For cited: Özdamar, M. & Bilge Özdamar, B. (2021).

Design Setup and Preparation Suggestion in the Process of

Furniture Manufacturing in Interior Architecture/Design. Journal of Current Research on Engineering, Science
and Technology, 7 (1), 37-50.

Journal of Current Research on Engineering, Year: 2021

Science and Technology Volume: 7

(JoCREST)
Issue: 1
ISSN: 2651-2521

Research Article/Araştırma Makalesi

doi: 10.26579/jocrest.71

Design Setup and Preparation Suggestion in the Process of

Furniture Manufacturing in Interior Architecture/Design
Murat ÖZDAMAR1 & Betül BİLGE ÖZDAMAR2
Keywords Abstract
Interior Built-in furniture is one of the main design elements that has to considered within
Architecture/Design, Interior Architecture/Design. There has to be a productive way of formatting the
Productivity, Built-in built-in furniture within the design process. The Interior Architecture/Design is a
Furniture, Design- profession that lives the design and productional procedure within the same time
Production. during the constructional processes. As the furniture design and the production of
it is one of the main processes of it. The purpose of the research is; to search for
the plan and the schedule of the built-in furniture process, which is beginning by
designing, and ending with the installation. At which part of the designing
procedure the furniture gets the importance? How does the designing and
productional processes get involved with each other? How does these processes
bring to life, at which points the conflicts may occur and what are the main
reasons about these conflicts within the professional life of Interior
Article History Architecture/Design? This study has tested the operational process with the
Received manufacturing workshops. The information obtained is tested by putting them on
15 June, 2021
tables, making comparisons, and evaluations. By this way the importance of the
Accepted
30 July, 2021
built-in furniture design and way of production is discussed within the life of the
Interior Architect/Designer.

1. Introduction
The “designing” procedure is the most valuable part within the Interior
Architecture/Design profession. That is the creational part of it, which is getting
according to the knowledge, researches, and decisions related with lots of things
related with the human factors, constructional needs/features, material formation
and of course the creational feelings about the project and/or product that the
designer live by himself/herself.
That is why IFI (International Federation of Interior Architects / Designers) which
was founded in 1963 describes that;

1 Corresponding Author. ORCID: 0000-0002-9846-7631. Lecturer, İ.D. Bilkent University,

Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, omurat@bilkent.edu.tr
2 ORCID: 0000-0002-3897-1596. Asst. Prof. Dr., Başkent University, Department of Interior

Architecture and Environmental Design, bbilge@baskent.edu.tr

 “Interior designers and interior architects synthesize human and
environmental ecologies and translate science to beauty addressing
all the senses.” (IFI, 2011, para. 13)
“The practitioner listens, observes, analyses, improves and creates
original ideas, visions and spaces that have measurable value.” (IFI,
2011, para. 14)
“The responsibility of the interior designers and the interior
architects is to define the practice and the required expertise,
educate ourselves and the public realm as experts in the built
environment.” (IFI, 2011, para. 15)
within IFI Interiors Declaration (2011).
By defining the needs, and the problems related with the functions, the interior
architect/ designer can form out the interior designing, by researching and adding
creativity in order to solve the problem, for that reason, the interior
architect/designer deals with the space analysis, space design, site checking,
building systems, aesthetics, constructional information, materials, relative
equipment and equipment providence information during the designing
procedure. That is why, “The interior architect/designer should be the one, who
has the ability, knowledge, and the experience for preparing the drawings and the
documents for the interior spaces” (Ozdamar, 2016, 2).
The interior architect/designer is not just the one, “who is forming a design”. After
having the period of deciding and designing, there will be the long and the
important process for the production of the designed elements. Beside the
constructional part, like plumbing, electrical constructions, HVAC, lighting, and
things like those, the furniture is one of the most important part of the designing
and constructional portion of the Interior Architecture/Design.
2. The Furniture in Interior Architecture/Design
The furniture, is one of the main elements within the life of the mankind with the
living environments of them. It is one of the basic tools that the mankind uses it to
make life easier or and improve living comfort of them.
It is the design element, which holds the most important place among the
determinants of the space, as it meets the needs of the users in the spaces, and
enables them to move easily according to the function of the space, and helps them
by their actions while performing them, it can also offer the user; a safe,
comfortable and healthy usage (Başbuğ, 2016, 49).
This means that, we use “furniture” for all the aspects of our life, by the
environments those are all being used in; the homes, the offices, the social spaces
and so on; which are all designed related with the usage way, and functions of
them.
The designed furniture plays an active role in functionalizing the space and making
it suitable for user preferences, and the actions of them. In addition to that, it is
directly affecting the perception of space by adding values such as function,
comfort and aesthetics to the space. This situation shows that, the space design or

38 Özdamar, M. & Bilge Özdamar, B. (2021). Design Setup and Preparation Suggestion in
the Process of Furniture Manufacturing in Interior Architecture/Design
the designed space has the power to influence, shape and transform the furniture
and the furniture the space. Therefore, space and furniture are directly related and
constantly interacting with each other.
While this interaction shows the importance of interior architecture/design, that
has an important role with the furniture design, and with the development of the
furniture industry. Beside these, it also reveals the importance of the interior
architecture discipline, such as researching, developing, and determining the
problems of the furniture industry in order to meet and develop the needs of the
furniture industry. At the same time, in order to complete this development, it is
necessary to increase the advantages of the furniture sector, to eliminate its
weaknesses, to take measures against threats and to evaluate opportunities (Koç et
al., 2015, 1159).
The furniture, especially the built-in furniture design and the production of it is
one of the main processes of the Interior Architecture/Design within the living
environment of designs; it has to be an operational mechanism during the
construction of it, in order to form out a productive way within.
There are two main factors with the furniture; the “designing” process and the
“production/manufacturing” process. It is the procedure which has to be corelated
by the interior architect/designer with the all phases of it. While, the “productivity”
begins with the designing process of the furniture, and gets till the formation of it
like the production process of an armchair at HTT Group by an Interior
Architect/Designer (Figure 1, 2, 3).
Figure 1: The technical drawing of the product

Journal of Current Research on Engineering, Science and Technology, 2021, 7 (1), 37-50. 39
 Figure 2: The production process Figure 3: The product

3. The Purpose – Aim

The purpose of the research is, to find out the plan for the furniture formation, and
the relation of it with the other design features, which is beginning by designing
and ending with the installation of it.
According to that it is aimed to answer the questions of;
 At which part of the designing procedure in interior architecture/ design,
the furniture gains the importance?
 How does the designing, and the productional processes get involved with
each other and how does these processes bring to life?
 At which points the conflicts may occur and what are the main reasons
about these conflicts within the professional life of Interior Architecture/
Design.
With the results of the findings; it is aimed to reach the results where the
weaknesses and strengths can be revealed. By the results of the findings obtained
from the examination of design, and production processes, the values and
requirements of the “practical” information and achievements carried out in the
process of furniture design and manufacturing process within the professional life
is discussed, and evaluated.
4. The Scope
The profession interior design/architecture which has been started the
professional life by the beginning of the 20th century, is one of the professions
which is constantly renewing itself with the effects of social, cultural, economic and
technological changes. In parallel with this structure, and understanding; there has
been a relevant and continuous renovation with the process of design to
production.

40 Özdamar, M. & Bilge Özdamar, B. (2021). Design Setup and Preparation Suggestion in
the Process of Furniture Manufacturing in Interior Architecture/Design
 Figure 4: The Design Process
By Kaptan, B.B. (2001) İç Mekanın Niteliğini Belirleyen Öğelerin Görsellik Kazanmasını
Sağlayan Oluşumlar

That is why the interior architects/designers are acting with a project schedule
within their professional life; the furniture design and the manufacturing phases,
are the important parts of that “application phase”. According to the professional
decision, the designing procedure is the 30%, and the productional phase is the
70% of the design. This means that although the designing procedure is the
important phase of the profession, it is really important to be able to control the
productional phase, which is much more challenging process of the profession. So
according to them, the interior architect/designer should know and/or learn about
the production phases of a designed elements. Beside these the impact and the
prosperity of the design is also so important for the firm and the designer.
In this study, the productional processes of the built-in furniture are examined. It is
beginning by the designing procedure of it and ending with the installation process
of the furniture. They are all put forward and the evaluations have been made
within the framework of the differences between them depending on the
operational phases within them. The results are reached by having the
comparisons between the endings of the built-in furniture designs.
5. The Method
In order to increase productivity, a “design to production” process consisting of
different stages will be proposed with sub-process definitions. This proposed
process study is tested on the operational process with the manufacturing

Journal of Current Research on Engineering, Science and Technology, 2021, 7 (1), 37-50. 41
workshop and data on productivity is collected at 5 productional firms. The
information obtained is tested by putting them on tables, making comparisons and
evaluations between the productions with the producers.
By this way the importance of the built-in furniture design and production of them
will be discussed within the professional life of the Interior Architect/ Designer.
The evaluation opinions and decisions are gotten by the comparison with the
researches, and the results of them are evaluated according to the working
procedure of the Interior Architect/Designer.
6. The Interior Architecture/Design
The profession of interior architecture/design, and its’ the first definition in
Turkish; by an anonymous article published in Arkitekt magazine in 1932;
“Today the internal decoration and furnishing of buildings has
become an art in itself. We also want to increase the number of our
friends who are specialized in this branch, which we are beginning
to feel the need for, and wish them to have a job site in our country
and wish them success (Şumnu, 2013, 23).
The main decision of the profession is explained with these words; is it the
gathering of the spatial requirements that arise with the needs of people under the
roof of a profession? It is also been evaluated.
There are many other definitions for the interior architecture/design, but
unfortunately, the generally known definition related with the profession is;
“Traditionally, the architect defines the structure with the walls
created with the structural elements and the buildings come to life
after the interior design is finished”. If further work is required, the
interior decorator may have added colour, pattern and texture
coatings to the existing walls, ceilings and floors to select the space
for a specific purpose and functionalize it (Higgins, 2015).
It is known as; the development of the interior architecture/design profession will
continue to evolve as the spatial requirements of the users increase.
The profession comes to life not only within the framework of the structures
formed out by architects, but also gets on life wherever people live at; airplanes,
ships, wagons, yachts.
Interior design/architecture is an integrated design phenomenon in which the
interdisciplinary and multi-relational systems are getting together. The relative
design approaches like material selection, reinforcement of the designed elements,
and ergonomic suitability value, creation of spatial acoustic conditions and
creation of necessary lighting environments depending on the function, the design
of escape routes for emergencies such as fire and user load relationship are just a
few of the works of interior designers/architects. What is important in the interior
design/architecture approach; necessary arrangements and designs to meet the
functional requirements of the space, in line with user requirements; ergonomic,
functional, psychological (perceptual), aesthetics and comfort to meet the values.
(Özdamar, 2020)

42 Özdamar, M. & Bilge Özdamar, B. (2021). Design Setup and Preparation Suggestion in
the Process of Furniture Manufacturing in Interior Architecture/Design
These approaches, which can simply be called "planning", are actually much more
strategic and form a complex relationship system. Space design is more than “two-
dimensional” activity in which the spaces are arranged on the plan and section
drawings, but the “three-dimensional” perception of the space/volume has to be
considered:
“Volume and form; proportion, proximity and relationship of spaces;
the way they are defined and connected, and roaming between and
around them. All these elements have to be developed by interior
architects to meet the needs of indoor users and to respond to the
constraints set by the existing area where the interior schema
exists” (Higgins, 2015).
By considering all these explanations, interior architecture/design; is to design all
types of spaces with all their needed requirements for different functions, and
purposes. When starting with such a definition; we can understand that, interior
design/architecture, which is a profession related to human and living together, is
a multifaceted body of relationships within its own structure. In this context,
interior design/architecture, which constitutes its own definition, has been
accepted as a profession to meet the spatial/vital needs in the future (Özdamar,
2020, 911).
The designed furniture is one of the main parts of that designing procedure, and
will get on like that by the future also. As it is the connection of ours, within the
living environment with the living process.
7. The Interaction of Design and Production
There has to be correlation of all aspects, beginning with the design of the furniture, until
the submission of it; which has to be correlated by the interior architect/designer. According
to the furniture producers;
 At which part of the designing procedure in interior architecture/ design,
the furniture gains the importance?
The designing, is a total process; beginning with the conceptual analysis, and
ending with the construction/production of that designed feature. After the
conceptual relations of the design features, it gets on with the geometrical trials
with the spaces, and with those geometrical trials the designers deal with the
functions of those spaces. That functional search, gets the furniture beside it. As,
those are the elements that will be used by the users of the space. So, this means
that; the designers are deciding, and designing the furniture nearly by the
beginning of the project.
Beside these designing features, according to the meetings, and interviews; the
selection of the materials (Figure 5), and the furniture affect the constructional
costs of the projects, so there has to be the attentiveness related with the costs of
the furniture, and the materials used for the production of the furniture. As it is
affecting the total price of the production.
Figure 5: The Selection of Materials

Journal of Current Research on Engineering, Science and Technology, 2021, 7 (1), 37-50. 43
So, the designer should deal with the “material selection” of the furniture by the
beginning part of it, both with the designing and the economical part of it, which
occurs by the selection of materials and the constructional ways. As the type of the
construction may change according to the material. So, the furniture is an
important part within the designing procedure, which is affecting the design both
in appearance and cost of it.
 How does the designing and the productional processes get involved with
each other and how does these processes bring to life?
According to the producers, the designing process should get on with the material
specifications together. This is the discourse by lots of the designers, and another
decision is related with the combination of those materials with the designs; that is
also called by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe by saying “God is in the details”.
It is an important part of the production, “to combine the reality with the
drawings”. According to the producers, it is really an important feature of the
designer, to be able to design the furniture by thinking about the
producing/productional material. It is indicated that, the designer should be able
to get the material features by the design in order to be able put a successful design
and production by the end of it.
That is why, the producers want to have the drawings of design in order to be able
to have discussion on them with the designer, and while having those drawings
they are mentioning about the timing procedure for that discussion. According to
them, “if they have the chance to have the discussion on the productional drawings,
the ending products are much more reliable, appropriate, and convenient.
According to the producers, without having the discussion on the designs and the
productional features, there may be really big problems because of the different
decisions by the ending of the furniture. The other thing again by the producers is
the productional timing. According to them, the timing should be acceptable for the

44 Özdamar, M. & Bilge Özdamar, B. (2021). Design Setup and Preparation Suggestion in
the Process of Furniture Manufacturing in Interior Architecture/Design
productional period of the furniture. So, it has to be set according to the
productional period of the furniture. This has to be arranged in a productive way;
the appropriate timing for the best productional ending (Figure 6).
Figure 6: Timing/Success

Another point with the relation of the designer’s vs producers, is the quality of the
drawings for the productions. According to the producers, in order not to have a
meeting related with the productions (Figure 7), the productional drawings should
have every detail on it, so as to make the producers/workers be able to understand
it easily (Figure 8).
Figure 7: The first drawing of the wall.

Journal of Current Research on Engineering, Science and Technology, 2021, 7 (1), 37-50. 45
 Figure 8: The production drawing of the Wall

As it is seen with the figures 7, and 8 by Berk Decoration, although they are the
drawings of the same area and production, they seem to be different, and the
explanatory of them are different from each other; as there has to be the
explanation of the design for the production with all dimensions, materials, surface
treatments and etc. on those drawings.
Another way to get on with the productional drawings is to have them in 3-
dimensional way, which is explaining the production in a much more realistic way
(Figure 9).
Figure 9: The 3-D production drawing of the furniture

• At which points the conflicts may occur and what are the main reasons
about these conflicts within the professional life of Interior Architecture/
Design?

46 Özdamar, M. & Bilge Özdamar, B. (2021). Design Setup and Preparation Suggestion in
the Process of Furniture Manufacturing in Interior Architecture/Design
According to the manufacturers, the main problematic issue with the production of
the designed elements of the Interior Architect/Designer occurs by the
dimensioning of the furniture on the drawings.
The designer should give the dimensions of the production with the reality, after
lots of controls (Figure 10, 11, 12, 13). It is one of the main points with the
production. As if the production can not get on with the other designed units, and
the related equipment, the main problem gets on with the re-production of the
furniture, and this affects the producers by the purchase of the new material,
which is affecting by time and money. And it also affects the program of the
production of the other works of the workshop also. So there has to be a great
control with the submission of those productional drawings.
Figure 10: The construction drawing of a Figure 11: The constructed kitchen 1
kitchen

Figure 12: The constructed kitchen 2

Figure 13: The constructed kitchen 3

Journal of Current Research on Engineering, Science and Technology, 2021, 7 (1), 37-50. 47
8. Conclusion
The ending of the built-in furniture is done by the submission of the design to the
owner of the work. There has to be the comfort of the rightness and the wellness of
the submission for both the customer and the interior architect/designer. It is the
main thing with the dealing of the work; to have the good job by the customer
according to the payment for the work, and to have the right submission without
any problem for the interior architect/ designer. Both sides should be peaceful
with the work.
In order to have it;
the designer should be able to have the right dimensions of the space for the
production, and this issue can be set by controlling the infrastructure before the
production and the assembly of the designed furniture;
the designer should be able to control the other productions those are affecting the
designed furniture; and this may be done by the correlation of the other
constructional professions like masonry, electricity, plumbing, HVAC, and others
with the furniture. The other constructional units should also have the necessary
specifications related with the designed features. So, this gets the importance of
having the constructional drawings for every production of the space;
the designer should be able to form out the right drawings for the production of
the furniture, that has to have every necessary information about the production of
them; the details, material selections, codes for the materials, the information
related with the equipment that is to be used with the assembly of the designed
furniture;
the designer should be able to chose the right materials for the production of the
designed units, which is affecting the utilization of them; and beside this, the right
material selection for those designs and productions is also affects the cost of the
production, that is really an important issue with the reliability of that interior
architect/designer within the professional life.
So as to have such a smooth atmosphere by the end of the work, the great
occupation has to be done by the interior architect/designer which is to be really
sure about the precision of the constructional drawings, and the control
throughout the work.

48 Özdamar, M. & Bilge Özdamar, B. (2021). Design Setup and Preparation Suggestion in
the Process of Furniture Manufacturing in Interior Architecture/Design
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Journal of Current Research on Engineering, Science and Technology, 2021, 7 (1), 37-50. 49
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50 Özdamar, M. & Bilge Özdamar, B. (2021). Design Setup and Preparation Suggestion in
the Process of Furniture Manufacturing in Interior Architecture/Design