BUNGALOW : [some inspiration]

MAGAZINE ANALYSIS : Southern Living 1979

Southern Living [the magazine of the modern south] : 1979 : trends + furnishings + entertainment + beyond

Publisher: Progressive Farmer Company

820 Shades Creek Parkway

Birmingham, Alabama 35209

Magazine Subject Features:

* The Future of the South

* Travel and Recreation

* Homes and Building

* Garden and Landscape

* Foods and Entertainment

* Directories (travel, classified, school, gardening, shopping, etc.)

- The Magazine offers decorating tips such as twig art, ceramic tile flooring, punch tin, and other natural like decor.

- Energy efficiency becomes a large part of design and appliances through 1979. Its interesting that even though they were considering sustainability, our world is STILL in the shape its in today. That says a lot about people.

- The appliances are fashionable and cost effective as well as "energy efficient."

- Another common theme was reusing items other than a simple function. [old doors as room dividers, shutters to shade deck, table instead of desk, etc.]

- Arbors are a reoccurring theme in porches throughout 1979.

GREAT HOUSES [project statement]

Richard Meier’s Douglas House stands as a beacon of light on a steep and secluded hill in Harbor Springs overlooking the vastness of Lake Michigan. Meier carefully engineers a means to secure the residence to the site, anchoring the multileveled ship like design. Meier values attention to space, form, light, and the combination of these elements. Meier shapes space and structure to create a summer retreat that manipulates light through a series of squares, rectangles, and materiality. The home adopts its form from basic geometric squares and rectangles. Meier’s design features a distinct difference between the private and public sections of the home. The only entrance is on the backside of the home, the private sector of the space on all three levels. With few windows and surrounded by forest, Meier succeeds in maintaining this increased level of privacy. To enter the structure, residents travel down a narrow road and cross a “flying bridge” that leads to the entrance at the building’s roof. The bridge echoes a Medieval means of crossing a moat to enter a protected home.

From this rooftop area, a visitor descends into the open spaces of this relaxing summer retreat. The front façade of the building, open to the views around the structure, bears the signature of Meier’s structural approaches, allowing for the installation of a large amount of glass and white lacquered wood of the home spilling down the sloped terrain. The use of white manipulates the light that enters the space in a dynamic way through the window to amplify the contrast between light, shadow, solidity, and void. The vertical, stainless steel smoke pipes, combined with the placement of the white nautical railing and wood decking enhance the sense of a ship. The glass and white lacquered wood reflect again and again the natural light spilling into the public space from the reflections off the waters of Lake Michigan.

“It’s a great spatial feeling that relates to the landscape and allows you to appreciate the changes of color during the day and seasons.”

GREAT HOUSES [introduction]

We are currently researching and analyzing precedent studies for our studio. The Great Houses project requests information on a certain residence on which to compose a case study. My choice was The Douglas House designed by Richard Meier. It encompasses an idea of public and private sections of the home being distinct. The concept is based around the idea of a ship and the public and private sectors that accompany the vessel. There are also physical aspects of the home that suggest a ship-like quality as well: full white lacquered material, wooden floor on the decking, white nautical railing, and stainless steel smoke pipes resembling ship piping. The home is also anchored to a sloped terrain and over looks the vast waters of Lake Michigan.

A few images of the residence...

front facade from water

west elevation

looking southwest

family room

family room with blinds

"flying bridge" [entrance]

looking west

roof view

from 2nd level

studio: perception + expectations + growth

Studio by definition is "a place where an artist, designer, photographer, etc. work. It is a place for instruction or experimentation in the art of design." The studio space is a multi-disciplinary space that encourages interaction between other studio members, other interior architecture majors, and professors. This interaction is designed to create a dialog between people to encourage a deeper understanding of material as well as developing a personal style that emerges in our work. This particular studio should be no different. The dialog between Patrick and my fellow studio members should be influencing my designs and encouraging me to develop my design skills.

I expect to grow more through this semester than ever before. I feel as though my previous studio semesters have set the basis for my design knowledge and foundation for the fundamentals of design. This studio, however, will be a year of growth and development within my personal design theory. I intend to have more of a grip on my design tendencies by the end of the semester.

My strengths have been identified, but I plan to use this semester to continue to develop those strengths and try new aspects of design (lighting and acoustics) to enhance my designs. I am interested to see how my strengths lie in these subjects as well to see if I potentially would like to concentrate on their effect on my designs more heavily. It should be a very rewarding and enriching semester! lets get started!

[morocco] on my mind

A friend of mine came to me last week and said she wanted a moroccan themed bedroom. I thought it was a great idea and got a little carried away! This project was ridiculously fun, to the point that I stayed up til 4am for about a week straight because i was so excited. I feel like the renderings came out really well. I have Jake Tucci, my visualization professor from this last semester, to thank for that :) 

Added a great pattern to make a gorgeous moroccan carpet hanging as a door to the closet. The hookah really adds an extra dimension. haha. I found the table it is sitting on in sketchup. I thought it was AMAZING! Sorry, i wish i could take credit for designing that :/ 

Detail of the bed: take note of all the textures and moroccan patterns on the pillows, blankets, and cushions! 

Close up detail of the ottoman at the end of the bed. I added a moroccan fabric to the cushions, and two metal trays with a swirl pattern. They are perfect for staging candles, flowers, and other little trinkets and statues. You can also get a great view of the rug and the detail of the moroccan themed pattern. GORGEOUS!! 

Another detail of the bed... 

Cool perspective from the door. You can see the window, the bed, the wooden detailing on the wall and the floor lamps. 

Here are a couple images of the bathroom wall. The door leads to the bathroom, and is directly across the room from the bed. It shows the lamps and their shadows well. Also, the dresser is a moroccan style and includes small decorative pillows, a golden camel, an urn, and a wooden moroccan jewelry box. 

The ceiling detail on this room was a really cool architectural aspect to the space. the rendering that I had of it didnt come out, however, so this is as good as it gets. I am working with podium to see if I can get it. I'm excited to post it too!!

This is a close up of the floor lamps I designed. I looooove the shadows that they produce on the walls and floor! The orangey glow sort of surprised me. But I think it really adds to the room and the moroccan theme, bringing in an extra color to go with the purples, pinks, and browns!

=Dreaming= of [Dandelions]

When your design nature starts tugging at your imagination its rather hard to resist. When it happens, its a nagging ache, desperate to be attended.

 "we've all felt it, that fleeting moment so fiercely alive, yet unexplainably surreal. That defining instant of clarity, powerful enough to suspend time. That crushing awareness... rendering us motionless and quiet. It is in these moments that we are perpetually inspired."

This is how it [feels], reaching for [Heaven]

All my life

there was just me and my dreams

and the days went ticking by

like the beat of my heart.

spend my nights wondering how it would feel

when the waiting would end and tomorrow would start

suddenly i see a light

out of the darkness i'm coming alive...

This how it feels, reaching for heaven?

Is this how it feels, kissing the sky?

This what it means, touching forever?

Like a phoenix rising from the flames....

I'm reaching for Heaven.

+FINAL INSTALLATION+ shelter for [daydreaming]

5 lb bag of flour = $2.84

Take out every night for a week = $25

Box of Band-Aids = $1.65

Late nights in studio with my girls for an "A" = Priceless. 

Studio Apartment attempt 2. [SUCCESS!]

My second attempt at my loft design was definitely a success. I think its mainly in part due to the fact that I LIKE it. I eliminated the loft(second floor) and stuck with a very minimal appearance. I also worked out the kinks in my podium renderings, and was able to produce some really nice images. Ive been waiting for this portion of my program forever! I am very pleased with my first exposure to Podium, and hope that my images and rendering skills can only grow from here!