Design Thoughts

"Design, like music, offers its true meaning and significance only in performance"

Today in Anna's Social and Behavior class, this quote from Bill Stumpf's "The Ice Palace That Melted Away" really made me rethink my design perspective. Being in music classes all throughout my life, one thing that I was told to remember is that music is meaningless and emotionless unless you add meaning and emotion. Notes wouldn't flow together unless they were intended, lines wouldn't form space unless they had intention. I found this quote to be inspirational and helpful in thinking about design. If we design spaces without meaning, we've just added mass to a place and disregarded the users needs, wants and failed at designing with a better outlook. I've struggled with this idea for a few semesters. I'm glad for Anna's class as it's taught me valuable lessons.

Center Pointe Systems

1959 Ranch House

Good Housekeeping

HighRise

Centerpoint Luxury Clients

2Br: Bettie 54 | elon faculty member | single | tabby cat | collecting antiques | doesn't watch tv | musical theatre | preservation greensboro, greenhill gallery | walks to work | cafe europa, mccoul's | 20 8x10 B&W photos, framed


3Br: Winifred 63 | retired nurse | married | 2Children 4GrandChildren | baking | murder she wrote reruns | classical | action greensboro, triad stage, ymca | downsized from starmount home | mccoul's | set of 100 cookobooks

Bill 67 | retired doctor | woodworking | sherlock holmes films on dvd | classical

High Rise Split Level

Ranch House

[grid] : a framework of spaced bars that are parallel to or cross each other.

Grids are used to maintain order. For example, major cities and chaotic areas such as New York City, San Francisco, Rome and Paris, use grid systems to control disarray and disorder. They create familiarity and an easy way to navigate through it all. Grid systems give direction and compress the unorganized status. If New York City was not identified with a grid system, it would be frustrating to navigate throughout the city.



Throughout the design process, I struggled to find a cohesive design that manifested the appropriate ideas I was so eager to illustrate. I came from a parti that involved a compartmental grid that transitioned into a more simple confined space to a design that involved repetition through line, form and color.




In the living room, not much deviated from the first iteration. The wall opposite the windows utilized the grid design and provides placement for miscellaneous belongings. The room focuses mainly on the furniture as Mies Van der rohe's Barcelona couch and chairs are used to further the idea of grid design. Also the ceiling was removed and retained its original flatwork. I incorporated the grid within the ceiling by strategically placing recessed lighting 2 feet from each other.



The foyer becomes a looking glass that separates the public spaces and the private spaces. When designing this space, I wanted the owner/visitor to be immediately approached by frames - with or without photography - to introduce a subtle hint of ownership and grid patterns. On the opposite wall lies a grid frame that extrudes outward to show continuation into the space. When entering the space the three primary colors are revealed. In revealing these three colors, they play a role into which spaces lie where. For example, the red, an upbeat traffic color represents the busy nature of the living room. The yellow, an energetic lively color represents the kitchen, where activity lies but isn't the primary. The blue, a calming intimate color that leads to the private spaces.