New possibilities of living together in post-humanist society: Interior and furniture design for pets

With their various physical differences, pets have to live with their owners in interiors, which is designed according to human scale. On the other hand, human-specific anthropometric measurements, which are the basic parameters in space design, are not sufficient to provide ergonomics in indoor spaces, which are also living spaces for pets. The hypothesis of this study, in which current examples of interior and furniture designs suitable for the physical needs of pets, whose numbers are increasing day by day, are discussed with an inclusive approach in interior architecture; It has been determined as 'when the interiors where pets live are redesigned according to the characteristics of the animals, ergonomics is provided for 'all living things' in the common living areas. The subject of common living space in the literature; Although it has been investigated in interdisciplinary fields such as cognitive psychology, zoology, and architecture on topics such as biodiversity, sustainability, animal welfare, and animal behavior, the subject of 'space organization of shared living spaces shared with domestic animals' as a new approach in the field of interior architecture has not been sufficiently discussed. For this reason, the research is a pioneering and descriptive study in terms of drawing attention to current practices in terms of conceptual infrastructure, architectural design, space organization, application examples and experimental models, making a systematic review of existing studies on the subject, and identifying new trends in the field of interior architecture. The aim of the research is to expand the interior design, which is a multidimensional subject, to include spaces designed for living with pets, in particular the arrangement of common living spaces. However, as a result of the evaluation of existing applications, the design orientations of the space designers will be tried to be determined. Since subjects such as interior design, interior architecture, and design have a wide field of research, the scope of the study is limited to the specific space and furniture designs designed for pets in terms of ease of research. In this context, unqualified pet items that cannot be considered as design elements placed in spaces designed for people and design attachments placed in the existing space without being designed are excluded from the scope. In the descriptive study, the survey model, one of the quantitative research methods, was preferred as a research method to review the existing status of the researches in the field of design within the existing sample applications. To determine the general tendency, the general screening model was preferred in determining the research population, in order to reach a generalizable judgment in the systematic review. A two-stage methodology was applied in the study. In the first stage, the conceptual infrastructure was created, and the definitions were clarified. In the second stage, the existing space and furniture applications were evaluated in accordance with the theoretical infrastructure. As a result, it has been determined that the interior and furniture applications on the subject are limited, the existing academic studies have methodological and theoretical deficiencies, and the subject needs improvement in terms of literature. However, it has been understood that the 'interior and furniture design for pets' approach is a design approach that is open to development, is an inclusive application in the interior and has a high potential to be preferred.