My cohort and I have officially completed 2nd year of Interior Design towards a Bachelor degree. We had final presentations that felt like a nervous party: a table full of food that no one was eating and people standing around awkwardly waiting for the music to play.
I was first to present - which is the best because you don't have time to get nervous and overthink things. I started my presentation by casually (or so I think) asking the designers who were invited to critique if I could refer to them as my clients. Then I started playing "Harvest Moon" by Poolside and dove right into my presentation.
(click here for good vibes)
Studio Year 2: Final Project - Loft
Working from the building plans of a group project, the intent of the project was to choose the appropriate unit size, placement and building based on clients that include a couple and their child. Key considerations included the solar orientation, having a double height loft space with connections to below area as well as integrated stairs.
My project featured a family who has just immigrated to Vancouver, Canada from Sydney, Australia for work. Considerations included that their previous home was making them unwell, and they requested to use the principles of Feng Shui to help the flow of ch'i in their home. As a means of helping them adjust from one of the sunniest cities to one of the rainiest, I used the concept of creating a home that encompasses the feeling of being at a beach.
This project was completed using SketchUp to create a full model with applied textures and custom architectural woodwork. The plans were finalized in AutoCAD. All renders have been completed digitally on SU Podium. Final touches, such as color adjustments and avatars, were finished in Adobe Photoshop.
Here it is!
The Plan of the home.
The main entry into the space is from an outdoor common courtyard, filled with bamboo and quiet walkways. The element of this space is water and features a turquoise runner leading to a touch-down space with the family's paddle boards on the wall.
A small powder room off the main entrance.
We enter into the living room - the heart of the home. The main element in this room is fire with the seating arranged around a suspended fireplace and a hanging chair to give beach vibes while allowing maximum flow of ch'i through the space. On the left wall, we have the family's favorite beach featured as a full wall murale: beautiful Bondi Beach by the talented Mr. Gray Malin.
To the right of the living space, we enter the kitchen which faces a raised dining area. The induction cook top and stove are placed in the commanding position, and the family can sit cross-legged or in a more traditional position around the table, while using the cook top similar to how you might use a barbecue at the beach.
The table is hydraulic and can be lowered to be flush with the floor for more of a picnic vibe. The windows on the West wall swing open to allow for cross-ventilation. At the top of the stairs, we can see the dog's nook.
The child's room features custom millwork to allow for easily accessible storage.
His reading nook overlooks the loft and the downstairs dining space with views through skylights to the sky. Below are built-in shelves with cove lighting to encourage his love of reading. An important aspect of Feng Shui includes providing each family member with a sacred space that is designated specifically for that person. This reading nook is the child's sacred space in the home, in which he can control the level of privacy he wants.
The upstairs bathroom has an infinity bathtub with skylights above to get lots of bright sunlight and feed the plants that give the bathroom a tropical vibe.
The master bathroom features a traditional Finnish sauna to emulate the dry Australian heat and a skylight over the shower. This is the mother's sacred space in the home - where she can go to relax after a long day of work.
The loft space, looking down into the dining area and out across the city of Vancouver, provides the family with a semi-private place to reconnect at the end of the day and watch the sunsets together.
