So, I am now halfway through summer semester and still loving it. Don’t misunderstand…I don’t love every day, I don’t love the long hours, the creative drought or the deadlines that always seem to be looming. But, I do love getting to experiment with new materials, creating perspectives in Sketchup that allow for a very realistic interpretation of the design and I love getting to pull together a space. One of my first commercial design projects consisted of creating a concept for an elementary school redesign with my classmates, and then designing the Learning Resource Center.
Most projects begin with ideas and inspiration from the good ole world wide web and I was ecstatic to find so many creative solutions for school design, that allow students to engage daily. As a group we decided our school would be in a coastal region, which helped to influence our color palette and concept. The overall idea for the Learning Resource Center was to move beyond the idea of a quiet, non-interactive space where individuals go just to read and research. Today’s Learning Resource Center requires interaction with media, along with collaboration of students on group projects and a space where teachers can get assistance from Media Specialists in teaching students. With all of that in mind, I presented the following.
As I mentioned above, one of my favorite things is finding new resources and materials. Area Environments makes some amazing wall murals, and their Blue Pisces was perfect for this application. It provides a muted, yet lively backdrop within the space. Further, I found some radial shelving that allowed for an easy flow throughout the space, and fewer hard lines.
Overall, I was pleased with my design. There is still a great deal to learn about rendering using Sketchup, Photoshop and Illustrator. I struggled with rendering what I envisioned and need to work on my skills in those programs.
Joy Rich Design 