Hello, I'm still here...promise!

It's been forever. It's been one whirlwind of a year so far. Our first project last semester was to design and build a wall. We were split into two groups...the minimal wall and the rammed-earth wall. I was a part of the rammed-earth project, however, ours never got built due to zoning and other such reasons. We also designed a wellness center for recovering cancer patients located in Haw River, NC.

I'm going to use this post to update for last semester as much as possible, and post a later post to update for my visual communications class....

Ready?...Set?....Go!

Wall...
We first were instructed to think without concepts and design a wall, any wall of our choice as individuals...My choice? A wax wall. We only got as far as sketch models (you'll see those below), but I worked out the math and could have easily constructed the wall in a 4'x4' true scale. As you can see the model took many changes, including size (the largest did not work, the weight made it crack in half moments before our critique)...

Sadly, my idea was not chosen for the team wall. However, my team-member's wall, Audra, was chosen. And what an incredible idea it was...Rammed- Earth. I was fortunate enough to have my design for the wall chosen (you'll see the various iterations, and the final choice below), and we moved ahead to gain approval and materials. We unfortunately were not able to gain approval due to concerns that the structure(s) may collapse and harm the UNCG population. We instead moved forward with the minimal group's structure, and collaborated with them on the construction of the wall (pictures will follow later).

Wellness Center...

After this project, we were fortunate to receive a project that may later turn into an urban studio. The project was to design a wellness center for recovering cancer patients and their families. The intent was to include a multitude of programming ideas such a rock-climbing wall, gym, volley ball court, teaching kitchen, 3 suites for long-term stay, and the over-all structure to accommodate up to 12 occupants at any given time to visit the facility to be located in Haw River, NC. My team members (Caitlyn Lyle, and Nicole Ware) and I designed a structure that would appear to be modern and minimal from the outside, but to maintain a cozy, comforting feeling from within. As a cancer survivor, myself, I felt it important for the interior not to feel like a sterile environment, one similar to a hospital, but instead to have to feel like a home away from home.

Pictures will follow below shortly...