how Utopia has changed the way of handling the design of interior spaces and perceived the emergence of new ideas about modern interior spaces. This paper aims to observe and gain insight into the idea of Utopia in interior design through the lens of two different designers and see the change of approach to how the Utopian Idea in interior spaces has evolved throughout the centuries. To achieve this, the architect Étienne-Louis Boullée (1728-1799) and the designer Pierre Chareau (1883-1950) have been analysed and their works observed through the lens of searching for an emerging utopian idea in interior architecture/ design. This study thus spanned throughout centuries, focusing especially on the 17th and 19th Centuries to analyse specific works done by the designers mentioned above, either in drawings or finished projects, and focusing especially on their interiors. It has been observed that the idea of Utopia offered a new way of considering spaces from a humanistic perspective, and that it has changed throughout centuries, manifesting possibly new different views of Utopia in interior spaces.