Senior Thesis Journal Part III: Design Development

Famous designer Charles Eames once said, "The details are not the details, they make the design." That quote explains the idea of the design development phase. It is during this phase that you take your research inspired schematic design and begin to iron out all the details. This includes finding furniture that meets your clients needs and paint that matches your color palette, but it also means verifying that your floor plan is complete down to every last details from flooring, to light fixtures, to paper towel dispensers and literally everything in between.

It is all too easy to get overwhelmed by all these details and lose focus of your original concept. But a good design has to honor the projects concept from start to finish. The design concept statement for my thesis project is...

"The Maple Grove Women's Hospital Family Birthing Center combines the comfort of home with the technology of a modern hospital. The design recognizes the significance of giving laboring women a safe and relaxing environment that allows them the flexibility to labor the way they want. The architecture and color palette are influenced by the feminine nature of the space. With luxury patient rooms and amenities such as, a partner's lounge, a patient kitchenette, and a courtyard, this family birthing center feels more like a hotel than a hospital!"

How did this concept influence the decisions I made during this phase? For starters I looked for furniture pieces that were of a healthcare grade but could look like they were in a nice hotel. I learned that it is standard in the industry to use one manufacturer for the entire project. What does this mean? Instead of specifying one chair from Company A and one chair from Company B when given the choice it is best to specify two chairs from Company A. But most companies do not have a large enough selection to meet the needs of an entire project. However, large companies such as: Herman Miller, Knoll, Steelcase, Haworth, and the list goes on address this problem by buying out various furniture lines. So for example on my project I chose to specify furniture that fell into the Herman Miller umbrella. Herman Miller itself is known for workplace furniture, Nemschoff is their healthcare line, and they have multiple other furniture lines like Geiger and Naughtone. Additionally, they partner with Maharam textiles. The thought is that by choosing one major company that projects will be able to get a better price for their furniture needs. I was fortunate because Nemschoff had some pretty incredible healthcare furniture.

In addition to furniture it was during this phase that I also began to settle on a color palette and specific materials.

Here is a snipping of the many materials I have decided to include in my space. I wanted to try and use materials that were both durable and sustainable. One of the areas I did this was by specifying silicone instead of vinyl where ever I could. I also tried to specify products with recycled content. For sanitary reasons I had to specify a vinyl sheet good as a flooring option.

Next time you are in a store, office, or hospital look up at the ceiling and try to notice all the different things you see. There will be acoustical panel, sprinklers, air returns, soffits, and many different kinds of lights. An interior designer had to detail every little thing on what is called a Reflected Ceiling Plan. For me an important sustainability goal I had was to use only LED lights in my facility. This is an attainable goal that would reduce the company's carbon footprint and utility bill significantly.

I chose dimmable lights to both save energy and give patients the control over their light levels, so they are not trapped under bright sterile lights like most hospitals. I also used some hanging accoustical pattern in the corridor to absorb sound and act as a feature that emphasizes the race-track layout of the space.

Now onto the stuff you've all been waiting for...during this phase I began to develop rough renderings so that I could verify that the furniture and finishes I was specifying would look good in the actual space. Here are some of my preliminary renderings of the space.

WAITING ROOM

PARTNER'S LOUNGE

PATIENT KITCHENETTE

NURSE STATION

CORRIDOR

PATIENTROOM

Overall, this phase has consisted of deciding on hundreds and hundreds of details. But these decisions were necessary to continue on to the last and final phase of this project. In the next 16 day...yes there are only 16 days left of school...I will work on completing the construction documents for this space and creating final renderings for my senior show.

Come join me in celebrating the completion of this project on Friday, May 4th (6:00p-9:00p)!