Case Studies

The goal of these case studies was to examine offices in Tokyo, Japan. I chose two very different building types, and found them both to be incredibly interesting. In both instances, there is a push to incorporate natural daylight when possible, which positively contributes to health of the users. It was interesting to see these different approaches, and I think that the emphasis on biophilia found in the Sugamo Shinkin Bank is going to be especially important to try to incorporate into my future project, which is in a skyscraper.

STIR Competition Entry

The project that I used for the Sherwin-Williams STIR competition was that which was an adaptive reuse design for the Northern Pacific Railway Depot in Pullman, Washington. This project consists of designing the existing depot to function as a residence, a studio, and an art gallery. The hypothetical client for this project is a watercolor and tempera artist with a legally blind spouse. In order to gain a thorough understanding of what a watercolor and tempera artist needs from their studio, I consulted with Spokane artist Stan Miller, whose work served as inspiration for my color palette. Due to the lighter and more transparent nature of watercolor, I was able to rationalize the use of darker colors throughout the gallery.

This portion of the project and the competition requirements for a minimum of three colors really pushed me to step out of my comfort zone regarding color application, especially in a gallery space. Since striving to choose more vibrant colors, I've found myself more readily applying them in other areas of my design, namely the residence.

Concept Development

The project that I am currently working on is an adaptive reuse design for the Northern Pacific Railroad Depot in Pullman, Washington. During my site visit, I continuously found myself being drawn to this bench, located near the southeast end of the depot. 

I was struck by the contrasting nature of the bench and its surroundings, and the interaction of those contrasting elements. The arms and sides of the bench are composed primarily of curving organic shapes, while the brick wall behind it displays strict geometry, creating a conflict between their lines. Furthermore, I really liked the contrast in the nature of these two objects: the bench provides a resting space while the train depot is a chaotic traveling hub.  

The contrasting line types and the idea of pausing were both translated into a two-dimensional parti. It incorporates the bold, horizontal lines of the brick wall's mortar, the organic curves of the bench, and the feeling of an exhale, which is communicated through the curved shape and the use of airy and relaxing blues.

This parti design was then transformed into a textile pattern. Again, the horizontal lines are a prominent feature, and are intersected by organic forms. The field color is a pale, relaxing blue, while the organic shapes are earthier red and brown tones. 

Finally, my inspiration took on a three-dimensional form through the use of basswood, 16g wire, and bristol board. This model explores the interaction between the organic and geometric shapes, as the wire weaves in and out and around the basswood. The element of contrast was brought into the model through the materiality, as the man-made wire forms the organic shapes and the basswood signifies the geometric lines. 

Habitat For Humanity

In this project, I worked with a team of two others to design a home in the Tiempo Commons neighborhood of Moscow, ID for the Palouse Habitat for Humanity. We were challenged to create a two story house with about 640 square feet on each floor--a tight space for the expected 4 bedrooms. Another expectation of this project was that the final design would fit in with the common aesthetics of the houses in the area.

This project required several reworkings of our floor plans and elevation due to space constraints. I myself worked very hard on this project and did most of the work, particularly that involving the final floor plans and elevation.
The project served as a wonderful opportunity to learn just what can be done in a week, as well as what can be done with spaces as small as this. In working with Habitat for Humanity, I also learned about what makes a house cost-effective, including using modules of 2', 4', and 8', as well as stacking bathrooms and sharing water walls to reduce piping used.

Graphic Reflection: A Semester of Growth

Throughout the course of Interior Design 205, perspective drawings played a major role. Although I started with a strong knowledge of how perspectives worked and how to draw them, my understanding was on a more artistic level, in which more guesswork was involved. With the first project, I was introduced to the idea of creating a grid to build a more accurate perspective drawing. Fortunately, my existing knowledge of perspectives assisted me while learning this new technique.

Since the first project, I have become more familiar with the process of making a perspective grid, and as a result, can draw one more accurately and within a shorter amount of time. My ability to do this quickly has definitely been a strength of mine throughout the class, as it leaves me with more time to focus on the quality of the drawing itself.

In this course, I have also learned how to render drawings. My artistic background was once again proven helpful, as I was able to identify how and where colors needed to be applied to achieve the desired effect. Working with the Chartpak markers, however, was completely new and a bit of a challenge, and I still struggle with some effects of the markers, such as bleeding edges.

My sketching abilities have also improved over this semester. I am able to draw a free-handed straight line with ease, and have developed a quick, loose style for field sketching. One difficulty that I encountered frequently was my tendency to shade in my dark values right away, as opposed to building them as I worked.

Overall, I would say that this semester, I learned a lot about my own style and abilities in visual expression—whether it’s a simple couch or an in-depth perspective of a room.  Perhaps even more importantly, I have developed techniques that will carry me through this major and this field. 

Habitat For Humanity

On September 9th, myself and a handful of classmates spent the day volunteering for Habitat for Humanity at the Albion site. At the time of our visit, only the foundation had been constructed, and that had been done only a few days prior. Our day at the site was spent putting in drain tile. This involved moving a LOT of gravel. (Several tons, in fact.) Throughout the course of the day, most of my time was spent in the ditch surrounding the foundation directing gravel pouring and evening it out. 

The physical labor was actually somewhat enjoyable for me, as I hadn't done any "heavy lifting" so to speak since my summer job. While the progress that we made wasn't so readily evident like putting framing up would be, we certainly accomplished a lot throughout the day. 

When I was much younger, a housing development was constructed up the hill from my neighborhood. Since it was so close, my dad would often take me up to see the houses being built. Usually when we went, the framing had already been put up, so I had never really seen what really goes into a foundation. It was really interesting to be able to see and participate in the construction of a house before the walls go up.

Overall, this project was both enjoyable and rewarding, and it has made me consider volunteering for Spokane's Habitat for Humanity over the coming summer.

Sketch Crawl at the Armory

My sketches done during the Saturday morning sketch crawl exhibit a strong capability for loose, free-handed rendering of plants. Unfortunately, they do not have color in them, as I only had watercolors with them, and watercolors cause the Flair pen to bleed. For other field sketches such as this, I would be sure to bring my colored pencils or basic rendering markers for color application. I think that my first sketch is much better than the second one, and a lot of this has to do with spending more time on the first. I was also drawing from a very difficult angle in the second sketch, especially for the subject matter—the Space Needle at Seattle Center.