Pullman Depot- Art B&B Project Final Boards

For this adaptive reuse of the Pullman Depot my design for it was to turn it into art hotel/ bed and breakfast.  The plan included a residence for the owner of the B&B, designed with special attention to universal design and ADA requirements for the owner’s legally blind wife.

     This process began by doing a walkthrough of the depot with plans in hand to make notes and take photos for reference while designing.  Next I started my concept design for the B&B.  Picking a train related object of inspiration to create abstract parti sketch, key words for a concept from it, and then taking this abstract parti sketch and repeating it in pattern to make a textile.  The object that inspired the parti sketch was one of 6 retro railway posters by Salvador Dali for the French rail way system.  I then made a 3D model of my parti sketch and key words, Contrast, Punctuation, and Layers.   For the B&B and residence I wanted to have visual contrast for the legally blind and contrast between the public and private spaces in it. Each space I wanted to have a focal point punctuating it and visual punctuation for someone with low vision.  Lastly I wanted to layer these ideas with the art and the design smoothly in a historic place.  The history and the modern new design I was adding needed to be layered in the space to keep some historical content, while making it feel modern.  I also wanted to have physical layers in the ceilings since the building’s historical ceilings were 15’ to a peak of 29’.  

     In combination with this concept development for the design I found a regional artist to inspire the art in the B&B.  I choose Stephen Hayes, a artist from Portland OR.   His beautiful paintings of landscape and more abstract prints were inspiration for my color pallet.  I also added to my concept with quotes from him on his philosophy about art.   The concept I took from his work was that nature reflects man.  The human condition can be reflected in nature and the world around us, and that connecting to it is important in his art work.  So in the B&B’s design I wanted implied and physical connections to nature. 

    Some main design points of the space would be green walls throughout the interior and points of punctuation and as a physical connection to nature.  These walls also divided patios on the exterior of the depot outside all the entrances and guest rooms.  These patios and landscaping around them allow for a physical connecting to nature for the guest and visitor and a secondary layer of space to inhabit.  In the lobby I used mirrors around the reception desk and in-between art work to reference nature reflection people.  The lobby and bar adjoining it had custom furniture pieces shaped like elements of the parti sketch.  This furniture’s fabric was chosen with a high contrast of value between it and the flooring.  The counter tops and bar were also selected to have a high value contrast with the floor to allow for the visually impaired to see a definite plane change.  Other spaces in the B&B include and dining multipurpose space with breakfast bar and seating for 16 indoors, and a patio with seating outside.   A commercial kitchen, laundry, and storage.  Four guest rooms  one single, two queens, and a king, the second queen being fully ADA accessible.   Also an office attached to the residence.  The  residence was designed to have value contrast between surfaces as well as textural wall changes between spaces. One main feature in the spaces with original exterior windows were cut outs ceilings like the pattern design.  These ceiling features where cut into dropped ceilings in rooms where the windows went up to 13 feet but the desired room ceiling height was 10 feet.  The ceilings were dropped to 10’ but the ceiling was cut out in a pattern with small colored lights hanging down through it.  This way light from the window above 10 feet, and sola tubes installed in the actual roof, could  still could come though the openings.  This feature expressed the key ideas of connecting to nature, with natural light, punctuation with colored lights, layers of ceiling, and contrast between solid and cut out ceiling.

   This project was challenging as an adaptive reuse of a space, an Art B&B, and residence under 800 sq ft.  A lot of time had to be put into reading about Art hotels, Bed and Breakfasts, designing for low vision, and, building codes.  The plan and final design where done in two and a half weeks with just as much time before that simply researching and coming up with a design concept.  I felt that I did thread the concept fairly well throughout the Depot, but with more time I could have explored better design solutions for the plan and concept application to it.  There are some rough areas in the plan that could have used some reworking as well as some of the rooms furniture layout could have also been place more successfully.   Over all I am excited with my product as a preliminary design for the train depot in downtown Pullman Washington.

  

Habitat For Humanity: Union Town House Design

   
     Interior designers are concerned with social issues in our living environments along with the environment themselves. Helping to build and then design a Habitat home was a way to begin to express our concerns as student designers and do something about them.
    After helping to build a Habitat home this fall, we were asked in groups to design a home for Habitat to use in the future.  Designing and meeting with Habitat representatives was very exciting as groups of students developed sustainable and functional houses under 1200 square feet.  The home had to be fully wheel chair accessible, have a great room with living/kitchen/dining together, 3 bedrooms, and a garage.  Other considerations Habitat asked us to incorporate into our designs where sustainable building practices, like 24" on center stud construction and sustainable material choices in our finishes.
     This process helped us to learn how to work in groups as designers and split up our work, and how to come together an collaborate on a design.  Input from contractors was invaluable in this experience in learning how these home we designed would be constructed.  Specific things my team thought about was the volume of the space and using it to create transitions from space to space by making ceiling changes. We also planned for the home to take full advantage of the south sunlight exposure by putting our main living spaces in that side with many large windows. We places the garage of the home on the side of the home facing the highway to Pullman to act as a sound buffer for the home.
      Our design was also constrained by a budget and the materials selection and placement of the home on the lot all were specified to meet this budget.  Meeting a budget for the first time was a challenge.  It educated the group on how expensive materials really are along with the cost of the building construction it's self.  Over all this was a very rewarding experience and presenting it to Habitat at the end went very well.  The representatives who came love the finished work and were very engaged with our models of the homes and our display for them.  My team and I came away form this with great enthusiasm for what we do as designers.

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.