Krisia Estes

I usually write about design in its higher ideals. How space shapes behavior. How light, scale, and proportion affect how we feel in our bodies. That is the part of design I care about most. But none of that exists without the basics. Before design can elevate anything, it has to keep people safe. And safety comes from codes, from standards, and from professionals who are trained and accountable. I do not usually write politically. I avoid it because most political conversations reward...

The Vertical Plane What if the most overlooked design element in architecture, the ceiling, was shaping not just our spatial perception, but our self-perception? This isn’t poetic exaggeration. Vertical space plays a powerful role in how our brains interpret freedom, worth, and personal agency. While architecture has long used height to signal grandeur and authority, from cathedrals to corporate lobbies, emerging research suggests that verticality may directly affect posture, hormonal levels,...

From Shame to Sanctuary: A Deep Dive Into the Psychology of the Most Private Room in the World Bathrooms are the spaces we speak about the least, but feel the most. They are taboo and necessary, hidden and ritualistic, universal and deeply personal. For a room often relegated to utility, bathrooms carry some of the heaviest emotional weight in architecture. The paradox is striking: bathrooms are designed for the most intimate human acts: excretion, cleansing, grooming, regulation of bodily...