Housing and Interior Space Management
This domain treats the house as the physical setting for family life. The exam asks for functions of a house, principles of planning with orientation and ventilation, kitchen layouts and the work triangle, and the elements and principles of interior design.
Functions of a house
Shelter and protection from climate and pests; privacy; security of person and property; space for cooking, eating, sleeping, studying and recreation; status; a setting for family interaction.
Principles of planning
Orientation - in West Bengal's hot-humid climate the long axis runs north–south, bedrooms take south-east for morning sun, and the kitchen sits east or south-east so the cook gets morning light and smoke is carried away; avoid west-facing living rooms. Ventilation - cross ventilation through openings on opposite walls; window area roughly one-fifth of floor area for good daylight. Also privacy, circulation without through-traffic, sanitation, economy, flexibility and provision for future expansion.
Kitchen and work triangle
The triangle joins sink, cooking range and refrigerator; the three legs should total about 12–22 feet, no leg under 4 feet. Layouts: one-wall, parallel (galley), L-shaped, U-shaped, island, peninsular. Traffic must not cross the triangle.
Interior design
Elements: line, form, colour, texture, light, space. Principles: harmony, proportion, balance (symmetrical/asymmetrical), rhythm, emphasis. Colour schemes: monochromatic, analogous, complementary.
Worked example
An L-shaped kitchen 3 m by 2.4 m has its refrigerator 4 m from the sink, and the doorway cuts across the triangle. Reasoning: the third leg breaches the 22-foot total and traffic crosses the work path. Remedy: move the refrigerator to the short arm of the L and keep the triangle compact and out of the doorway path - economy of movement, not new equipment.
Traps
Confusing cross ventilation with openings on one wall only; forgetting "provision for future expansion"; drawing the work triangle across a doorway; naming colour as a principle rather than an element of design.