Boundary County Library Design

The Boundary County Library Project is one that we have been working on for almost the entire semester, and we have gone through many different stages of design to finally end up at this point. We began this project by visiting the town of Bonners Ferry and speaking with the community members of the town to discover what they wanted to see most in the design of the new community center. We then formed teams with the landscape architects in SDC and began to work on this project as a team. This design that our group came up with is that of a brand new building, which entails demolishing the existing building in order to incorporate all of the square footage needs that the different organizations moving into this building require. This is the best option for the town of Bonners Ferry as it will give them all of the space they need, and it will allow for the design of a building exterior that will be better incorporated into the design of the rest of the town. The facade that we came up with mimics the look of the old mill in Bonners Ferry with a pitches roof. It also uses logs on the exterior of the building and river rock to tie it back to the history of the river in the town. Overall, this project gave me experience working with a community, working in a group, and also improving my ability to be flexible and work on my development conceptual design.

Case Study: Rosettarray

This case study was done on a light and art installation in the Rosetta office building in Seattle. I chose this to do my case study on because I remember seeing it when my Dad worked here and also because it was similar to the type of thing I would be designing for my own Atrium project. The glass panels act as a sort of wall between the hallway and the offices on the other side, much like the atrium and the offices that are on the other side of the windows. Researching this design gave me inspiration and sparked my own ideas on what to design for the Atrium in the IT Building on the WSU Pullman campus.

WSU IT Building Atrium Design

The main goal of this design was to create a space that the patrons who will be living with space on a regular basis, would be happy with. In order to accomplish this, our class conducted interviews with the patrons who have offices surrounding this large space. The space as it is now, is completely empty and completely dark with offices surrounding it. Prior to the closing of the atrium when the football stadium was built over top of it, the space was a beautiful outdoor space with natural light flooding in, and plants and trees. Now, the patrons with the surrounding offices look into a completely dark room, with absolutely no natural light. When talking to the patrons, they realize that there is no real way to get natural light into the space, but they would like a space that was usable and functional, but without compromising the privacy of their offices. Many said that they would love a place to go and have lunch and a place that everyone could go and gather outside of their offices. Because of their responses, I came up with this design that not only gives the patrons the privacy they desire, but also a place where they can go and enjoy their lunch, get a coffee, and just take a break from the confines of their office.

Working with actual clients on this project was a great experience, especially since most of the people we spoke with were very enthusiastic about the project and the redesign of the atrium. It was interesting to hear first hand all of their opinions, and was a fun experience being able to apply their wants and needs into my design. Finally, being able to present to the clients and get feedback on my design was another great experience because I could tell how excited they all were to see a positive change to the space, and one that could feasibly be implemented into the space.

Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center

Before doing research on this particular extension center, I had never even been introduced to the term before. After doing research on the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center I came to the understanding that extension centers are of the utmost importance to the research and development being done at universities. They not only provide research assistance to the universities but they also provide educational opportunities for people of all ages to enjoy in the locations where these centers are located. Learning about this extension center gave me a better understanding of how to design my own extension center and what their spacial needs will be.

Sammamish and St. Croix Falls Libraries

Completing research on these two libraries gave me two very different perspectives on how to design a library, and ended up being very applicable to my work designing the Boundary County Library. The Sammamish library is a completely brand new structure that was built on a completely different site than the original library. The St. Croix Falls Library utilized an old building in town and completely refurbished it to become a beautiful new library. Both of these designs were very effective and work well for each of their respected communities. The design challenge with the Boundary County Library was whether or not to tear it down and start new, or to add on to the existing structure. Learning about both of these buildings gave me an interesting perspective on both when thinking about my own design.

DC Fab Lab

Doing this case study helped me to get a better understanding of what exactly a Fab Lab is. Before doing research on this, I had never even heard of a Fab Lab. After learning about this particular Fab Lab, I was able to understand exactly what the purpose is and how it can be utilized in communities as a learning tool for people of all ages.