Final Comprehensive Blog Entry



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.

Art Museum Experience

While I was home I visited the Sidney Museum in Port Orchard, WA. The type of work they exhibited was the history of Port Orchard, but also paintings from artists and a little bit of jewelry. While I was there, I talked to the woman in charge and I asked her about the barn wood walls, asking why they were there and if they were moveable, they were not moveable and she said that they were placed there because they needed more wall space. The type of lighting they used at the museum was track lighting and natural light. I asked her if the natural light coming from the windows damaged the artwork at all, and she said that they windows were made out of museum glass, which lets the light in without damaging the artwork. I was directed through the exhibits but the paths between them and the track lighting guided the way, because the museum was dark other than those lights. Another thing I noticed about the museum was the materials and colors of the walls. The floor had a brownish carpet, and the walls and ceilings were white. I think those colors were chosen to not take away the beauty of the artwork. The visit to this museum really helped me to understand a gallery space a little bit better. I will definitely incorporate what I have experienced and learned into my future projects.

Impaired Vision Experience

There are many different levels of vision impairment. In this exercise I experienced eye sight through a plastic bag, a simulator tool, and glasses with a covered glaze. Before I started this exercise I did not think that I needed to experience what it would be like to be visually impaired, because I thought I could just research about them to design a living space for which they live in. In my experience with my group we learned a lot and found out that in all visually impaired situations, light is very important, because if you see a color thats dark then it looks scary, and you would not want to go to that darker area. We also learned that it is almost impossible to read small print, sometimes it is hard to recognize people, you can see contrast between colors, eyes would eventually get tired everyday, it is hard to find the bottons in an elevator, and it is easier to see shiny things. Doing this exercise gave me just a few minutes to try an understand what it would be like to have impaired vision, I still do not understand it fully. It would be extremely frustrating, and it is important for our interiors to try and eliminate some of that frustration.

Client Brief

St. Elmo Hotel- Apartment Design

These are my design posters for a one bedroom apartment in the Palouse called the St Elmo Hotel. I started out designing the kitchen and bathroom of the two bedroom apartment as you can see below. Then moved to the one bedroom apartment. I created everything included in it and made a really detailed model. I made the apartment as open as I could. I started off by having the kitchen open up to the living room. The bedroom and bathroom doors are directly across from each other for a convenient way to enter the bathroom without having to walk through the living room. Through out the whole apartment I used a neutral color scheme with green and brown accents, to bring the whole place together. The apartment has some ADA features which include, a 5ft turning radius in all the rooms, and there is a 3ft distance from the bed to the wall for easy access. I also added a drop down ceiling in the bedroom over the bed with lighting, to add extra light to the room. Some challenges for me was arranging my poster, I did not think the posters are arranged as well as they could be, I spent almost 2 hours to find a layout for them, but I could not come up with them, and now they have a lot of white space and look every plain, even though I put a lot of work into them. My success in this project was the model, I love making models and when it's all done it is very fun to look at. I drew all the walls to the apartment in my model so the viewer can really get an idea of what the apartment actually looks like. The model is a very important element to my design.

Designer Feedback

I visited the Northwest Design Center in Poulsbo, WA. While I was there I talked to a professional designer and she gave me feedback on my floor plan and concept board on the St. Elmo Hotel I am designing. I found the visit helpful, because she gave me ideas about adding furniture in all the open spaces I had, and she told me how I could make the apartment look bigger without it actually gaining square footage. I wished that my designer spent more time with me discussing my plan more because some of the things she was saying, I had already new. But I am going to incorporate her input into my design by adding different floor levels and maybe adding a drop down ceiling to add the illusion of square footage. All in all I am glad I had the experience to meet with a professional designer and a chance to expand my resources.

St. Elmo Bathroom Design

Like my kitchen design poster, this is my process for the St. Elmo Hotel bathroom, in the two bedroom apartment. This poster was created through my process that I generated from an inspirational quote. It includes a 60" in diameter turning radius for a wheel chair, and roll under sink for a wheel chair, a front and side mount onto the toilet, and a lot of cabinet space to make it very ADA functional. I learned that time is very important when you have deadlines, and to use my time more wisely, and to not wait til the last few days to do everything, because the work piles on. I think my bathroom is appealing and very functional for any person.