Before and After.....

Remember this guy I blogged about recently. This is the Revit rendered model of our day spa. 

I pulled the file into 3ds Max and this is the result. Splendid outcome and I couldn't be more pleased. 

Here's another version with a different background. 

Now that I've been spending more time with 3ds Max, I realize how much time it takes to render a scene; selecting the perfect materials and making sure the selected materials fit the scene to provide the desired output. While it's a nice program I don't want this to replace my hand-rendering skills. 3ds max for sure will make me lazy if I let it. I will no doubt find the happy medium. 

Cheers.....

Violet or Purple....which term do you prefer?

Some say purple, some say violet, I say whatever; it's both one in the same family. And, both terms are used interchangeably quite often. Discovered by the Phoenicians, purple should be the choice word for it is the colorant that created the range of tints - deep red to the darkest violet. 

This was my least favorite color for a very long time until I decided to study color a bit more. I love the color applications of the The Spicers Balfour Hotel, which drew me in for a closer look.  

  This entrance looks enticing and makes a very strong statement. Really nice how the designers chose to bring in color through light fixtures. 

Violet makes a strong statement when used in the right tone and paired with the perfect color....strong and sophisticated yet calm and very inviting. Love the color of those club chairs.

Very cool room. I envision these colors in a bedroom setting.  

Nice chair.......an added flavor of history.

Cheers!!!!

Simple Pleasures

Well guys, another loaded term on the horizon. This time I'm facing hospitality, sustainable and healthcare design. I know I know....I must out of my cotton-pickin' mind to take on such a heavy load. Really it was face the music now or later. Tackle the beast I say. lol. Thank goodness for these yummy whoopie pies from Starbucks to keep me at bay :)

nuff said for today.....gotta go make a schedule. 

Cheers!!!!

Such Talented Friends

I am blessed to be surrounded by some of the most amazing pool of talented peeps. Remember my post featuring Ashante Greenlee, interior designer and photographer. Well, Ashante is well on her way, rocking and rolling over at Kaliante Photography. Busy girl that she is, Ashante shared some of her amazing photog work, which is fitting for the Anthropologie catalogue. Don't ya think.....

Thanks for allowing me to share your work Ashante. You're an amazing photographer!!!!

Cheers!!!!

Dining under a Tree

My world of design doesn't stop and thankfully, I have the perseverance to keep going. One of my next projects is to design a restaurant in any location around the world. Without a doubt, I've selected my home of Jamaica. I am inspired by this amazing interior design by Koichi Tokada, creator of this masterpiece restaurant in Sydney, Australia. Reminiscent of dining under a tree....The lighting is of particular interest....seamlessly and softly disappearing into the architectural detailed ceiling.

How am I going to incorporate this inspiration into my design? You'll have to wait and see.

Cheers!!!

Office Design Project - J.Crew

This picture served as my inspiration for my contract design project. To me, this picture says plenty. Minus the minimal use of furniture and the sea of items behind the crew members, two words came to mind at the start of creating my concept: team work and collaboration. Those two elements stand at the heart of this billion dollar corporation. 

This was one of my favorite classes. Not only because of the company I selected, which I absolutely love, but also because it gave me an opportunity to research commercial design. 

 I was given a 5,000 square foot shell to work with. Keep in mind that J.Crew is a company of 12,000+ employees with a sizable corporate office in New York. To tackle the spacing problem, I selected a department to design an office space for: the apparel team. 

Placing the reception in the lobby area gave me some freedom within the shell. One of my desires was to make sure every employee had exterior access, which was 95% accomplished. Another must have was an inspiration wall; an area that encourages quick brainstorming and/or idea-generating. Afterall, what's a creative department without an inspiration board; a public one at that where everybody can bounce ideas off each other. This area is located adjacent to the upper-left corner office. The location is good because the employee passes this area on the way to the restroom or the lunch room. The center of this operation features a collaboration room, resource room and a space for a clothier/tailor. 

Although I had a lot of help, this was my first taste of 3Ds Max. I thought it turned out pretty good, except for one small detail. Can you spot my oops? HA

Another 3Ds Max rendering. Pretty darn cool!!!  

Anyway, that's my office design project in a nutshell. I hope you enjoy viewing it as much I enjoyed putting it together. 

Cheers!!!!

Makia's Interiors

As promised, I wanted to share the outcome of our conceptual day spa. 

1st Floor

We designed the building with the idea of a travel path from the Hilton Hotel and access stairs on both sides from the parking lot beneath the spa. 

While the quiet areas, being the massage rooms and saunas, are laid out on the first floor, 

2nd Floor

the more traffic-populated areas, such as the fitness center and juice bar, were placed on the second floor. There is also a day care center for those parents who need a spa moment or just a moment. 

Green Roof

I love our green roof/outdoor area with walking paths, seating and outdoor games. Again nice views of the beach and the city were taken into consideration when designing the roof. 

Central water feature (hand rendering by Minjin Enkhbat)

Check-In

Juice bar

Partial View of the fitness center

Treatment Waiting Room (hand rendering by me)  

I particularly like this room because of it's windows. This room is situated on the western side of the building so that guests may have a visual connection to the Gulf of Mexico.  Daylighting is a good thing. 

The best part about completing this project, for me anyway, is that I know much more about the depth of becoming LEED certified, silver, gold or platinum. It's quite a costly and lengthy process to becoming LEED and maintaining LEED status. Makia Day Spa made silver status.  

One frustrating point I must make is that manufacturers should make themselves available to students. While some opted to talk to us and answer emails about their products, some just did not respond. What's up wtih that. Remember we won't be students forever and I'm sure you'll want us to source your products at one point or another.     

I now have to prep this project for possible publication in Artistik Magazine. Wish us luck!!!!

Cheers!!!!!!

MAKIA DAY SPA

Makia Day Spa - Concept Development

So let's talk about the sustainable design competition, which was a grand learning experience and a concerted effort of four team members. I say grand because it required copious amounts of time, research, commitment and above all passion. Just to give you an idea of how deep this project was, here are the design guidelines:

"Sustainable Guest Experience

Dynamic, creative cutting edge design that encompassed sustainable products and technology

Story boards, animation, rapid visualization, perspectives

must include seven guest area experiences: check-in/arrival, guest room, retail, spa/pool, restaurant, lounge/bar, night club, fitness center, tennis or golf lounges/clubs, casino/card room - designs may be outdoor or indoor venues

Floor plans, RCPs, Millwork design, material and furniture specs to meet USGBC guidelines" 

All this for a prize of $10,000 ($5000 scholarship award to the student and $5000 to the interior design program). 

Now, the site: Hilton Hotel, Clearwater Beach, FL. 

Our site visit: Right in the heart of the number two beach in the United States (courtesy of the Guiness Book of World Records), stands the Hilton Hotel. We scouted the Hilton Hotel because it is located on the beautiful Gulf of Mexico, adjacent to pier 60 and is Florida Green Coalition Certified. The Hilton practices sustainability, which was an attractive element. The Hilton lacks a spa and this was perfect for our conceptual design.

I really enjoyed our site visit because this was my first time on the west side; And we'd visited the new Dali Museum earlier that day. 

The name "Makia" was a result of typos, mispronunciations and an exhausted team leader. The initial name chosen was 'Makai', which means 'towards the sea', 'on the water' in Hawaiian. Somehow between meetings and tired team members the name ended up being "Makia" and it stuck.

Inspired by architect Santiago Clatrava who designed the Hemispheric Planetarium and Cinema in Spain that resembles a human eye, we wanted a design that was organic and fluid because that's how water operates. Unless constrained, water is free flowing, calm and tranquil. This is something we wanted the guests to experience. 

On a side note, this structure was built and rendered in Revit 2010. While Revit is strong in BIM and 3D visualization, it is weak in rendering. Rendering time is too long and very limited regarding design possibilities and options. I'm planning on pulling this design into 3ds Max for some better results. Nevertheless, I absolutely love our design. It is a fantastic interpretation of our diverse ideas and hard work. 

More to come tomorrow.........

Cheers for now!