Context

For my senior project in Art & Design, I explored the idea of creating inviting spaces for students. The project was divided into three phases, at which the end of the first two phases the instructional team gave us a new challenge or “obstruction” to change the direction of the project.

Phase I: Research and Inspiration

In the past couple weeks, I’ve looked at various examples of school and classroom designs. One thing that stuck out to me was the emphasis on non-learning spaces. Some of the readings mentioned extending the learning environment to outside the classroom. These included hallways, common areas, and outdoor spaces. These examples I saw made me think about our own spaces on campus: how could we create the best learning spaces outside of the formal classroom? For the next three weeks, I would like to utilize the readings and examples I’ve collected to reimagine spaces we have on UM campus. 

I would like to start with the Ann and Bob Aikens Commons studio on the ground floor of the Arts & Architecture Building. My first reaction when I saw it last year was that it was cold and plain. I plan on reimagining the space with more greens and earthy colors to create a Reggio Emilia inspired “atelier” for college students. I have already collected photos of the commons. I will be using Photoshop to draw new furnishings over the photos. I will create 5-8 illustrations of different areas of the room. 

For this phase, I created two mood boards: one for ateliers in kindergarten/pre-k spaces and one for college student/work spaces with nature elements. Additionally, I had also begun creating new floor plans for the Aikens Commons studio and making rough sketches for potential furniture.

At the end of the phase, the instructional team challenged me to move away from technical components of interior design and to focus on emotions and varying textures.

Phase II: Introduction of Natural Textures

For this project, I am reimagining spaces in the Arts & Architecture Building using textures found in nature. I will create a catalogue of furniture and textiles using these textures and examples of how they’d be utilized in the Arts & Architecture building. 

This project is important to me because how “welcoming” a space is can really affect one’s sense of belonging in an environment. If the building ever gets a renovation or new spaces, I hope these examples can help designers see how they can create various environments or “habitats” so all sorts of people can find the spot they “belong” to. I want to explore more textures and experiment how spaces can be changed using textures.