HERITAGE RECOVERY AND VALORIZATION THROUGH INTERIOR SPACE DESIGN; INTERIOR LANDSCAPES OF SOCIABILITY OF THE LATE 19TH CENTURY AND THE 20TH CENTURY.

This research seeks to reassert the value of interior space design, and in particular, the discipline of interior design, as a fundamental tool for heritage recovery and the preservation of both collective and individual memory, beyond its traditional association with aesthetics or decoration. To this end, it proposes to conceptualize interior spaces as interior landscapes or landscapes of memory, understood as containers of tangible and intangible elements that render them witnesses to historical and cultural evolution. The study focuses on spaces of sociability such as theaters and cinema theaters from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which allow for an observation of the relationship between interior design, memory, and cultural transformation. From a situated and contemporary perspective, the research argues that interior space design can respond to new forms of digital sociability, becoming a way to redefine, reinterpret, and recover cultural heritage. Through the concept of the interior landscape, and its complementary dimension, the landscape of memory, the study proposes as an analytical tool to understand interior spaces as layered scenarios of identity: fixed tangible elements (structures, walls or columns), flexible tangible elements (furniture, objects, finishes), and intangible elements (memory, perception, emotion). These layers make it possible to activate identity and collective memory from a sensitive and experiential dimension. The research outlines the historical reasons why interior design has been delegitimized, undervalued, and subordinated to architecture, often perceived as a secondary, superficial, or feminine practice. This study seeks to resignify those connotations by embracing the aesthetic, emotional, and symbolic as essential dimensions of space and necessary expressions of human identity. Finally, through the analysis of the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, the research demonstrates that interiors are not merely secondary components, but active settings for social, cultural, and technical change. In this way, the design of interior space emerges as a powerful tool that addresses theoretical gaps and contributes to a broader and deeper understanding of heritage. Thus, interior design becomes a means for contemporary heritage recovery and valorization. This research articulates memory, perception, history, and the design of interior space through a phenomenological lens that combines spatial analysis with a critical and contemporary perspective on heritage.