Abstract:

Retail environments are increasingly required to embody not only aesthetic and functional qualities but also the immaterial dimensions of services, user flows, and temporal variability.

The growing emphasis on integrating spatial design, service design, and temporal dynamics in recent years has led to viewing these spaces as active places of exchange within contemporary cities. The Laboratorio di Sintesi Finale (LSF) of Section I1 is explicitly based on this principle.

The LSF is the final design course of the Bachelor's degree in Interior Design at Politecnico di Milano, which involves 60 students. The primary objective of the course is to design new retail spaces in some of the empty areas of Milan's Stazione Centrale.

To support students with the complex task of defining the function of spaces with different purposes, the teaching team has organised an intensive workshop.

The planned activity aims to introduce a guided framework that helps students understand how services can unfold within space and how design choices can reflect behaviours, needs, and temporal patterns. Through a sequence of analytical and creative phases, the exercise encourages the translation of experiential and organisational aspects into concrete spatial solutions.

The methodological framework is articulated in a preliminary task and three main phases. The preliminary task, a photographic reportage, enables students to identify interesting real-life cases that apply to their concept.

The first phase of the intensive workshop involves providing a reading and interpretation of the architectural plan of the workspace, as well as mapping flows and representing actions using diagrammatic tools. The goal of the second phase is to develop a timeline for each sub-space, highlighting the rhythms, intensities, and variations that characterise the service dimension. The third and final phase involves a visual and conceptual synthesis through the creation of moodboards. These do not merely communicate atmospheres and materials but also integrate temporal considerations, thus linking design choices to the previously identified time-based behaviours.

The process alternates between physical tools—useful for brainstorming and group interaction—and digital moodboards, allowing students to explore different levels of representation.

To evaluate the usefulness of the workshop and measure its effectiveness, two assessment tests were carried out at the beginning and end of the activity.

The results of these activities reveal significant variability among groups, yet also a notable convergence in terms of methodological awareness. Some teams that initially struggled were able to make substantial progress thanks to a structured and guided workflow, suggesting that the framework can support learning even in heterogeneous groups with varying levels of difficulty.

Overall, the careful planning of the workshop demonstrates the effectiveness of a guided, service-oriented approach to retail interior design, enabling students to translate the intangible qualities of services into spatial characteristics.

Keywords:

Interior Design, Retail Design, Service-oriented Design, Design learning process, Design Education, Moodboards.