This project was created after a series of concept development. I started off with an inspiration photo of the train wheels and tracks, that I found at the Pufferbelly Train Station downtown Pullman. From that I created a textile design then I created a concept 3D model, and after that I created a bench design all from this inspiration photo. After creating all of the concept I moved onto my final project which I titled "Connecting Through Rotation".
When I visited the train depot, to try and find my inspiration photo, I was already set on the train wheels being my inspiration before I arrived there. But I forced myself to look around and take pictures of other objects that could potentially be my inspiration. But when I saw BIG red wheels on the train, those just pulled me in! I really enjoyed the overall visit to the train depot because the owner told our whole class a little bit about the history of the building. Also we got to look around in every room and take pictures. The most interesting room was the basement because it had kind of a creeping staircase going down to it. but the visit to the Pufferbelly train station was a fun aspect to the beginning of our final project. The purpose of this part of the project was to do some research on our own and get to know the place that we were designing to be more successful. Also it is an important aspect of the project to go visit the site, that is what design firms do before they take on a project.
I had to create a textile. For this part of the assignment I had to create 50 abstract sketches, pick about 20 of the ones that I thought fit my concept best then from that I had to pick 4 of those sketches to move on with as my modules and create patterns for each module in black and white. After that I had to select just 2 modules from the 4 and create patterns for my textile. Also I had to incorporate color schemes for those patterns. For my final textile I chose a monochromatic color scheme that best fit my concept relating back to my inspiration photo. in the beginning I thought that this project would be very fun and easy. It was fun but the challenging part was distorting my modules and flipping them to create new designs. I think it was because my modules were hard to put together, but I feel like other people thought that, that part was easy. It was cool to get my final textile mailed to me. The purpose of this part of the project was to try and be very abstract with our work and try and create something that is really different but that needed to be related to our concept and inspiration photo.
For another part of this final project I had to find an artist to create a studio and gallery for him/her to work and display their work. I chose a woman named Amy Bixby who was a jewelry designer and lived in Seattle, WA. She was very nice and was happy to fill out a questionnaire that I sent her. The questionnaire asked questions like size preferences she would like for her work desks, and the necessary equipment she needed for her studio space. She told me that she needed lots of natural light, and multiple work desks and needed a little break area where she could get away for a little while. There was much more that she said she needed and I tried to incorporate her input in my design as much as possible. The purpose of this part of the project was to get to know our client and to incorporate the needs and wants into our designs so that they could be successful designers. I really enjoyed this part of the project because my designer was really nice and corporative and gave me a clear understanding of what she wanted, and she also emailed me back whenever I had a question. but I tried not to bug her too much.
I also had to create a bench design from my concept and inspiration. From my abstract sketches I had to fill out 3 pages of bench designs. Then I got together with a group to discuss which designs I should move on with. They gave me their input and I was pretty sure which design I wanted to move on with. After I chose which one I wanted I had to move on by creating a process board showing my sketches, concept statement, perspectives, a section cut, a title, and an actual model of my bench. The final step was to present it to my classmates and get feedback. The purpose of this portion of the project was to create a bench and display it in my final design of the whole Pufferbelly Station. I chose to locate it outside of my master bedroom. I enjoyed this part when I found which bench design I wanted to move on with. But what I had a hard time with was actually making the bench, because my paint kept chipping off of my steel pipes and I kept having to repaint over it.
All of these components of the project all narrowed down to our final projects design. We had to put all of our concept of all these assignments onto 10 boards. For this final project we needed to create elevations, a section cut, site plan, perspectives and one perspective needed to show our textile design. Also we needed to include an Egress plan, a furniture plan, and a concept board. After I was all finished with my final project I had to present it in front of my classmates and other professional architects and designers. These boards are made so that if you were to leave them in a room and have people read them, that they should be able to read the first board and understand your whole idea with your concept and inspiration incorporated in it. The purpose of this whole project put together was to show that we could start from one inspiration picture and create multiple objects and designs from it to end it with a final board presentation. I spent several nights and days working on this project, and it was hard to sacrifice so much time and work into it. That was the hard part but in the end I was very proud of myself for creating a huge design and building it from scratch.
Compared to when I first started interior design when I was a freshmen and now, I have learned a tremendous amount of valuable information. When I was a first year I was just learning how to write in architectural style and now I have finished designing a whole building with my own ideas. But an aspect that I have definitely caught onto was being more organized. Before the semester started I got binders, dividers, and sleeves for all of my different classes and every time I got a handout I would place it in its correct spot. I also learned that it is very important to write everything down and take lots of notes and ask questions, because in this career you hear a lot of information and it is so easy to forget things and miss place stuff. So taking notes is crucial. In my design work I can say that my understanding for ADA, Universal Design and Egress is very understandable. I know now how important all that is to incorporate into all future designs. This year has taught me a lot and has prepared me to step up and go further in my career.
