Arne Westerman

This is a presentation on a regional artist, Arne Westerman, who is a native-born Oregonian. I chose his work as my inspiration for my upcoming design of the depot-to-B&B-and-residence. What caught my attention was the attention to emotion and moments in life that pass us by. He does not draw a portrait but emotions and thoughts, times when we stop to look at something that intrigues us, even if for only an instant. Being an artist, I strive to better my art and to create something that can make people think and inspire them. I loved the creamy colors, the way light is always in the picture, the way his paintings evoke memories. I hope to take into account of the lessons he gives through his painting and apply them to my design.

Depot Poster

This poster was formatted by another member of the group, and so the layout is not completely mine. This was a case-study involving a depot that was adapted and reused as a Chamber of Commerce for Hammond, Louisiana. I found out that it is not a good idea to tilt pictures because it pixelates them so much, so I will never do that again. But I am satisfied with my layout.

Vision Disability Ability Workshop

For this workshop, everyone was paired in twos and sent to accomplish different tasks. When we looked through the plastic bag, we found that we could not read the newspaper since the print was too small (represented 20/60 vision). When we folded that plastic bag in half and looked through it, I could not see a thing. Everything was so blurry that you couldn't tell what anything was.
When looking through the vision simulator tool that displayed different types of vision impairement, I learned that there are more than one way someone can be impaired visually.
The elevator access in the Bookie was tucked away in the back so it was difficult to find. At the ATM machine, the first machine had a barrier to block other people's vision and it was difficult to see from lack of light but the red, black, and green color codes helped a lot. The card slot also blinked with a green light making it easy to see. The second ATM machine had an easier-to-read keypad. The stairs in the atrium were easy to find with the black strips at the end of each step but I did not feel safe and comfortable because the entire room was white and I think there was no rail on one side of the stairs, which caused me to grip the rail tight! But the contrast helped a lot.

I believe, from my many observations, that the built environment should be accessible to everyone. These sort of problems that arise from a poorly built environment can cause confusion, injury, and even death. New technologies like motion-sensor and audible/visually-stimulating signs are making the world more accessible.

This project was promoted by the Habitat for Humanity company where they wanted a three-bedroom, 1100 square foot, one-level house plan. They wanted this as an option for future construction. The house would have a double-wall, double-insulated, exterior wall that has 24-on-center stud placement. Thus my partner and I got to building!
Our inspiration and concept statement are written in the pictures above but we focused more on functionality than design with consideration for our client. We designed the house to be passive, the southern side of the house naturally receiving the most light in the cold environment of Union Town.
This project was a real challenge that tested my communication skills and bypassing stressful conflicts and being willing to negotiate in order to reach a solution in which both of us were satisfied. My partner is a hard worker and she does amazing work! I learned so much more about designing floor plans and adding detail thanks to her. She was really easy to work with and did not slack off. Hopefully my next partnering will be a lot like this one.
If I were to do this project again, I would make use of the time in the beginning of the project and use that to make the situation a little less stressful. But I am proud of the floor plan we developed, it is efficient and takes into account the qualities desired in a real home.

Final Project - Grandparent's Residence

This is probably the one project that I really feel proud of. Reading over the notes from my past projects, I learned to correct my mistakes and go forward. I also learned that a little extra work goes a long way. When I had started the project, I began with the bedroom and tried to visualize it first; but it was not necessary in the end product. To give a better sense of the space, I included all the rooms, albeit the dining room which is in the kitchen. I had tried to stay within the concept which was inspired by John Denver's "Country Roads" song. It was a challenge that I found to be easier accomplished than I thought. When I had finished giving my third presentation of this project, the reviewers reviewing me told me that my project had a semi-contemporary outlook to it; when others had picked olive green (it matched the Palouse palette much better), I had gone for a bright and lively apple martini green (counter tops). I had not noticed this and had always seen myself as more of a traditional designer with wood paneled doors instead of a steel or walnut wood door embedded with aluminum. I did like the verdict, however, and found myself fond of warm, dark, and lively colors. If I could change it, though, I would add more perspectives in the kitchen, showing the layout of the main counter tops area, and have two perspectives for every room. All sides of the rooms had important elements going back to my concept. I had visualized this in my floor plan and when designing the layout, everything had to have meaning, whether functional, psychological, or relating back to my concept. There were a few mistakes made such as the dishwasher and dryer stack being out of ADA compliance but I am sure that with all the technology and appliances out there, there should be one that could be useful to a person in a wheelchair. I did have trouble with the doors and trying to see how many different doors there were and which ones gave which kind of feeling so I stuck mainly to wood paneled doors, giving a sense of warmness and homeliness to the place. I also have trouble finding accessories to decorate the space so it seems like someone is living there and the space does not seem abandoned. I did learn that when working with a space that it is better to stick with one or two species of wood but after that it breaks up the flow; I used bamboo and oak to link the spaces together. I am really excited about the progress I have made and hope to learn and be able to design some more amazing spaces in the future! Although I spent around 7-11 hours for six to seven days working on this project, it really was worth it. I can honestly say that this is the project I am most proud on.

Bathroom Design

This project marks the point where I have fallen in love with my major! I had so much fun designing this bathroom! This is my grandparent's bathroom and I had to make it accessible to wheelchairs. The first thing I decided to do was separate the toilet from the shower. Two years ago, I visited my grandmother in France and my mom and I stayed at her apartment. In it the toilet and shower were separate, with a room for the shower and a sink and the toilet by itself in a small room. I found myself staring at the toilet and wondered how I would wash my hands; thus, I added a sink in the room with the toilet. Initially my inspiration came from European bathrooms and how warm and comfortable they can appear while being clean and from that I pulled out a neutral-brown palette; but it seemed too boring so I added a blue green (glass tiles for storage shelves). I had decided to bump in two of my walls to make the storage shelves because of safety concerns; when shelves stick straight out, they usually end up injuring the person in the room being they usually bump into them, so I decided to cut out a space for the shelves. They would be covered in blue-green glass tiles and have glass shelves, but there would be 24 inches of clear space underneath the last shelf to avoid injury. The shelves would only be 6 inches deep. Next I wanted a curved wall in the bathroom, this was so that it would aid the 5 foot wide turning circle for a wheelchair as well as add to the clear space in front of the toilet on the other side of the wall. I added grab bars around the toilet and in the shower for safety reasons. The shower would have a beige opaque glass door for added privacy and a soffit built to lower the ceiling for a more sheltered feeling yet there would be room between the soffit and glass door for ventilation. The fixtures in the bathroom would all be a traditional white ceramic and the toilet would be commercial with only the bowl sticking out of the wall for easier access for people in wheelchairs. I absolutely loved synthesizing accessibility/functionality with aesthetics. It really is rewarding after you finish your design and think that anyone could live there. This particular floor plan is my favorite I've designed and I really think I could build it! It's just so efficient. The one thing I'm not sure about is the area where the doors open; both of the doors open into the living room and the bedroom is right next to the room with the toilet, with no door opening into it. However, overall, I am satisfied with the design and hope that I can advance my designs in my final project!

Wheelchair Assessment

For an assignment in my class, my partner and I would travel around a part of the campus in a wheelchair and experience what it was like for people in wheelchairs. First of all I would like to say that while this assignment was a good experience and really allowed me to view the world from a paraplegic point of view, I feel bad for making people think I was really in a wheelchair. Everyone was so nice to me and I felt like I was lying. I did have fun though using my arms to wander around, especially in the library; I felt like a kid again. Secondly, it is so hard to roll around campus; there are many stairs and hills that a person in a wheelchair would have too much of a burden trying to get up a hill. A lot of people I see though that are in wheelchairs on campus have an electric wheelchair, which is better but scary to maneuver around the hills. It is difficult also to roll on carpet, there is a lot of friction. Bathrooms were also difficult to get into because of how heavy the doors were and also how little space I could maneuver in. When I did get to a spot where I could park my chair onto the side of the toilet, Ariel told me to get on the seat of the toilet but it seemed impossible! You really have to have strong arms to pull yourself around! Washington State University is not meant for people with physical limitations, it is more of an endurance exercise to get to class! I feel like I learned a lot on this assignment and I also strive to make places more accessible. My grandfather was in a wheelchair at one point and I never understood how demanding it is. I really hope to make people’s lives better and hope that I can weave this universal design and accessibility factor within all the designs I will be working on. I really understand now how important that is and how much easier it will make everyone’s lives.