Habitat for Humanity

On Saturday October 19th, I had the privilege to work on a job site for Habitat for Humanity. Over the eight hour period we had at this job site, we learned how to tie hurricane ties, put on the beginning stages of roofing as well as put up the drip edge, and dug dirt away from the foundation. We hammered nails into pieces of wood that were needed for insulation and other elements that were going into building the house. The men on the job site taught us safety precautions for being on a job site as well as how to properly do these activities. 

This experience was very beneficial because as an interior designer, it is very important to understand the underlying concepts of construction in order to design accurately and realistically. Learning about all of the steps that goes into constructing a roof such as the beams, the plywood, the drip edge, etc., is important to know as designers. During my career, I will have to visit the job site that I am designing in which I will need to know the basic structural elements and concepts of construction. It was also helpful to see what a house looks like before it is completely done and finished. 

    

 

Sketch Crawl

The sketch crawl activity we participated in at the Seattle Center was fun and enjoyable because we were given the chance to sketch whatever we wanted all on our own. It was interesting to take all of the skills we have learned so far in regards to sketching and then go out into the field and apply those skills. Having the professionals there with us to see their sketches and hear their advice was very beneficial because there is always so much room to grow as sketchers. Sketching in the field is an important skill to have because when on a job site or with a client, it is vital to be able to sketch everything accurately and quickly because visual communication is the most successful. Some strengths I have as a sketch artist is being able to look at a space and visually represent it without confusion or misrepresentation. On the other hand, as a beginner sketch artist I have a few weaknesses that I plan to work on to improve. When beginning to sketch an area, I have a hard time with the initial start of the sketch because I never know where to start. I also have a hard time with scale and proportion, a reason why I tend to zoom in too far and not get the entire picture on my page. Although sketching is not one of my design strengths, practices such as field sketching is very valuable and important to me because it helps me improve and get better at a skill that I will need to master when becoming an interior designer. 

Job Shadow

For my job shadow, I attended Dawson Design Architects in Seattle. DDA is a high-end firm that designs hotels internationally and currently has an office in London. DDA is a hard working environment that uses “the struggle” model, which weeds out designers who are not up for the challenge. The firm is known for it’s smart and savvy tactics used to save money, their highly creative designers, their distinct interiors, which all result in long-term clients. An interesting aspect of DDA’s design was the fact that everything they use is custom made and their own which shows another dimension of their creativity. I found this job shadow to be very eye opening and valuable because they expressed the importance of a unique and outstanding portfolio that stands out as well as a hard work ethic. After experiencing the job shadow, I have decided to change my work ethic and have decided to put more effort into all of my work because when applying to jobs, no matter where it is, I will be compared to everyone else with the same desire but even from other schools who may have a higher rating. Thinking about being compared to anyone and everyone across the country, I have learned to put all my effort into each project and assignment I do because it will make me a better designer. Another thing I retained from this job shadow experience was the need to know how to work fast and work on multiple projects at once. This experience was an extraordinary experience to see what the real world looks like and the possibility of designing for global hospitality.

Frye Art Museum

The Frye Art Museum, located in Seattle, used to have a very uninviting, unwelcoming entry that was not working in their favor. The architect wanted to create an entrance that was rather a visitor’s experience in which incorporated a sequence of entries rather than what was previously considered their entry to the museum. The new entrance consisted of a water pool that was very calm, which relates to the environment of a museum, and a ramp that implied everyone is welcome and everyone is to use the same entrance. With the use of the ramp for the entrance, everyone can experience the same entry the same way. The use for the doors that are incorporated at the entrance to the building was described as “gates of knowledge, intellectuals, and art.” The entrance, exterior and interior, are both very well lit and open to daylight. The experience throughout the museum would be much more inviting during the day because of the use of daylight and openness that the natural light provides. The interior entrance, which consists of a dome ceiling with a light hole at the top, brought the most of my attention to the design. When standing underneath the light hole at the top of the half sphere ceiling, it is a sense of organization and direction without the museum as if you are to look straight, left, or right, you can see the three different paths there are to take once you enter the museum. I found this site visit interesting because it really emphasizes the importance of daylight in any space, not just a museum, although it is critical to incorporate it in museums to keep the people interested and not bored.

Street Bean Espresso and Shelter

The teen shelter along with the Street Bean Espresso, located in Seattle, was an eye-opening site that broadened my horizons as a designer. The shelter across from the espresso shop is a comfortable place where teens that live on the street can come and hangout. These teens who live on the streets are kids from ages as young as thirteen years old to twenty-two years old that feel as if the streets are safer than their home. The space currently accommodates teens from 10am to 12pm and 7pm to 9:30pm and allows teenagers to do laundry, shower, use the restroom, eat, and hangout in a friendly environment. Currently the area is a little disorganized and not as welcoming as they desire it to be. After speaking with the woman who is in charge of the shelter, some ideas in order to improve the space were surfaced. An important idea that came across my mind was to change the front of the building to a more welcoming entrance, although the presence of an obvious sign announcing it is a teen shelter may not be ideal, a friendlier and more comforting entrance would encourage teenagers to come more often. Another idea that was brought up by the administrator was the idea of five floors of apartments upstairs in which would be affordable for the kids who have no other place to live. Since the objective of this shelter is to train them and provide them with valuable skills in order to earn money and move on with their life, the space should incorporate a much similar environment as to the espresso street across the street. By allowing teenagers to work at the espresso shop to learn those skills that can be used in the work force, that same idea can be used throughout the shelter to provide them with the knowledge that there are other ways of living which will motivate teenagers to get off the streets and start their life in the right direction. I valued this site visit more than I expected because it showed other areas in which design is incorporated and that there are many different environments in which it is needed.

Chapel of St. Ignatius

 

 

The Chapel of St. Ignatius, located on Seattle University’s campus, was an interesting and very insightful experience, especially in regards to the use of light. The process of this design was interesting to hear because it related directly to what we are working on in class – concept development. The idea of looking into the writings of St. Ignatius and pulling the concept of ‘7 bottles of light in a stone box’ is directly represented in the exterior architecture and interior of the building. The use of lighting throughout the building is outstanding and is what makes this chapel so intriguing. With daylight being such an important aspect of the design, visiting the chapel during the day rather than the night is a completely different experience with the light shining through the certain areas of the building. The interior of the building being pure white plaster walls allows the light to reflect off the wall while also providing areas of shadows. With these areas of shadows, the interior of the building successfully represents the stone box, the concept of this project. The colored glass windows was an aspect that drew my attention the most because of how creatively it brings color to the white interior without bombarding the concept or the aesthetics of the interior.  

325 Westlake

325 Westlake building is located in Seattle in South Lake Union District. This re-use construction project will include an art-gallery downstairs that will feature local artists and will accommodate 12 separate apartments above the gallery. The twelve units consist of a one-story apartment that will be ADA livable, loft-story apartments, and a penthouse suite on the 5^th floor with luxurious views of the city as well as South Lake Union. The tour throughout the building was a phenomenal experience because it was eye opening to see all of the work that is put into a design project. Knowing that there are multiple stages throughout the process, such as the building and construction stage in which we were able to experience, is an important aspect of being a designer. I found this site visit to be the most beneficial tour of the trip as it was informational to speak with someone who is a part of the job but also to see the underneath of a project. Some aspects of their design that stood out to me were the use of split heating in every unit which requires less energy to be used, all utilities ran underneath the floor, and everything is isolated to eliminate sound between each units. I found the isolation to be very important to me as a designer because while designing for a commercial area such as an apartment complex or even a residential area, it is important for each room or space to accommodate certain people or needs without interfering with others' personal space.

zHomes

            The zHomes, located in Issaquah was a beneficial site to visit because it enriched my thinking of ways to design sustainably and environmentally. The type of materials used throughout the homes and the amount of heat and energy that was saved throughout the design was incredible and something I was not fully aware of. Some of the most important aspects of the design that I retained were the use of reused materials such as the countertops made of recycled pickle barrel as well as the wood having FFC credit, meaning not deforestation or illegal. I also found the use of thicker walls to reduce need for heating was a tactical way of reducing the amount of heat used. Something I found interesting about the space was how small it was but how efficient everything was organized. The zHome proved to me it is possible to accommodate living in a tight space without feeling crammed. Their use of colors was also an interesting aspect of their design as the colors were neutral and earthy, which related to their concept of a sustainable design. I also found it interesting and informational that the owner of the home can use the device that is provided to understand and watch how much energy they are actually using and etc. The site visit was very beneficial because of how important designing environmentally is now and will continue to be in the future.