Studio Research Summary + Ideas

With all of the research that was presented to the class on Friday, I feel like I have a much better understanding of the studio project now. Before, I had no idea what I might do the project on. But now, I have a much more clear idea.

Many presentations throughout the day interested me and helped give me some ideas. The survey group started off explaining the surveys that were taken by students in the department. There was a question about what people wanted to see in a new design for the studio. Answers such as outdoor space, rendering lab, different library, kitchenette, café, lounge, mobile desks, and more color/interior architecture signage, were given.

I was interested in the statistics about how many people spend time in the building. The number seems to lower as students get older and more advanced with the program. In my opinion, I think it is a combination of students getting bored with the space and uninspired, and the needs of students change as they get older. When students come in as freshmen, many of them live on campus, like I did myself. It is hard living in such a small space, with really only one room. I liked to hang out at studio first year because it was big. It was also a place that I could gather with my other pals, since our dorm rooms were so little. Many students move to a house or apartment in the 2nd or 3rd years and the need for this hang out space lessens. And in many situations, students moving off campus find a place in the dwelling to set up workspace for studio assignments. The need to go to studio to work lessens here too. I find that now as a 3rd year student, I really only need my computer to get things done. So I would much rather cozy up in my apartment on the couch than sit in horribly uncomfortable chairs at studio.

So after all this consideration, I have found where my project lies. I want to design a student lounge and potentially a connected café/kitchenette that will reside in Gatewood. I want this space to be somewhere that reminds students of home. I plan on designing the space with comfortable seating such as couches and armchairs. And also maybe some desks that are different than those in the studio. I want it to have an overall feeling of being home, but in a space that still allows for collaboration with classmates. It will be a perfect combination of the two, a home-away-from-home even. I see this space being located on the 2nd floor in room 203, where the current “lounge” is. I also wish to open it up to the vending area and make that into a little kitchenette with a few small appliances. I plan on choosing materials that are different than the concrete rooms surrounding to create a sort of retreat for students to go to when they need a change of scenery.

Visual Explorer Connections

The values of community, authenticity, innovation, and steward ship, all connect in ways that I connected to the Gestalt Theory. One main concept to this theory is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Each value represents this in a way. With community, people are needed to make up this community. Each member is a significant part to the group. With authenticity, it takes something to be different and stand out. Without the contrast of the authentic versus the fake, there would be no authentic, it would be just one thing. Therefore All parts are needed. Innovation represents this concept because to be innovative, an idea must be taken from something that already exists and then it can be improved upon. Lastly, with stewardship, more than one person is needed to be a steward and show hospitality. So with all these four themes, more than one part is needed to make up the whole.

Visual Explorer Exercise

COMMUNITY

When I think of community, I think of people coming together to do something. This picture, to me, is an example of community. It shows woman as part of a rowing team on their boat. I have never done this sport, but I understand that it is very challenging and everyone must work together in order to make it successful.

AUTHENTICITY

When looking for an image for authenticity, I looked for something unique and eventually came upon these zebras. To be authentic means to be real and genuine. One way that I looked at it was that their patterns cannot be duplicated exactly. Today, we see zebra print everywhere; on rugs, clothing, bags, and in other fashion. The print isn't authentic, the zebras are. Also, it has been said that no two zebras have the exact stripe pattern. Therefore, each zebra is unique and authentic to it's own pattern.

INNOVATIVE

The work innovative, to me, means something unique and creative. In class, we had a discussion about how an innovation means taking something that is already and improving upon it. This picture was a unique example of what innovative housing is. This is certainly a unique way of living. Whether building this house on this ledge was applied, or land was stripped away due to natural causes, the homeowners chose to live this way. It is an old house, but the concept is new and innovative to me.

STEWARDSHIP

The idea of stewardship is doing things for others who cannot do it for themselves. This picture shows a baby being fed by an adult. The baby cannot feed himself therefore an adult is showcasing great stewardship by feeding him.

Feedback Loop 2: Nikki Ware

Looking at Nikki Ware’s redesign of the Music Library at UNCG, I really appreciate the progress she has made since day 1 of the design. Her first go at the space was very bright, creative, and loud as an overall design. While this was a unique approach, I think her second design really fit the needs of the Music Library. Nikki’s concept was encapsulate and the idea of “binding together the physical forms of knowledge with the technological forms and encapsulating the users into an engaging and interactive environment”. Yes, that is a lot of big words. But Nikki brought this concept into a simple, clean, yet thought out design.


One thing that I noticed that really “encapsulated” the space was the use of rhythm. Rhythm is everywhere and I think that’s what makes her design strong. It keeps your eyes moving throughout the space while keeping everything together as one design.I think one of Nikki’s challenges may have been use of color. There is a lot of it. Her color palette suggests Chartreuse, Sea Foam, and Orange – all pretty bold colors. These three colors look great in the materials board, but then in some renderings, there seems to be more than just those three colors in some of the scenes and it gets a little too colorful. With the rhythm throughout the space being an obvious success for Nikki, I don’t think as much color is necessary. She could try celebrating the rhythm and put the focus on those elements instead of taking away from it.
I also think annotations would be helpful and maybe little keys to show where the renderings were taken from.

Overall, I really did enjoy Nikki’s design. This rendering (above) is my favorite because it shows how multi functional the space is and how the materiality works in the space with rhythm and encapsulation.

Jackson Library Conceptual Models

This model shows the single curve in my design that represents the "Stream" of reference. It has 3 openings to get from one side to the other. Two on either end for circulation between the learning commons and one centrally to the learning commons and also the vestibule and auditorium.

Here is a simplified example of what one of the ceiling panels could look like

This final model shows the main axis represented by the black line. It shows how the space is broken up into 3 sections (offices, central connector and access center, learning commons) yet connected all throughout.