The final project was about redesigning an old Pullman train
depot to a space that is divided into three parts—the gallery, the studio and the
residence. It was an adaptive reuse project and the new space was designed for
an artist whose spouse has visual impairments. As a result, the residence area
was specifically designed for people who have visual impairments. My project
title is “transient eternity”, which is also my concept for the whole project.
The final project was not an independent project, instead, it was a cumulative project
that related back to works that I have done for the whole semester. All the
projects are connected and they involved processes of exploring, building,
finding, solving and so on. Also, the processes contained a lot of components
and the components I found really impressive were the inspiration object, parti
development, concept model, gallery design and space plan.
First
of the all, the experiences of finding the inspiration was interesting and occasional.
The images I took from my first visit to the depot were not really meaningful
so I went the depot again to seek more inspiration. Luckily, the climate got
colder and there were icicles on the eaves and trains. At the end, I took an
image about icicles across the skin of the train (image 1) and I felt there
were lots of potential shapes for me to explore. What I learned from this
process was keep exploring. The result would come to surprise you if you put more
efforts.
Image 1
Secondly,
the process of creating my parti was a struggling part for me. I took the
elements and principle from the inspiration image and draw them out. I tried to
use different angles or view to make something meaningful, but the results were
not satisfying. So I kept trying and I finally
got one that communicates the most (image 2) as it formed contrasts of the colors
and also the movement (icicle: stable vs train: moving).My concept--transient
eternity was pulled out at that time. During
that process, I think my abstract thinking has improved during this process. In
addition, I learned how to simplify something first and putting meanings after.
Image 2
Next
was the concept model. It was the component that I enjoyed the most. I incorporated
new colors into my design—yellow and blue since yellow could psychologically
represent the “transient” part and blue could psychologically represent the “eternity”
part. I followed this idea and I built my concept model. (image 3). Randomly
tore yellow pieces and smooth long blue strips were used for my model. The
plastic stripe was there to represent the idea of icicles. I love the process
of building the concept model, I felt I got more used to abstract thinking and I
knew how to achieve my concept by using different aspects or angles.
Image 3
The
process of designing my gallery space was the most challenging but also the
most enjoyable part. I needed to incorporate my concept into my gallery space
and I did not want to just stay on the aspect of colors. As result, I need to
come up with a new aspect of my concept, which was the most challenging part. I
felt I was stuck at that time but luckily, I got the idea of water. Water keeps
changing among its three states ---solid, liquid and the gas. It keeps changing
but the changing exists forever, I felt the idea related back to my
concept---transient eternity. . After I figured out the idea, it was really
enjoyable to incorporate it into my gallery space. I used the cloud shaped
reception desk and lights, the water floor and the transparent glass to
represent the three states of water (image 4). What I learned from this process
was how to appropriately come up with new ideas without getting too much.
Image 4
Finally, it was another challenge for me to properly plan the space. Since it
was an adaptive reuse project, so I should kept as many existing walls as I can.
In addition, the wall around the ticket windows and the stair can’t be
moved. All those requirements formed a trick
challenge for me and I also needed to pay attentions to the aesthetics. Happily,
I figured the plan out by keeping the requirements in mind and examining it
again and again (image 5). The result was satisfying. This was part I felt I leaned the most. I had
some understandings and experience of how to design a space reasonably,
properly and also creatively.
Image 5
Generally speaking, throughout this semester, I felt my
skills and knowledge have improved and I began to have a clearer idea about
what an interior designer should have in order to be capable and competent. In
the further, I will keep trying and building in order to be professional.
