Those Beautiful Bones!

​Remember that funny song from years ago?  ... the Head bone’s connected to the Neck bone, Neck bone’s connected to the Shoulder bone, etc., all the way to the Toe bone!  It was a kind of humorous tribute to what connects to what, and the importance of an underlying support system.
 
That simple reality is just as vital to commercial and residential structures as it is to the human body; everything’s connected to something else – or else!   It was never a mystery what held up barns, lodges rustic cabins and other more utilitarian structures; their “bones” and all their “connections” were right out there, bold and visible.  You could even say their visibility was additional reassurance that all was well built and ready to meet any test of whim or weather.
 
However, in more “other” buildings – private homes, formal businesses or professional offices, the discipline was to hide all that beam-and-pipe stuff!   Get all that plumbing, air conditioning, support beams, electrical and heating paraphernalia out of sight!  Along with that goal, as more sophisticated systems were developed (such as large ventilation and AC ducts) ceilings were lowered a bit more -- to accommodate the “hiding” process!

The “bones” were not to be seen!   Well, except for shellfish, Armadillos and one or two other creatures, skeletons are pretty much “interior” networks!  And housing?  Beavers and birds would be the exceptions.   The structural aspects of modern human habitats and workplaces were basically built to be unseen.

Functional, structural elements are bona fide aesthetic interior design elements. Ask your Interior design team to do the magic!

In time, however, cutting edge architects and Interior Designers became bolder about what was OK to expose and incorporate openly in their design concept considerations.   Of course, through history there were always exceptions; but generally speaking, it’s a rather new phenomenon to blatantly and deliberately give “the bones” a legitimate presence in Interior Environment design.
 
Experiencing structural mechanics as an integral and legitimate aspect of an Interior environment’s aesthetics has become more and more intriguing and desirable!  In the course of the process of design concepts that emphasize exposure of both functional and structural elements, the professional gaps between architectural and Interior design closed with a big bang.  When those elements more comfortably became also “design elements,” the strategies for accomplishing the marriage of structural, functional and aesthetic invited closer coordination of architect and Interior designer, earlier in the project planning process.
 
The concept of revealing elements that were more traditionally hidden, also invited more changes, choices and opportunities for innovative application of materials, color and finishes.  For instance, beams and pipes and ducting formerly unseen could be treated more creatively in texture, color and quality.  And, by exposing such networks, ceilings could return to their higher perceptions – with the eye seeing through the enhanced functional networks!
 
Those functional construction systems (once perceived as just unsightly – and definitely not” front room” elements!) have been transformed into regular, legitimate, aesthetic Interior design elements for consideration. 
 
Older buildings present such situations as almost a given, while new construction often deliberately plans their visibility as Interior design assets.  When a prospective client seeks solutions for those darn pipes and ducts that feel like eyesores, your Interior design team might surprise you with reactions and suggestions.  Of course, some major construction revisions may be possible, but before you go that route, find out how creative Interior design solutions might work and possibly be less expensive.  Those functional “bones” – in capable hands --can help a questionable Interior environment become transformative!