Studio Final Presentation & Reflections

At the final review on Wednesday, I was not really critiqued on my work, but asked questions like "what did you learn from taking this studio?" and "how is your perception of your project different than from when you started?" I think that I have really refined my process and my approach to designing a project from working through this studio. By starting very conceptually, I was able to not focus too much on the specifics in the beginning but rather think of everything as a conceptual whole and develop all of the spaces at the same rate. Between the midterm and final review, I was able to get much more specific with my design decisions and apply my concept into the details, such as the textured surface on the lowered ceiling in the pharmacy and on bike shop wall, or the hand-crank bike pulley system, and even the color scheme. As the semester progressed, I went from having a very general idea of where I might want things to be to concrete locations, dimensions, and aesthetics for each of my spaces. This is by far the largest project I have worked on so far, comprising two commercial spaces and five apartments, and through the semester I learned how to develop everything to the level I was expected to despite the size of the project. During the presentation on First Friday I was able to show off my work to friends and the general public who weren't familiar with the project, and they all seemed very impressed with the amount of work our class had done. I am very glad I took this studio because I not only learned about historic preservation and designing old buildings, but I learned how to be a better designer all around by refining my process.

Proposed Final Layout 2.0

Proposed Final Presentation Layout

Basement & Exterior: Studio Phase VI Deliverables

Apartments: Studio Phase V Deliverables

Silver's Street Level Focus: Phase IV Deliverables

Midterm Review 10/9/13 - Feedback

During the midterm review today, I got a lot of helpful and specific feedback on how to move my design forward and create a more functional space.

Dabney Sanders from Action Greensboro on the Greenway liked my idea for shared apartment storage on the 3rd floor of the building,  and encouraged me to provide a communal space for the apartments, which I plan to provide with a roof terrace. She noticed one window in the pharmacy retail space that I plan to fix.

Jo gave me lots of helpful feedback for specific things in my design. She suggested that I add more character and details from my concept to the bike racks on the wall, as well as incorporating some of these details in the lowered ceiling above the pharmacy counter. The lowered area over the pharmacy could also be used for signage or an interesting statement feature. Jo noted that the pharmacy counter needs to be raised to provide a more comfortable height for pharmacists as well as for privacy. The pharmacy counter also needs more of a kick space below. She also said that I need to accentuate the cash wrap in the bike shop more, and lighting will certainly help with that. She spotted door swings that were going the wrong way in my basement egress that I will fix. Jo also noticed that the wood flooring planks were too large in my drawings, which I will scale down for the next deliverables.

I spoke to both Robert Cudd and Todd from the City of Greensboro's inspections department about my plans. They both thought that my stairs, layout, plumbing, and mechanical worked well and that was accessible. Robert told me to think about the material that I will use for the roof in the storage and terrace area as to not be a safety hazard for tripping. He also told me to double check that my apartments meet the maximum travel distance to an exit.

Jerry Leimenstoll encouraged me to think more about how I will use lighting to highlight specific objects in my spaces. He told me to highlight the bikes that I am trying to display while minimizing the overall ambient light to give a more dramatic effect. He told me to go to The Fresh Market in Greensboro to look at the strategies that they use to light items in the space. I also talked to him about the location of my new pulley system in the bike shop for lowering bikes to the basement. He told me to think more about the sense of entry when a user comes into the space and where the ideal location would be to make it accessible to both entrances without being a safety hazard.

Grad student Lauren Postlmayr also gave me some great solutions to floor plan issues. She told me to make the bike shop office smaller so that the area behind the cash wrap can be used for display or another function. She also told me to reduce the length of my shelving in the pharmacy so that it is not directly behind the lunch counter area. This way I could add a table and chairs to the lunch counter area to provide additional seating besides at the counter. Lauren suggested sliding doors for the apartment closets to save space. She also told me to push furniture in the apartments more towards the walls because there is not an adequate path to the windows. She also noted some door locations that needed to be changed a bit to make more usable space.

Peer Reviews:

Chelsea Epes told me that I should poche my section perspective the same color that I poched my floor plans in, which I think would give the presentation a more cohesive look. She also told me to label the rooms in my floor plans which would be helpful to those reading my board.

Anna Hambly enjoyed my bike racks in the bike shop as well as the angled pharmacy counter. She thought that they related well to my concept. She would like to see more detailed views of how they work. She noticed a few corrections on my floor plans such as walls that I need to poche and door swing corrections.

Matt Weikert indicated that I should develop the idea of having communal space on the roof and suggested that I have circulation leading through the storage area. He also threw out the idea of continuing the elevator up to the third floor to give accessibility to the roof and 3rd floor apartment.

Silver's Five and Dime: Midterm Deliverables

Loose Perspective Sketches- Silver's Storefront, Pharmacy Retail, and Bike Shop

Schematic Design Critique 9/13/13

On Friday, we had a critique of our schemes for the Silver's building by several local architects and city officials familiar with the building. I received lots of helpful feedback and got a good direction of how to proceed with design development.

Guest Reviewers

I first spoke with Sidney Gray, the owner of the building, and his wife. They both seemed to like what I did with the building, and appreciated the thought I put into the design. The only piece of criticism I got from Sidney was to think further about how the tenants will access the storage I have placed on the third floor.

I next spoke with Lee Mortensen, the Interim Director of Downtown Greensboro. She thought that my circulation and space planning was well thought out and really liked my idea of repainting the Silver's mural and placing historic art prints into the circulation spaces. She told me to think about adding communal space for the apartment tenants, as many young professionals seek the downtown area for the social aspects. She believed the communal space would be a draw for my target users. I plan on revisiting the apartment circulation spaces for ways to add in a communal space.

Jo Leimenstoll, my studio professor, then gave me feedback on my deliverables. Jo suggested that I think of adding a balcony to the back corner apartment on the second floor to give much a much needed connection to the outdoors as well as to brighten up the alley. I believe a balcony would be a great solution to make an apartment with few windows more appealing to a tenant. Jo also suggested that I use a garage door for getting bikes in and out of the bike shop to the alley as a hands-free solution for transporting bikes. This would definitely be more effective and hassle-free than a swinging door. Jo also told me to think of an original title for my project besides "Reimagining Silver's" in order to convey my concept.

I then talked to Jerry Leimenstoll, a local architect. Jerry told me to look to my concept Haiku for all of the answers for redesigning this building. Jerry told me that by the end of the project, I will be able to look at my Haiku to know where to put every single light switch. I had never thought that a conceptual poem could give that much direction for designing a space, but he really inspired me to look to my concept for all of the answers. I am going to think about how hybridity and my haiku can instruct me on how to make every decision. I am hoping to be a better conceptual designer by the end of this project.

Hugh Sutphin, a local architect, encouraged me to think about the building in 3 dimensions, with time being the 4th dimension. He implored that this building is a living organism, and to think about what people will really be doing in and around the building and how they will really use it. Hugh told me to really take advantage of having 3 sides to the building. I think I will try to make more connections to outside and downtown in response to this feedback, in order to make it appeal to more to people who want to be in downtown Greensboro.

Lauren Postlmayer, an Iarc grad student, recommended that I give both of the commercial spaces access to the lunch counter that I currently have as part of the pharmacy. I thought this was a good idea to give the lunch counter more business and allow people who have been riding bikes all day access to a good lunch. Lauren also suggested that I switch the position of the circulation and bike shop office in order to give a more straight path outside.

Peer Reviews

Anna Hambly looked at my concept and my project and asked me why I really wanted to keep the old charm of the building. I thought that this was a good thought-provoking question to ask. While I couldn't pinpoint the exact reason at the time, thinking about the answer to this question will make me more passionate about my concept and this project.

Katie Moyer, like Jo, also suggested that I leave the garage door to access the outside from the bike shop. I will investigate if I can leave the current garage door opening and if/how a new door should fit inside.

Matt Weikert suggested that I continue more of the glass facade down the Washington Street side of the building to take advantage of the outside wall and let in more light. This may be a good solution to connecting the building to the outside, but I worry about compromising too much of the existing history of the building. Matt also told me to do more research on the building code and see exactly how long my stairs need to be. This may free up more room in my circulation spaces. Like Sidney, he told me to think about stairs that light to the roof to access storage. Matt also gave the idea of switching the mechanical space in the basement with the storage that is on the roof. He thought that the shared storage may get too hot on the roof in the summer, and that putting it in the basement may be easier for the tenants. This was an interesting idea that I will consider, but I would have to rethink the circulation to allow apartment tenants access to the basement.


Overall, I was very happy with the feedback that I received, and I am excited to move forward on the project with so many fresh perspectives.

Reimagining Silver's: Phase II Design Deliverables

Haiku Graphic