Arts Thread

My name is Johanna Nilsson, and I am an interior architect from Sweden. I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Interior Architecture at HDK-Valand in the spring of 2025. During my three years in the program, I had the chance to spend an exchange semester at IED Barcelona and to gain valuable experience through an internship at Kaminsky Arkitektur in Gothenburg. For me, design is about asking questions, exploring possibilities, and creating environments where people can thrive. I am now excited to continue this journey, curious about the challenges ahead and eager to keep growing as an interior architect.Project: 5-åringen i rummet (The 5-year old in the room) explores how the interior of a preschool environment can be designed to support cognitive, physical and emotional development of a five year old. The work is based on principles of neuro-architecture studies that focuses on how architecture and design influence the brain, focusing on the formative years. Through site visits, observation, and a workshop with the children in the preschool, data was collected to understand how the environment of the pre-school is perceived and experienced by its young users. The work resulted in a proposal for a renovation of the interior at the preschool unit Vågen, at Tärnans förskola, located in Malmo, Sweden. The design proposal, communicated mainly through renders, is developed using AutoCad, Rhinoceros and later V-ray. The results highlight the importance of including the child’s perspective in the design, showing how elements such as color, spatial layout, lighting and design can contribute to a feeling of safety, playfulness and cognitive stimulation and development. The project emphasizes implementing neuro-architectural studies in order to create child-friendly environments. It is also critical to how we often design pre-schools today and the adult norms dominating environments intended for children.