Design Process: Work in Progress

Forewarning: this post is a long one! Here I show what I accomplish during a project rather than only the final presentation drawings. This post demonstrates the design process and work that is completed through different phases. Also note that scale indication may be inaccurate due to screen size variations.

This project is for a fictitious sleep wellness technology company. It is a corporate office with two stories, a small lower level and a larger upper level.

One of the first things a designer will do is research what is currently being emphasized in the design industry, as well as building codes. I read through case studies and publications of current projects. I also research the geographic area of the project and become with native design styles, local attractions, climate, history and dining.

If necessary, I research human centric data which includes information such as comfortable arm reach and eye levels, as well as standard seat height and depth for ergonomic design. I research this data primarily when dealing with a special population, such as a those with a specific disability, or for children.

The chart above is an adjacency matrix. This lists the names of required rooms/spaces and how much square footage is required. The number in parentheses is the square footage depending on the required quantity of that room type. The rooms are color coded, which will be used throughout the planning for the project. I then determine the strength of each adjacency for pairs of rooms, coloring in each block as I do so.

I separate the floors into zones. I separate by privacy, ease of access, noise level, or by task, depending on the emphasis of the specific project. In the two images above I separated the floors by type of focus and the resulting atmosphere of the space including creative, collaborative, and focused zones.

In the blue and orange images, I separated the zones by ease of access. The orange spaces are where guests are more welcomed and the blue zones are limited to employees. I consider entrance locations during this step.

I take the data from the adjacency matrix and display the relationships visually. Designers frequently create several versions of these bubble diagrams in order to consider various arrangements of connections. I also notate other elements such as views out of windows and rooms that require privacy. Below is a second version, which is the one I used for the rest of the project.

I create several block diagrams, which show the room relationships from the bubble diagrams and approximate square footage allowances in the context of the floor plans. Above is the pair corresponding to the first bubble diagram and below is the pair for the second bubble diagram.

The next step is to stack the floors to determine of the individual plans make sense in relation to each other. I look to make sure that spaces which require plumbing are stacked in order to share a plumbing wall through the building which lowers construction costs. I knew I wanted the kitchenette in the workcafe to have a sink so I placed the workcafe beside the bathrooms. I keep color coding consistent with the floor plans. All stacking diagrams were completed in SketchUp.

I frequently make notes of ideas I want to keep in mind and consider later. I labeled these diagrams for different elements and principles of design specifically form, function, circulation/flow, and privacy.

The concept phase is where a designer begins to think of what the space may look like. I collect inspiration images (both interior/architectural and non-architectural), develop color schemes, quickly sketch ideas for specific elements or spaces and think of how users will move through the space in a chart called a user journey. I also try to demonstrate how I intend to apply my research through visuals.

In this office, my concept is to connect nature and the urban setting. I like how lights bring out the colors of the plants and there seems to be a connection between the living world and the technological world. I use biophilic design ideas and blend them with technology. Collaboration can be exhilarating which is what I wanted to capture in this design.

The NEXT office is designed to enable employees to function how they wish to be accommodated with various styles and heights of workspaces. There are several atmospheres created through the size of space, lighting design, color scheme, visual privacy/access and acoustical ambiance. These different work atmospheres are conducive to different work styles such as collaborative or independent and allow for employees to determine what level of distraction they can tolerate, if they need to focus, or what level of visual connection they need for brainstorming and inspiration gathering.

These architectural images show the inclusion of plants throughout the office. The leftmost image shows how instead of simply doing a "living" wall I could a "living" staircase. Other biophilic elements will be found in abstracted forms other than the plants. Wood will be used for vertical and horizontal finishes including flooring, wall coverings and as planks with lights creating a dropped ceiling. Water will be used to provide a calming atmosphere in some spaces including the project team space which needs additional acoustical privacy from the open office space. The sound of water will lower stress and heart rate of those using the open office space.

Above you can see the non-architectural imagery I collected. I found items that are refreshing or relaxing to me, or that feel exciting or inspiring. Several images are nature based. The palm leaves inspired me to include color-changing lights in my design and see how it affects the appearance of different plants. The image of bare feet on the forest floor reminds me to consider my use of texture which is inherent in plants and in the natural wood materials. Additional texture will be found in the furniture. Patterns will primarily be found in natural materials such as the grain of wood, which is represented by the image of stacked cut wood. To me, fresh fruit, especially citrus fruit, is refreshing and a mood boost, and I am using oranges and pomegranates as inspiration for accent colors. The graffiti made me think that I could include a digital bulletin board where the office team can share inspiration. The peppermint hot chocolate made me feel relaxed and reminded me that peppermint oil helps relieve stress and promote sleep. It is my reference for the mood of the work café.

I considered two color schemes for this project. Below are my thoughts I quickly jotted down during the concept phase:

The building will have a main color scheme with variations through the two floors and the various work atmospheres. Some variations in color will be through tangible materials and some will be through the lighting design. The risers of the monumental staircase will be lit by color-changing LEDs under the stair nosing. Room labels will be lit or marked in bold colors to assist with wayfinding. The core color scheme is navy, dark green and bright pink, orange or coral depending on the zone. Some hues of blues, greens and teals will be used to balance more appropriately with live plants, which have their own color variation.

Daylight will be used to establish a connection to nature and to allow users to sense the passing of time. In other areas, bold colored lights will be used to assist in wayfinding, but primarily will add accent color rather than cast an ominous glow seen in the inspiration images. Colored lights may cast additional color on some greenery, but white light will often be used to maintain a high CRI (color rendering index) and prevent cognitive dissonance in the appearance of the plants.

On the left is a sketch of an idea for a private enclave. The wood pieces would be layered in concentric arcs and would and texture to the space. Each arc would protrude slightly farther from the wall, adding privacy to the space.

On the right are two drawings of the project team room, one in perspective view and the bottom one in plan view. They show a curving wall with water running down the sides to obstruct the view into the space. I planned to offer seating for 4-6 people.

These sketches show ideas for the monumental staircase. I planned to have colored lighting under the stair treads and have "living" walls under the lower stairs. Live greenery adds color to the sides of the staircase. Branding for NEXT would be incorporated through large marquee letters with old Hollywood style bulbs behind semi-transparent colored glass.

User journeys can be displayed in charts as seen above where I note a specific attribute such as stress levels or, in this case, the amount of collaboration. User journeys can also be displayed through picture/sketch storyboarding or written out in paragraph form.

Below is an interpretation of each of the graphs:

Wayfinding will be assisted through signage by doorways and with lighting above main space boundaries. Public rooms/spaces will have a unique variation of the color scheme as well as a distinctive factor in the appearance. This includes changes in materials, drops in ceiling height, and variation in the lighting. The “core” of the building nearer to the monumental staircase are meant to be filled with more activity and have more visual access to other rooms. The rooms/spaces farther from the core are intended to become more private and secluded, allowing for deeper concentration and focus.

An employee enters the building and may stop at reception to set up a meeting later in the day. Then they may go to their office where they will be around many of the coworkers, and periodically they will have short conversations about several projects or ideas. After a few hours of work they may be ready for lunch so they head to the WorkCafe. After enjoying some peace with only a few brief hellos, they decide to see if one of the private enclaves is free so they can concentrate on preparing for the team meeting later that afternoon where they will pitch a new idea. After the team meeting they decide to sit on the monumental staircase and discuss ideas with a teammate. They then head to the resource room to pick up some information and then head back to their desk in the open office space there they have several conversations before the end of the work day.

The visitor enters the building and admires the inspirational atmosphere as they walk past the inspiration room and see several people working in the monumental stair. They stop at reception, sit on the sofa for a few minutes, and then go to the inspiration where someone from the team is waiting to discuss some preliminary ideas. Both people then go to the project team space to meet with the rest of the team to discuss the entire project together. As the meeting progresses, two team members must leave to work on something else, but the conversation is carried on by the remaining group members. After the meeting the visitor goes to the private enclave to review meeting notes before leaving to go back to their own office building.

In the schematics phase I work on a rough floor plan, elevation and section drawings. I also complete several rough perspective drawings.

Above is the first floor plan. I tried to follow the blocking diagrams and maintain my established adjacencies. Below is the second floor plan.

Below is an elevation of the reception desk and monumental staircase. Glass railings allow light to diffuse through the space and maintain sightlines while the staircase is extra wide to allow for spacing between people on the staircase.

This elevation shows the interior of the project team space.

This drawing shows the details of the custom millwork for the stairs. the cubes are 2 feet and act as seating. The location in the middle of the staircase allows for spontaneous collaboration as people walk past and see what others are working on.

This image shows the staircase with the finishes applied.

Cabinetry (normally in kitchens or storage rooms) are drawn. Here I detailed a cabinet for sorting mail. It is made of wood and painted white. Other drawings completed during this phase would be ceiling details partition details, and flooring details (which may show the arrangement of tiles and other materials).

I also complete section drawings. For this project I did two cuts facing North and two cuts facing East.

Below are a few preliminary perspectives from my SketchUp model.

The Design Development phase is the last phase I complete during school. In the real world I would write up contracts and draw construction drawings/documents. Another phase would be Contract Administration where I visit the construction site and check up on progress and accuracy. After completion I would follow up with the client and ensure satisfaction and learn how to improve for the future.

In school however, the Design Development phase is treated as the end of the project where details are finalized and all the work is compiled into a final presentation. Below are the finalized nineteen slides from my presentation, showing sketches, drawings, furniture selections, floor and ceiling plans and sections and elevations. These slides were originally 22x17. These renderings were completed in Twinmotion rather than with Podium for SketchUp. It was my first time using Twinmotion, but the time it took to render was greatly reduced.