This bar was designed for a class in Sketchup and Enscape, incorporating a boho style.
Quick glance: Click for larger view.
Resonance NeuroArts: Performing-Arts Therapy
My assignment was to create a concept for a non-medical service provider for individuals with specific physical- or mental-health challenges. I chose to design a center offering music, dance and theater therapies to individuals with neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease based in Roseville, Calif.
While performing-art therapies typically take place in basic multiuse recreational facilities, the spaces in this location are designed to elevate and honor the arts taking place.
Additionally, the design needed to accommodate the physical and cognitive challenges of the end users. For example, while mirrored walls are a staple in many dance studios, people with Alzheimer’s often find their own reflections disturbing. Instead, the space used Armstrong crushed-copper Infusion wall panels as a decorative and acoustic enhancement. Everything from acoustic and visual privacy to color-palette needs to slip-resistance flooring requirements were considered in the design.
First-floor plan
Second-floor plan
Historical Preservation: Oddfellows Hall
This course required students to research an existing local historical building, outline a process of restoring the exterior to its original appearance, and creating a plan for repurposing the building today. My project culminated in a 3-story cooking school with two restaurants on the first floor, which could showcase students’ recipes and provide employment opportunities for aspiring chefs.
Healthcare Design
For my Healthcare Design class, I was tasked with designing a substance-abuse recovery facility in Allapattah, a neighborhood in Miami, Florida. The instructor gave us very specific requirements for rooms within the space, such as the number of therapist's offices, group rooms (including a teen room), a detox sweet, an employee breakroom and more. We were encouraged to get away from the "typical" look of a healthcare facility and to try to incorporate the culture of the community into the design.
A trademark of the Allapattah community is the bright, airy colors found on many of it's buildings, such as pastel pallet that adorns its 17th Avenue Commercial Corridor, which particularly inspired the color palette of the recovery facility. But, I wondered, had such palette been used for a prominent healthcare facility before, or was this a bit too unprecedented in the healthcare industry to be realistic? My research found that as recently as August 2023, the brightly colored D’Youville University Health Professions Hub had received an honorable mention in Healthcare Design Magazine's 2023 Design Showcase, indicating that my concept could indeed be viable.I was determined to eschew the somber feel of many healthcare facilities and encourage a more uplifting outlook for those in the recovery process. I named the facility Crisalida Behavioral Health Clinic, using the Spanish word for chrysalis to suggest a place of positive transformation.
Commercial Design:
Leidangur's, Seljalandfoss, Iceland
Leidangur was a restaurant conceived of for my Commercial Design class. The goal of the the 12-week project was to design the interior for a restaurant in a randomly assigned location. We were challenged to immerse ourselves in the region and culture and find an original way to incorporate those aspects into our design.
My assigned location was Seljalandfoss, Iceland, and I was enthralled by the rich history of exploration and discovery by Leif Erikson and other legendary Vikings, as well as the beautiful waterfalls for which Iceland is renowned and the cave dwellings that can still be visited today. The design focuses primarily and on these motifs, with the entry foyer transformed into an Icelandic cave with an indoor waterfall, and the dining area inspired by Viking sailing vessels, including the bough of a Nordic dragonship emerging from the bar, canopied by a barrel-vault tile ceiling recalling the Aurora Borealis.
Commercial design: Native Spirit
Apostle Islands, Wisconsin
While this class focused primarily on the technical planning and documentation aspects of commercial design, the final project included the design of a hotel lobby. Because the Apostle Islands were once home to the Ojibwe people, I sought to incorporate that legacy with paintings by Ojibwe artist Patrick Hunter, as well as the use of rustic materials and earth tones.
Kitchen & Bath Design
I was proud to have this project chosen as a Hall of Fame winner for my Kitchen & Bath Design Class. These bathrooms and kitchen were designed for a fictitious residential client with pre-established style choices not selected by the student. My client preferred a mid-century modern design with wheelchair-friendly accommodations.
Click here to view my project boards.
Residential Design
My Residential Design project was also chosen as a Hall of Fame winner. In this 12-week course, we were challenged to design a 2-story apartment for three residents: an elderly, wheelchair-bound woman; a woman between the ages of 35 and 50 with a severe environmental allergy; and a foster child between the ages of 4 and 17 with a passion for art. Among the various design requirements were wheelchair-accessible appliances and spaces, accommodations for the client's allergy, and an environment sensitive to the physical and emotional needs of the foster child, as well as private bedrooms and bathrooms for each of the residents.
We were required to research design styles to be featured throughout the residence, collect physical textile samples and tearsheets, create 2D floorplans and 3D renderings and the project boards featured in the PDF to the left.
I was especially proud to have my project selected as a Hall of Fame recipient for the term.
Sketchup and Enscape
The video above offers a glimpse at the development process of a Sketchup model build from scratch, while the image below is my final rendering.
Although many furnishings can be found in the Sketchup 3D Warehouse or on other sites, sometimes the items needed to complete the scene aren’t available. I created each of these items myself for class projects. Original items on the left, renderings on the right.
