Habitat For Humanity

This projects goal was to design a sustainable, simple, affordable home for the Habitat For Humanity group in the Palouse. Due to the short amount of time, we designed in groups, we also did not know the clients for the home yet, as they had not been picked. Mine and Ashley's idea for this design was to create a simple home, with a neutral color scheme that was affordable but still aesthetically pleasing. I think our design was extremely successful, we chose colors that work great with many different decorations and furniture selections, the exterior of the home was relatively simple so that people with little to no experience in building houses would still be able to built it, but we were still able to make it aesthetically pleasing and affordable to build. There are things we could have improved on, however. We chose not to put a 2nd window in the front bedroom to keep it private, but the builder pointed out that while we were keeping the bedroom private as we had hoped, we were leaving a very long wall on the front exterior of the house with little interest. Overall I do this project was successful, and with a couple changes I would be completely satisfied.

Gregory Grandparents Design

This design is for the Gregory Family and the mother Patti's parents also live with the family. This section of the design focuses on the grandparent's section of the home. Due the age of the age of the Grandparents, designing for aging in place was ideal. The kitchen was designed to be fully accessible, instead of designing for aging in place, and the rest of the living area was designed for aging in place.

The main words that led the design were Open, Comfortable and Modern. The ceilings were left at 11 feet to help the space feel more open, and minimal furniture was placed in the space. The space has a modern feel using neutral colors, metals, dark wood accents and small bright accents to add interest to the area.

Wheelchair Expiriment

After riding around in a wheelchair for about an hour I realized how truly difficult it must be to be a person with disabilities. Our purpose as designers is to design for clients and their specific needs, but an important trend in design today is designing for accessibility. By this I mean that we must design so that everything is accessible by everyone, no matter their disability. Now that I understand what it is like to use a wheelchair as means for transportation I understand why it is so important to design for accessibility. It was extremely difficult to use areas in the buildings I visited that were not designed for accessibility. In one building I tried to use the restroom, and it had the wheelchair accessible sign on it, but the door was very heavy and there was not a button to push to open it. I found it extremely tedious and frustrating just trying to get the door open. I also had a hard time trying to roll up the hills. It is very important that designers today pay attention to designing for accessibility because it plays a vital role in the success of their design.

Gregory Master Bathroom Design

Like the Kitchen design for the Gregory family, the design was focused on being open, modern and accessible. The floors are black stained wood, the sinks are glass and left empty underneath to be accessible. The walk in closet is large and open, leaving the room for the clients to move about comfortably. One side of the closet is lowered to be accessible.

I feel that the overall presentation of the design was more successful than the last, the presentation matched the concept. My renderings could have been a little more detailed to show the materials a little realistically.

Concept Development

The concept development refers to the entire Gregory Residence. The poem provided is what I designed the residence after. Annotations on the poem show where the aspects in the design were derived from. Some 2D sketches have been provided and finally the movement from a sketch to a 3D concept model. The model is a representation of open space, movement within a space, and more literally the use of metal and wood together.

Having a concept to base a project off of is extremely important, it helps you carry the design throughout the space. Anytime you have difficulty with the design if you relate it back to your concept and make sure it still resembles your original idea then you are on track. It gives you a beginning mindset and somewhere to begin with your design.

Childrens Room

This childs room is designed for two twin boys to have from the age of 6 to 13. The design was based on the images and story line from the book "The Little Prince." The concept model and parti bring together the main colors from the book and the layers of colors in both represent the layers in the universe as you move through space. A more literal representation of space is found in the shape chosen for the model, it represents earth and its surrounding plantes.

The presentation of the childrens room was successful in having the concept flow through the entire design. It was layed out as book, which is appropriate since the design is for two little boys and is based on a childrens book. The layout still lacked in excitement, more color, contrast and interest could have been added to the presentation of the design.

The renderings and sketches in the presentation were successful, however one was a bit skewed and could have used more attention in the rendering aspect of the drawing.

I could definitely improve in my abilities to design for specific individuals. This design is for two little boys and I definitely could have added more interest and excitement in the design itself. More colors and different furnature choices could have aided in that aspect.

Kitchen Design

This is the Kitchen Design for the Gregory Residence. It was designed to be open and accessible according to ADA regulations. In the kitchen, and throughout the home, the leading aspect in the design is based on being open. The ceilings were left at 18'6'' and a lower hanging truss made of wood is the main source of light for the area. Also included in the kitchen area is the dining room, the inspiration piece for the dining room is the low hanging chain chandelier. Both the kitchen and the dining room were designed to incorporate modern design and multiple materials, both natural and man made.

Successful aspects of the design include the truss, and the dining area. I was able to develop my rendering skills much further, and I feel that the ones provided are an adequate representation of the ideas I had for the space. I do however, need to work on my presentation method, the boards do not fit well together. The concept needs to be carried through my design, even within the presentation, which is something I need to improve on.