Combine Building- Gregory Home + South Entrance

Accessibility, sustainability, and a Palouse themed color pallet came together with a final design concept centered around the key ideas of line, view and emphasis for this residence. This residence was designed for the Gregory grandparents, and is located by a accessible entry to the south of the Combine building (downtown Pullman) and runs along the west side of the building. The south entrance from the parking lot, has access from an elevator and stairs.
The concept key words and were applied to the space beginning with the bluing's south entry directly opposite the entry to the grandparents residence. "View" inspired the design, along with the eight foot window on the west wall. this was done by bringing in light and opening up the space by giving it a view through a glass front door and a glass elevator door. The back of the elevator is also glass to allow light and a view to be seen from inside the entry.
One other key element to the design concept for the space came from a book's illustrations that each had a focal point of a old fashion lamp or candle on each page. For my space plan this inspired me to use a focal light fixture as a moment of visual emphasis.
The materials used in the entry and entry of the residence were chosen for their aesthetic value and relation to the concept, but primarily for their sustainable characteristics. Main materials chosen were, bamboo flooring, slate stone flooring, and low VOC and sustainable produced wall coverings. This same window detail was placed in the dining space to imply a view and let light into the hallway beyond.

The linear layout of the grandparent's floor plan also references the concept of line and view through the space, as well as making it a very easy space to navigate in a wheel chair. The kitchen is designed for aging in place with 32" counter tops and ADA fixtures, as well as removable under sink cabinet doors for a a chair to roll under. Over the sink the concept is referenced with a focal light fixture. Also above the sink, with no outside view, so I designed a colored glass window into the hall to imply a view. The colors and curved forms reference the Palouse as well as the original parti drawing for the inspiration model.
The main living space contains the same sustainable bamboo and wall coverings as well as low VOC paint. The beams on the ceiling providing line and visual emphasis are from a old barn on the Palouse to bring the it's history into the space. Upholstery and rugs are with in a neutral Palouse color pallet with accent colors inspired by sunset colors, chosen since the residence runs along the west wall of the Combine building. The living space also contains a large focal pendant light bringing the concept even more into the space.
The bed and bathroom in the rear of the residence are also fully accessible in design. The bedroom's design allows for plenty of floor space for a chair. The same themes of color, light and sustainability are all continued here, with more emphasis on sunset colors in the bedroom. The bathroom materials continue these themes. Cork, sealed travertine, paint, and wall coverings all chosen for their sustainability and subtle Palouse colors. The fixtures are again all ADA approved choices with a roll in shower if needed ad grab bars at the toilet.

This design is quite successful in integrating the clients needs and requests with the concept in a highly functional small residence. Planning for accessibility and sustainability was a challenge, and required research and careful planning. When presenting this project I received positive feed back on it's ease of accessibility and for being careful to chose fixtures and finishes that were ADA compliant. If I were to continue to develop this space I would work out a better plan for the dining space and possibly how to make the bathroom more accessible to guests without needing to go through the bedroom. Over all it was a very interesting a exciting design process with so much to consider making it accessible and in making a sustainable materials selection. As a young designer this project has giving me confidence to take on a daunting project and use skills learned in this process to do even better work.

Master Bathroom Design

The next room in the Gregory home to be designed was a bathroom. I chose the master bathroom to get more practice in designing for a fully accessible bathroom since it would be the primary bathroom for Mrs. Gregory who is in a wheel chair.

The process work for the bathroom began with quick thumbnail sketches of the designated space for the bathroom with varying configurations within it. These thumbnails are noted with plan details as well as concept details.
The best three thumbnails were enlarged to 1/8'' scale and one was selected for a final plan. The final plan had to accommodate a fully accessible toilet with grab bars and room for pull up and transfer. Also a lower vanity and sink height with knee room under the sink for full accessibility. The shower in the plan below is flush with the floor and allows a chair to be wheeled in. There is also a seat to transfer to with a separate shower head and controls. There is also plenty of space for a full turn around with in the room(5 foot turning radius).
The key words for the concept are: Expression, Emphasis, View. Expression of line and form is seen in the diagonals and curves incorporated into the rooms structure. The curving glass of the shower allows for a view through it to the wood and travertine inside. View is also implied with the darkened glass doors of the closet as well as the 8 foot window. The room is full of points of emphasis. The lights are used a focal points thought out. Mirrors are also points of focus and well as the darkened glass closet doors. The open shower is the main focal point of emphasis when walking into the room.
This room is is fully fictional for Mrs. Gregory and her husband, and displays a subtle use of universal design with out feeling like it was designed for a person with a disability. The accessibility aspect was challenging in designing the space. Planning for someone to navigate the space while making it not seem like it was planned for a wheel chair was a good exercise for developing universal design skills for a beginning interior designer.

Wheel Chair Experience

In designing for a ADA approved residence questions arise on how you should design a space to be navigated or used by a person in a wheel chair. Before starting final plans for a wheel chair accessible residence, a class mate and I took an hour to navigate our way from Daggy Hall to Carpenter Hall on campus in a wheel chair, to understand wheel chair usage.

Our first place we tested for accessibility in Carpenter was the library. We found the reference desk counter was the right height for a person in a wheel chair as well as the copy machine. The stacks however we quite narrow for a chair and at one point a stool in the way blocked it for the chair and I had to back down the isl.

After assessing the library we then went to the womens bathroom, where we found the door was extremely hard to open and enter without it hitting you and getting stuck.

The accessible stall on the other hand was very easy to enter and roll up next to the toilet for a transfer to the seat. This was a very good accessible design feature we found.

After exiting the bathroom with some difficulty we changed rolls and my friend got in

the chair. She assessed how easily you could order and pay for an item at the coffee stand in Carpenter. What she found was at the ordering counter in a sitting position you could not even see if someone was behind the very tall counter to take your order, nor could they see you. She did find the counter where you picked up orders at was at a good level for accessibility in the chair.

We returned to Daggy using ramps and accessible door openings and the elevator to the third floor to check out the bathroom. This bathroom was the most difficult place to access we found. The door was very hard to open, and there was a narrow isl to the back stall blocked by a trash can. The stall itself was also too small for the chair and user. Exiting proved very hard and in the end the chair got stuck and it took both of us to get it out and back to the hall way.

This hands on research into the use of space in a wheel chair was very helpful in planning for a accessible residence. From the width of hallways to the way a door should swing and what it's weight should be, we discovered so many little things we hadn't really considered in our designs to be issues to take into consideration.

Twins Room Design

The clients for this bedroom design were 6 year old twin boys! The boys needed a room with plenty of space to play together or separate as well as study space in their bedroom.



The idea generator for this design was a children's book; Peppe The Lamplighter. The illustrations and the story were form givers for the twins room concept.





The key words taken from the story were: dream, expression, and aspiration. These words are expressed in the concept model below in the different components of the form. The Blue gray forms represent dream, the beginning and base for a child's aspirations, which are represented by the long orange forms. From aspirations and dreams come personal expression which are represented by the curving wire forms throughout.

The book's illustrations all were dark and rich colored, with light as a strong focal point in each. The curving wire forms also represent these lights. The concept word for the illustrations was: glow.

The concept was applied to the plan in the structure and the interior finishes. The walls curve in expressive lines and then slope up to the back wall in an aspiring line.

One very important interior finish to the concept were the lighting selections. The room's design and concept placed lights as glowing focal points around the room. Small clusters of hanging lights were placed as task lights and focal points. One large statement focal fixture was placed in the center or the room between two sky lights

One special finish for the boys room was the closet bumped into the room next to the door way. The material selected was a transparent green plastic Armstrong product that was lit from within to glow in low light or darkness. This created a very strong glowing focal point like the book illustrations.
This design challenged me as a designer in many ways. Designing for small children that need to stay in a room into their teens takes a lot of thought and planning for the future with adaptable options. Childish designs have to considered for their adaptability or removal for the future. Creating a concept that applied to a child was a challenge even from a children's book. Relating the concept to a child's growth and development through their dreams and aspirations was my solution to this.

Kitchen Sketch Model

This paster-board model is in 1/4 inch scale, and is to give the client a rough volumetric view of the planned kitchen. This photo shows off the ceiling plan that is hard to convey in sketches. The soffits and curved beams can be better understood from this view. Also the island in the middle of the kitchen can be seen through the beams in this photo. Building a model gives you the designer a chance to see how successful the final volume of space will be.

Kitchen Design (Gregory Home)

Designing a Kitchen is one of the most involved projects in designing a home. This room is the modern day hub of a home. Besides it's new role as a social hub the kitchen must be well planned space that allows for preparation and clean up of meals, and provide many kinds of storage. This kitchen design is special and took extra thought since it was for a client in a wheel chair and her family.

These thumbnails are the fist step in exploring the plan of the kitchen, details, materials, lighting, and application of the concept. Choosing materials and finalizing the plan came next with perspective drawings of the space. A lot of planning went into the height and accessibility of every fixture and appliance in the room, as well as the floor space for a wheel chain within the kitchen.

The parti sketch, concept statement, plans, elevation, and perspectives are sketched above with room in the center to lay out materials for a preliminary presentation to the client.

This design is not final and could be changed after talking with the client to fit needs and their aesthetics better.

Gregory Home Concept Development -Fall 2010

Starting the design process begins with a problem and beginning to solving it. As the designer this is what are you being asked to do. To catalyze this process a designer will search for inspiration, a place to begin creatively solving the problem. The inspiration for the Gregory home was a quote: Home is a place not only of strong affections, but of entire unreserve; it is life's undress rehearsal, its backroom, its dressing room. ~Harriet Beecher Stowe

These abstract 2D sketches explore the key ideas and words taken from the inspirational quote in a visual form. They are done very quickly and loosely, to keep them simple and creative. The second to last thumbnail was taken and explored in a series of 3D thumbnails. These thumbnails were turned into 3 quick sketch models in 3D. The best ideas from the models were taken and used to create a final model that embodied the concept words and key ideas in a tangible 3D form.

This model is the jumping off point for designing the space and floor plan of the Gregory home. Taking it's qualities and applying them to a floor plan. With the revision of the plan as a next step the model will undergo revisions. Both the plan and model are under developed, but with revised concept and statement for the Gregory home the new model will soon be made.

Process Poster

This process poster is showing the progression of work from conception and object studies to a final model of a space. The designer that was the inspiration and guiding force for this project is Coco Chanel, the predominate woman n designer of the 20th century. This process also included a 2d concept model before a the 3d dymension was even considered. With every step there were pages of process sketches produced. These a handfull of these sketches can be seen on the poster.
The poster began with layout sketched and lists of what to include and well as writing a concept statement to include. After sketching, the next step was to plan the space out in In Desgin and then to place photos and text.
This project helped me to grow a lot in my skills using the program and figuring out what I could do with it. I would like to have had a more interesting graphic background, and maybe to have created some graphics in Illustratior for this poster. Over all it does do it's job and shows the process to create a model of abstract space.

Design Resume

First Logo

Here is my fist personal logo that I created using Indesign and Photoshop. Creating a logo for me to use and mark my designs began with sketching and diagramming out words images and concepts of who I am as a designer. I came decided not to have just my name and the fact that I was a designer conveyed in the text, and to leave my personal touch to the imagery of the logo. With imagary I needed to express art and energy. This was accompilshes wiht useing a paintsplatter brush tool to make the cross bar of the A in my first name. I feel this design logo exemplifies my personality as a designer.
This is not design is not set in stone as how my logo must stay. I would like to experiment with the addition of color, as well as reworking some shapes, text fonts and overall orentation. As a beginning point it serves my needs.

Further Sketching

Here is a continuation of the same sketching method as in the post below.

The keys show here are a good example of what a quick sketch can show the person a designer is working for in only a few minutes to help them visualize what the designer has in mind.

Sketching

This sketch of a peach was done with the same sketching technique as the rendering below, but left as clean sketch with out color.

The purpose was to improve the quickness of sketching while studying texture and light at the same time. The goal was to show texture and depth with very simple elements, just line and dots. This sketch while showing the fruit well in shape, does not give the level of dimension it should.

Object Sketch 1

This sketch of an interior object is rendered in the technique taught by the WSU interior design program. I really enjoy this technique of rendering, which starts with with a quick pencil sketch, and is bought to life with colored pencils and markers. It is a quick method with a pleasing result for the time put into it.

Textile Design

This textile was created completely in Photoshop by altering images and colors that relate to my heritage.
This textile design was generated by two cultural heritages; Danish and English. The flags of these two nations provided inspiration through their similarities in color and the central cross shape on each.
The Danish flag is very simple in design, with a red background and white cross running sideways. This simplicity is emulated in the basic cross structure pattern in this textile. The English flag provided the same cross shape design, with the addition of the color blue. Also incorporated above, is the crest of the British monarchy in each arm of the cross. The addition of "yellow" borders was to provides color interest and a
allude to classic Scandinavian design color schemes.

Starting At Square One.

Textile design that explores personal heritage.