Hotel Design

CONCEPT

Hotel “lust” is about the connection between people and their desire for one another. Lust was inspired by lush materials, modern style, high-end furniture and dark colors. The hotel embodies the word and invites couples to stay and embrace the high style.

The restaurant “love” is meant to play off the hotel concept “lust” by being the next stage of a relationship. Love is shared between people and is a bond that everyone yearns for. Love is beautiful design with plush seating and a relaxing feel.

The retail store “envy” is about harvesting guest’s desire for items that are expensive and luxurious. envy was inspired by the catch phrase “green with envy.” The store would be full of items that are wanted by many such as diamonds, designer bags, jewelry, and perfumes.

Harmony House- Sandwich Shop

The Harmony House is coming along great! I have chosen my fabrics and finishes for each space! For this entry, I'm going to share some of the fabrics and finishes I selected for the Sandwich Shop in the lower level of the Harmony House. The floors are going to be wood and then tile for the paths of egress. The walls will be off white with bamboo on focal walls and 3-form as well. There will be a water wall serving as a divider for the booths. I used a triadic color scheme which included yellow-green, blue-violet and red-orange. 

These two fabrics are going on the booths!

Here's the bamboo for the accent areas!

In this blog, I'm going to explain my floor plan for the second floor and why I placed furniture/rooms where I did. The second/third floor of the Harmony House is the living quarters for the youth. One floor is all female and the other male.When entering from the back set of stairs, the youth will have a long hall and this is where their rooms would be off of as well as the bathrooms and shower rooms across the hall. The bathroom and shower room are joined for easy access. The councilors station is located between youth rooms and bathroom areas to monitor space. At the end of the hall is the seating area for the youth to hang out and watch TV. The kitchenette is located behind the seating area along with a bar for seating. Next to the kitchenette and between the elevator are computer stations, allowing the youth to access the internet or play games, study, etc. 

Here's the first and second floor of my Harmony House Floor plan. In this blog I'm going to walk you through the layout and reasoning for my placement of rooms/furniture for the first floor only. The sandwich shop is located on the first floor of the house and is open to the public. I placed the sandwich shop on the street entrance to allow easy access and attract business. I kept the entrance door and exit door on the front of the building to create an ideal traffic flow. The elevator is within the space to allow food that has been prepared in the downstairs basement kitchen to be easily brought up. I located the cash-wrap directly parallel to the entrance so it is the first thing one would see when entering the space. I set up the cash-wrap to work as cafeteria style walk through. I kept the traffic flow of the space in a U-shape to allow easy flow. The seating is flanking the paths. The bathrooms are located in the center of everything allowing access for the customers of the sandwich shop as well as the youth staying in the house. The access for runaway youth to come in is located in the back. This allows privacy for the youth and allows them to feel comfortable in coming to the Harmony House for help. The reception is directly next to the back entrance door. The offices and mentoring rooms are down the hall. The group meeting room as well as kitchenette are located next to reception. The stairs allow the youth to travel up to their rooms.  

Harmony House Design Competition

For my Residential II design class, I am working on a project for the Bienenstock Furniture Library. It is an interior design competition that focuses on designing the Harmony House. The Harmony House is a shelter for runaway youth in Seattle Washington for ages 10-17 in crisis. For the project we must design the house so that the youth will feel secure, stable, and inspired to change their lives. They will be required to work in the in-house sandwich shop to get a better feel for the real world and learn responsibility. Part of the project is to design the sandwich shop which they will be working in and is open to the public. The Harmony House wants the design to also be focused on sustainability, as well as environmental responsibility. The first floor of the Harmony House is the sandwich shop, while the second and third floors will be designed as the living quarters and identical.

Follow me as I take you step by step through my design process. Thanks, Rachel = )

 American Heart Association - Commercial Project

 
For my commercial 1 class at school we were assigned a project to create a Go RED clinic and office space for the American Heart Association. We were able to choose any color scheme we desired and had free rain as far as where the rooms within the spaces were located but were told to really think through how the buildings can best serve a functional purpose while be aesthetically pleasing.
 
For the buildings I went neutral tones and accented with pops of shaded red. I used wood details to really make the space interesting. I used finishes from commercial companies such as DesignTex, Mohawk, Herman Miller and Knoll. The shell of the building was created by my instructor and was floor to ceiling windows all the way around. 

Through this project I learned how important natural lighting is to increase productivity. I also learned that because of natural lighting people are less likely to be depressed and it promotes positive energy. I learned that by adding a gym to an office it motivates people to work out which improves overall health. It is important to research what is good for a commercial environment before beginning any commercial project.

Through this project I:

•Improved skills in AutoCAD, Sketch-up, problem solving, space planning, power point, photo shop, and podium

•Learned how to better utilize space

•Learned about commercial design and the codes

•Learned how to create successful ADA building

•Gained an appreciation for commercial design

•Learned about health care design