Fall 2009

Project 1

Who are you?

Initial Problem Statement

Oftentimes in working towards ‘good design’ we lose track of the larger context in which our projects and designs exist. This project asks you to closely examine yourself as your client and the community in which you live and work.

Working with the client profile you design - choose a discipline to work in; discover, research and establish this person’s identity, and create a ‘week in the life’ story board. Ultimately the work completed in Project 1 will carry over into Project 2 where you create the interior space in which they practice & work.

Project Description

Begin by thinking about the questions outlined below - feel free to include other questions that may be of interest to you. Begin to imagine a discipline/profession for this person - it does not have to be directly related to interior architecture. You will be asked to give a summary of this person’s past, present and future, and how these aspects affect their choice of profession-preferred interior space. Once you have created the ‘outline’ of this person begin to map out ‘a week in the life of’ scenario. You will need to create a story board presentation of each day. Highlight the interior spaces that this person comes into contact with. Examine the differences and similarities in these spaces. What spaces are visited daily, weekly, multiple times in one day? Does this person like small spaces, big spaces, spaces with people, spaces with objects, spaces with color? Ask yourself many, many questions...

Lastly create a collage of inspiration images of the ideal workspace for this person. How is this space beneficial to your client’s profession? What similarities or dissimilarities are there between their workspace and the other interior spaces they visit during their week?

Project 2 will pick up with examining a real interior space with historical context. You will be asked to examine and develop ‘a day in the life scenario’ for how this person operates in their workspace.

Questions to ask yourself

-What is their story? Their history? Their past? Their future?

-What is their schedule? How often are they in their studio / office?

-What could possible professions be? Is it design related?

-Do they practice alone or with others?

-Do they work in the public or private sector? Can I walk in off the street and work with them or do I need to hire this person?

-What are their concerns and interests outside of their work? How do these interests affect your design?

-What other professions could they be located close to? Who would they benefit by working with?

Intro to Interior Architecture

Intro to Interior Architecture - Fall 2009 1

-What amenities do you think they will need?

-Would you want to work in this space?

-Is the space flexible enough if your client wanted to lease part of their office / studio?

-What are the drawbacks of their profession?

-What other disciplines would work with them?

Progress and Final Presentation to Include

Students will be expected to:

-Tell the story of the their client’s past, present, and future.

-who they were & how they got here

-what they are doing now

-what their future could be

-the ‘outline’ of their client

-Present a ‘day in the week’ scenario of their client, and the character & quality of the spaces they

interact with during their week.

-this is to be a storyboard presentation - we will discuss format in class

-Presentation of ideal workspaces for your client.

-inspiration images

-precedents (other people with same job & the spaces they use)

These requirements may be accomplished in any way that clearly shows the character of the client and the character of the space. Methods to consider may be: sketching, collage, precedent presentations, story boards, and detail studies. Hand-made models, computer print-outs, hand sketches, & digital presentations are all acceptable and encouraged forms of translating your ideas and designs into presentation material. Students are encouraged to investigate various ways of presenting their concepts and designs.

Be thorough and purposeful in your studies and and design. Understand that this is the first part of a two part project concerning the client you create. Examine the big picture and the small details and look at how they relate to eachother. Show these connections in your presentations.

Tentative Dates & info for this project - TBD

September W 09/09 First project introduced M 09/14 Discussion of current events & client outlines + studio work time W 09/16 M 09/21 W 09/23 M 09/28 W 09/30 October M 10/05

Intro to Interior Architecture - Fall 2009 2

Fall 2009

Project 2

How is work?

Initial Problem Statement

As a continuation of the client you have created in Project One - you will now be designing your client’s own workspace. Use all the material and insight you have generated in Project One to inform your decisions in this part of the project.

Designers are not always given the opportunity to design both the building in which their client’s space is in, and the space itself. You will be given a floor plan of a historic building here in Chicago that your client has chosen for their future office. You will be expected to understand the historical significance of the site your client has chosen and how to create an interior space that reflects the workstyle/lifestyle you have created for them.

Project Description

Project 2 will begin with researching the history of the site of your client’s office and will complete with an office design you create for your client.

Your building was built during the Chicago School Movement in architecture. Begin by researching. Look at the time period/s during which your building was constructed. What brought about this movement? What other architects were building at this time? What other notable buildings were built? What are the similarities between your building and others of the same time period? Why did your client choose this space?

Your client must also share space with another tenant - who are they sharing space with and why? Develop a relationship between your client and the person with whom they share office space.

Progress and Final Presentation to Include

Research into building and architect.

Storyboards outlining your design concept, co-tenant story & building story

Floor plans with furniture and finishes - and your reasoning behind them

Also...

We will take several tours of our building, and other similar buildings to become acquainted with the atmosphere of the site.

We will also be visiting furniture showrooms to become familiar not only with furniture we are specifying, but also how furniture is laid-out and how interior spaces are brought together.

Intro to Interior Architecture

Intro to Interior Architecture - Fall 2009 1

Fall 2009

Project 3

Tollbooth - Due Monday November 30th.

Initial Problem Statement

Our first two projects of the semester have dealt with a client whose story we had complete control over. We determined their history, schedule, profession, and lifestyle through clues in the profile we created. This next project deals with a client who does not want to change. They like their job, their routine and want their space to stay the way it is.

Instead of being able to create your own story and personality, students are asked to accept their client for who they are and who they want to be.

Project Proposal

Begin by deciding what kind of toll your person will be collecting. Be creative - this can be anything! Anything EXCEPT a toll booth on a road collecting cars (the example we are familiar with). Give consideration to the ritual that is associated with toll booths - the repetitive tasks performed by both your person working in the booth and the people/things passing through. While you are creating a person who works inside your booth - their job is not necessarily collecting from other people. Once you have decided what your person is going to be collecting - begin to build their personality. Think about the qualities you assign to them and how this will be reflected in your interior space - inside their booth. Embrace the smallness of the space - think outside the practical and the expected.

Project Description & Requirements

- Image gathering of toll booth / transactions / inspiration images. Begin by collecting at least 20 images

- Small spaces research - can be combined with above

- Fill out measurements in human scaled-spaces worksheet

- Scale model in chipboard

- Drawings

- site plan showing your booth in context

- floor plan of your booth

- perspectives / elevations (both interior and exterior)

- Color & lighting scheme - how do they affect the sense of space?

- Unique fixture / item you design for the booth (interior or exterior)

Questions to ask yourself:

- How do they do their job inside the toll booth?

- Do they live there? Do they live nearby?

- Is their booth connected to other booths?

- Does you require many booth working together?

Intro to Interior Architecture

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