PHASE THREE CONCEPT STATEMENT

Drawing on the characteristics of wind, apartment 6 on the 14th floor is a place that breathes a breath of fresh air into Ms. Heffernan’s life. Fluid movement and universal accessibility are key elements of both the look and layout of the apartment. Built-in shelving and artist work stations help create a space that is open and easily adaptable to the variety of uses Cindy needs in her home. The apartment provides an inspiring and comfortable place for her to live, work and entertain her many guests that also live in the Unity Village.

CHARESE ALLEN’S DESIGN STRENGTH

I had a talk with Charese about what exactly she considered her design strength to be. She told me that her strongest point as a designer was her ability to appeal to the senses in a design. She stated that she was able to identify what is needed and wanted by the senses of the user in her specific designs in order to design really well. I think this is a great way of looking at design; to really analyze exactly what the human user of a room, piece of furniture, or even a car needs in order to inform a design. While this is different from what I consider to be my design strength, I think it definitely applies to my design strength. I have a lot to learn from Charese. If I can analyze exactly what it is that I love about a specific painting or photograph, and then try to understand what exactly it is about it that appeals to each sense specifically, I will probably be a more successful in my designs. In general I think what Charese’s design strength speaks to is that as designers, we are almost always designing to the human scale. Designing for a human means we must get down to the core of what and how exactly behave, interact and respond. These simplified concepts can be applied to almost every design situation, and I’m sure I will build on these ideas in the future.

DESIGN STRENGTH

There are probably as many definitions of what it means to be a ‘Designer’ as there are people who would call themselves ‘Designers.’ This is because each ‘Designer’ has different strengths and weaknesses. I would have to say my biggest design strength, (or at least I hope,) is my ability to incorporate aesthetic beauty with form and function in my design work. One of the largest reasons I was attracted to the pursuit of a career as a ‘Designer,’ is the very idea that I could create things that not only work really well, but are also equally beautiful and vice versa. This way of thought stems from equal parts love of beautiful things and love of things that work extremely well. This way of thought and path of life are regarded by many people in a negative way in that I (or all ‘designers’ in general) are just “picky people.” While I understand how some people may feel this way, I also recognize the enormous impact that both good and bad design have on the entire world both positively and negatively respectively. I do not strive to create beautiful things that function well because I am a vein person, I do it because I truly believe beautiful things that work well make the world a better place.

Additional Material

UNITY VILLAGE - Second floor presentation

DIMENSIONED FLOOR PLAN

USER EXPERIENCE

The following is a short narrative of user experience in Unity Village...


72 Year old man –

Gunther wheeled himself out of the elevator into the lounge hallway and smiled at a young girl who was reading on the built in bench. He paused for a moment and looked out the windows and breathed an easy sigh of slight relief. Noticing the clouds breaking apart and the sun starting to come through, he knew today was going to be a good day. He turned and continued around the hallway and headed to the fitness studio for his disabled aerobics class. Upon arriving at the fitness studio doors, Gunther was greeted by Amanda, the aerobics instructor.

42 Year old woman –

“Hi Gunther, glad to see you could make it today!” said Amanda. At 42 years old, and in the best shape of her life, Amanda was thrilled to get her job as the aerobics instructor in the brand new Unity Village building. She was new to the area and didn’t know many people in town. Having found this job opening online, she drew comfort from being able to work in the building full of diversity. The overwhelming sense of community that existed at Unity Village made her feel at home immediately. As Gunther moved over to his usual place in the room, Amanda asked, “Did you see my daughter on your way in?”

6 Year old girl –

Just then the door to the fitness studio burst open and the little girl from the lounge earlier came running in and yelling, “Mommy, can we get ice cream later!?” “Oh, maybe if you’re a good girl,” said Amanda as she ran her fingers through her daughter’s pig tails. “Gunther, this is my daughter Izzy,” said Amanda. “She’s so cute said!” said Gunther. Izzy smiled at him as she asked, “What’s your favorite color?” At that moment Gunther smiled and said “Blue of course!” Then he thought to himself, “Wow I honestly can’t remember the last time someone asked me that.” He paused and then realized how much he loved his new life at the Unity Village. The pace affected him like a cool breeze, a breath of fresh air, and at that moment the title of the building made perfect sense.