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FACS 140 Space Planning & Building Codes
Digital Sketchbook
This sketch depicts a bespoke coffee shop that embodies effective and comfortable space planning. Designed with an eclectic mix of modern and rustic elements, its brick walls, wood furnishings, and verdant foliage infuse the interiors with an outdoor vibe heightened by an expansive high ceiling that bathes the shop in natural light. From above, large woven rattan dome pendants mingle amongst trails of warm incandescent pendants. These are artfully arranged in varying lengths and patterns to highlight the variety of globe, oblong, and spherical bulbs among the collection. To the patron, the lighting evokes images of the night sky; as if all the stars chose to visit the shop at midday and happily augment the expansive skylights above. These interior design features combine to offer an airy, open, garden-like environment to patrons hungering for zen time. The seating is varied, from long wooden tables to plush sofas, spaced out effectively to accommodate user preference and provide functional mobility throughout the establishment, and with a streamlined path to the service counter. A sleek metal staircase soars toward additional terrace seating that invites patrons to explore 'the sky' and more importantly, to stay a while.
This sketch features the hotel lobby of Miami's historic, four-season luxury hotel, The Surf Club. Its light, natural color palette permits all attention to be directed to the vibrant palm trees placed beneath soaring arches. Palm trees, a signature Florida feature, serve double duty. Statuesque, they bring the beach inside while also demarcating walkways from the central lounge. This imbues the seating area with a garden, cloister-like privacy and lends a pleasantly welcome seaside aesthetic. The palms draw eyes upward to the expansive, coffered ceiling. Dressed in pale neutrals, it adds a note of interest and reinforces the open, airy nature of this beachside hotel. Lofty elegant arches provide a simultaneously open and upscale appearance, offering definition within the space while linking the lobby to the adjoining areas of the hotel for a fluid and easily navigable path. Clear passageways are laid out within the lobby to facilitate foot traffic in or out of the hotel, while tastefully grouped furniture offers an opportunity for guests to sit back and relax in this tropical refuge.
This sketch depicts an elegant New York restaurant. Dressed in modern art-deco, it uses graceful curves to define its efficient and aesthetic space planning. Massive, regularly-spaced demi-columns subtly define seating areas while also stretching upward to meet and anchor the high ceiling. Leveraging this height, a massive floor-to-ceiling window wall provides guests with a scenic bird's-eye view of the city. These elements meet, creating and open, "in the sky" gathering space punctuated and extended by trios of large globe pendant lights that hover above seating areas like miniature suns. Potted succulents and flora adorn the curved, cognac-stained wood flat spaces that tether the plush, sky-velvet lounge seating below the glowing orb lights. These gracefully wide, curvy booth couches face two leather accent chairs that surround petite, round, glass-topped pedestal tables. This spacious, repeated seating motif encourages private conversation among gatherings and the ample space between table groupings establishes a veil of privacy for guests. With each party facing inward and toward family and friends, walkways are devoid of the usual patchwork of wooden table chair legs that disrupt an easy flow of movement in restaurants. Indeed, with the cathedral ceiling, sky tones, orb lights, and unobstructed view of the city, a patron strolling through the dining area could almost imagine it was a stroll through the clouds instead.
The George Peabody Library located in Maryland's Johns Hopkins University is widely considered one of the most beautifully detailed university libraries in America. It features an expansive skylight that provides natural light and an easy connection with the outdoors. Seven stories match the building's function, permitting a framework for the installation of towering bookshelves stacked in floor-to-ceiling heights. Each wall has its mirror and the vertical space is emphasized with a repeating series of matched, stacked columns. Elaborate grillwork balcony railings march horizontally across all four walls, forming a grid pattern with the columns that echoes the gridded roof light ceiling and the black and white marbled floor below. Clear walkways and paths of travel are established by the open space between pillars and the tile patterning, offering an ornate, formal environment that promises a sophisticated setting for eager erudites.
When Iron Horses roamed the country and paying customers relied upon them to move from one place to another, train stations served as way-places and portals to the waiting cities beyond. The interior of this station was designed to facilitate the purposes of a train station without divorcing its form from function. Clear walkways are organized to allow for efficient mass transit through the space. Indeed, the marble floor's elongated grid pattern encourages orderly forward progress with subtle lanes of foot traffic implied. The expansive four-story height and plentiful windows suffuse the space with light, offering cleansing and hope for weary travelers ascending from dark, underground portions of the railway system. The several-story, central arch feature runs along the whole structure, evoking the feel of a long, sleek railway car with all the earmarks of luxury. Intricate detailing, an ornamented grand wooden staircase, and repeating arch-over-arch design beckons the traveler to tarry a bit as they transition from the road behind to discover what awaits on the road ahead.
One of the few remaining vertical hall designs in America, New Orleans' The Orpheum is an iconic performance space and local hotspot. Currently restored to its 1920s splendor, the theater is depicted from the stage view, with the artist's perspective of the rich seating intended for large crowds. Modern sound panels installed throughout the walls of the interior improve acoustics for productions while harmoniously melding into the extravagant wood paneling. The high, intricately-detailed ceiling adds to the visual feast while permitting four decks of patron seating within. The lavish lighting is dimmable, cueing the audience to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show in this beautiful hall.
This rendering features a Royal Loft Suite aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise lines. This luxurious living space is generously sized and tastefully appointed to give a sumptuous vacation and leisure experience. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide unobstructed ocean views and sliding doors open to the balcony, giving the passenger the delights of both indoor and outdoor living. Classy couches and modern lounge chairs invite social interactions and the suit is arranged openly, with curtains to partition loft sleeping quarters from the gathering spaces below. Additional features including a baby grand piano, mural, and built-in bookcase add an extravagant aesthetic that encourages occupants to relax, enjoy their cruise, and consider the merits of staying shipside while others disembark at ports of call.
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