Monday, February 20, 2012

OPTION 1 REVISITED

The first option from my parti diagrams is the one that ended up working the best for all of the design purposes. I have reflected the organizational aspects through all three floors; the basement, first floor, and second floor.

The dashed lines represent secondary circulation. I am still working on placing a walking track within the facility.

BASEMENT

  
FIRST FLOOR
 

SECOND FLOOR



PARTI DIAGRAMS

I have began working on the floor plan for the Health & Wellness Center. Here are the Parti Diagrams I worked on. They show the design scheme at its most basic. It is meant to establish organization on how the rest of the project will develop.







 




CONCEPT REVISITED


I have added more constraints to my design solution paragraph of the concept.
 
The concept suggests a variety of approaches to the solution, specifically line, color, light, scale, and form. First, the design solution will embody feelings of energy, comfort, and community.  Horizontal and vertical lines will be used to express structure and organization at major activity centers. Curved or diagonal lines will be used to enhance movement in circulation spaces. A color palette with earth tones will be used to bring the outside in and achieve cohesiveness throughout the facility. Low contrast and saturated hues in the color scheme are derived from the Kansas landscape and will be used to strengthen the idea of cohesive integration and consistency between departments. Low contrast color will be used throughout the spa and tranquil spaces, while saturated hues will be used in the fitness and other activity spaces. There will be two types of lighting to help represent the different aspects of the Center. Industrial lighting will be used in larger spaces as well as work dedicated spaces. Indirect lighting will be used to illuminate intimate or small gathering spaces. Scale will be used transitionally from one space to another through the use of ceiling level changes. Spaces will range in scale from large, highly public spaces such as the fitness area to small, private spaces like the administrative offices. Form will represent a consistency through the building by using repetitive shape to help guide and familiarize. Unity will be achieved by using repetition of form and scale and will be further developed by utilizing lights and color. One of the areas of emphasis will be the fitness area. Areas of emphasis will be created by changing the illumination type, by using a dominant color, and increasing the scale of the space.

I have added what my concept poster looks like.


Tuesday, February 14, 2012

CONCEPT


Total Health
The concept for Total Health, Health and Wellness Center has been derived from the philosophy of nature as a healer. This is significant to the project because of the synergy between nature and our physical, mental and spiritual health. The Health and Wellness Center’s concept envelopes a holistic approach to wellness, integrating fitness and medical components in a facility special enough to attract private members.  This mind, body, spirit concept to create total wellness, is a way to enrich the community and help people lead healthy lives. Nature is consistent with the notion of healing and the holistic approach. 

Mind. The mind is intricate and full of complex elements that help us to feel, perceive, think, and reason. These spaces throughout the Health and Wellness Center will develop into an interwoven experience. The design solution will reflect this complexity as a way of stimulating the mind. Body. The body is the physical matter and has both form and substance. In relation to the body design aspect of the Health and Wellness Center, these spaces will be open and full of movement creating a feeling that energizes and motivates without being intimidated. Spirit.  The spirit is the immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life thought to give the body life, energy, and power. The spiritual spaces within the Health and Wellness Center will become tranquil and subdued in relation to the rest of the facility. 

The concept suggests a variety of approaches to the solution, specifically line, color, light, scale, and form. First, the design solution will embody feelings of energy, comfort, and community.  Horizontal and vertical lines will be used to express structure and organization, while curved or diagonal lines will be used to create movement. A color palette with earth tones will be used to bring the outside in and achieve cohesiveness throughout the facility. Low contrast and saturated hues in the color scheme are derived from the Kansas landscape and will be used to strengthen the idea of cohesive integration and consistency between departments. Low contrast color will be used throughout the spa and tranquil spaces, while saturated hues will be used in the fitness and active spaces. Unity will be achieved by using repetition of form and scale and will be further developed by utilizing lights and color. One of the areas of emphasis will be the fitness area. Areas of emphasis will be created by changing the illumination type, by using a dominant color and increasing the scale of the space.

Most of the images below are of the Kansas Landscape, by Kevin Sink Photography. They are used as inspiration and to draw colors into the interior of the building. 


 

I still need to add some more constraints or rules to the design solution.

INTRODUCTION

I have created a blog for my Studio 8, Interior Design class. I am going to be posting research findings, thoughts, ideation sketches, material selections, and in class charette creations.

In my Studio 7 class, last semester, we were instructed to select a project type and building of our own choosing. The project type I chose was a Health & Wellness Center. We spent the semester gathering information from precedent studies, books specific to our subject, and research articles. In the end a programming document was created. This pre-design programming document provides the designer with the information needed to present a well developed Health & Wellness Center. The document is intended to provide activity and space analysis that will establish requirements for the designed end result.
The project is intended to incorporate a reuse aspect. Therefore, the building that is selected cannot have the same project type as the one chosen. The building needed to have at least 30,000 square feet along with accessible entries to the building and between floors. The entrances, windows, exterior walls, stairs, and elevators cannot be altered in any way. The building I selected is in the Crossroads district of downtown Kansas City. It is the old Safeways Warehouse, which is now The Lofts at the Freighthouse. I will be using the first two floors and the basement for my project. The first floor and basement are about 16,000 square feet and all other floors are less than 14,000 square feet.

A Health & Wellness Center is a medically based fitness center that has a spa, treatment areas, educational classrooms, and fitness area. 

Below are my Relationship Diagrams. This gives you an idea of all the spaces within the Health & Wellness Center. It also shows how the first and second floor will be distributed.