Paige Penberthy

Storytelling Spaces

 It’s cold in the shadow of the heavy and storied doors of the St. Vitus Cathedral. One must lean with a certain bodily force to hear the shrill echo of iron scraping iron in a short but loud rotation. The sound makes one brace as eyes adjust to new light. The air here feels weightless but oppressive. As if the free particles of nature were at once bound up and closed off from the rest of the world, always rising and pressing against the tall, vaulted ceilings and thin glass windows. Then, it’s somehow blown back down in reverence - the atmosphere itself bowing its head in prayer. There’s a constant sense of attention from and to the heavens. The priests sit elevated, removed from the monotonous rows of creaky pews and threadbare kneeling benches. They rise to their pulpits, shrouded in perfect celestial light, to tell a story.

Architectural space is more than mere structure. It is a vessel of narrative. Walls, corridors, and thresholds shape the movement of our bodies, just as plot guides the arc of a story. A well-designed space whispers its history through texture and light, inviting its occupants to become both characters and authors. Each room holds intention, each shadow, a secret waiting to be discovered. In this way, architecture doesn't just house stories—it becomes one.

Over the course of the last two years, I’ve had the pleasure of dedicating my time to exploring the ways in which designers build vocabularies for spatial storytelling. Through interviews, case studies, and practice-based research, I aimed to uncover how to translate abstract narratives into tangible environments.

The outcomes of this research reveal not only design strategy, but also, the deeper phenomenological and cultural frameworks that shape how space becomes story. 

I’ve always been interested in stories. Listening to them, watching them, telling them. My favorite buildings have become libraries, theaters, and museums. In these spaces I feel completely myself. As Igrow as a spatial designer, I begin to note the elements of these interiors that allow me to experience storytelling in such a visceral way. In the future I see myself putting these tools to work- bringing stories to life through designed space.

This page was last updated on June 24, 2025