Interior Choreography in Design Practice

Abstract

A shaft of sunlight pierces through a carved jaali. A devotee walks barefoot across the cold stone floor. Each step echoes like a drumbeat in the sanctum. The temple does not stand still, it performs. The idea of interior choreography is examined in this study, which frames interior design as a dynamic performance influenced by movement, light, narrative, and historical memory. Interiors are often seen as fixed, designed objects—containers for life. Yet the truth is more fluid: they perform. They guide, they pause, and they crescendo. By suggesting interiors as choreographed spaces where narrative, sensory perception, and cultural memory converge, this study fills that gap. A qualitative interpretative methodology was adopted, combining case studies of temples, heritage buildings, schools, and museums with literature on spatial sequencing and environmental psychology. Fieldwork included site observations, photographic documentation, and analysis of spatial components to trace how interiors guide behavior and construct narratives. The results show how interior spaces serve as experiential scripts, with materials maintaining continuity with the past, movement defining rhythm, and light directing atmosphere. Reinterpreting these ideas in contemporary interior design results in improved cultural relevance, emotional resonance, and memory retention. The study concludes that a transformative design methodology can be achieved by approaching interiors as staged performances. For architects and interior designers, this approach provides a framework to integrate cultural memory, sensory experience, and narrative into built spaces—fostering environments that move beyond static form into living, performative encounters.