I challenge anyone to ignore their own reflection
- Vergara & Vergara, Curation Project, for the British Fashion Council
Eternity
Inside my redhead
Panama Show Room
If you love fashion and spatial design as much as I do, there is nothing better then lumping them together and working on a fashion exhibition.
I had just about as much fun as I possibly could, working on a project for the British Fashion Council, at the Panamanian Embassy in London. The project involved a group of us (LCC Spatial Design Students) building a set to showcase a ridiculously talented fashion designers cloths.
Dress by Vergara & Vergara Couture
Last time
Our final meeting involved some of the university technicians who raised some issues about seating for the disabled but were otherwise happy with the layout and design.
I’ve really enjoyed playing a part in my university’s modernisation. I think it’s truly rare for a university to give students the opportunity to have a say in the design of their own facilities. Penson Group, ESP Anna has been extremely gracious and patient with us. I’m looking forward to using the fabulous new space.
During this project I have had the chance to work with 2 very talented students, staff at LCC (ESP Jackson) and an award winning architectural practice. All round its been a great experience
Home Work
I don’t think there is anything like putting together a space and watching it grow before your eyes, it’s even more rewarding when it comes together exactly as you envisioned. Over the past few weeks I have been frantically choosing, ordering and sourcing everything I’ll need for our new nursery and bathroom. I’ve always thought decorating would be relaxing and therapeutic but due to the age of our home, and some seriously crumbly walls, hidden below some of the ugliest wall paper I’ve ever seen – it’s ended up being a long and complicated job. I’ve included some happy snaps to illustrate the work involved in modernising a small room in a Victorian home
Tell me, tell me
We presented our ideas to Penson this week. We showed them a few sketches, mood boards and some ideas for flooring. We brought in some examples from both Trulawn (manufacturers of artificial grass) who kindly posted off some samples to me and Interface Carpets. We were hoping to have some of the space covered in turf as prior to summer the area of faux grass laid down in front of LCC had been such a roaring success with students. Unfortunately we learned from Penson that large areas of synthetic lawn can be noisy in busy spaces, what a pity. On the plus side, there are some pretty decent carpet tiles, which look very similar to imitation grass.
During the meeting we asked that the following to be considered in the design:
- We wanted to keep the high ceilings, retain the original pipework and whatever parquet flooring could be salvaged
- Organic shapes and curved seating – rather than rows and rows of ‘school desks’
- Some space for student input or flexible exhibition space
- A lap top area, with power points
- Semi private working space or pods
- Place for students to use their sketch books in conjunction with software
By the next meeting Penson will have some imagery – be fab to see how they develop the design………
Bits and Bobs
Ahead of our BIG presentation to Penson, I called up Interface a company specialising in commercial carpet tiles to see if they would allow a student to drop in and have a wonder around. I had a wonderful welcome from Veronica Kingsley who showed me around the offices and very kindly talked me through the samples. Veronica is passionate about design and even more passionate about her job – I found her inspirational. Very conveniently she was also the client manager for Penson and knew Anna from Penson, the designer on the LCC project. The company is focused on Green design and often hosts speakers and networking events focused on Green topics. I had absolutely no idea carpet tiles could look so good in a commercial space. Not only are the Interface offices fantastic but the floors are all carpeted with a range of different flooring solutions. I snapped a few shots for research purposes and left with a bag of goodies, including a heavy load of samples for the project.
Penson Group
Penson are an award winning architectural practise with some cool clients on their brag list, including Google and YouTube
It’s all going down
Team Project Main Frame have decided we want something a little more organic, less linear seating, flexible working space for group work, an area where students can use their own laptops and tablets and some private areas where smaller groups can work together away from the main space. We are being given the chance to present to Penson Group who are in charge of the University’s entire re brand. I’m really enjoying being part of something I’ll see right up to completion. I’m fortunate enough to have two very talented partners and aside from all the work there is a good dose of laughter and general chatter. I’m getting a steady stream of feedback on my ideas and I’m learning so much about LCC and organisational politics. Jackson (head of technical services) introduced us to the money man for the college today and he seemed generally pleased with the progress – Jackson even got him to agree to increase the size of the space. Result!
The space to be….
Just had our very first meeting for what has now been christened ‘Project Main Frame’. The head of Technical Services just whirled us around a huge chunk of disused space at LCC and even promised to try and secure a bit more for the new Digilab. We have started a Facebook Group and been given some dimensions to play with.
As an added bonus my husband and I will be moving into our own home in North London. The house was listed under the renovators dream section (translation, total sh*t hole) so over the next few months I’ll be starting to redesign my very own pad. The first thing to go will be the orange carpets in the bathroom.
Stage 1
With so many universities offering Art and Design Degrees and fees about to quadruple at the beginning of the next university year – London College of Communications will have to work harder to attract students. As a result of all this the university has decided to redevelop its technical facilities starting with our digital lab.
Three students including myself have been asked to think about what we would like out of our own working space. Despite having worked my way through my uni design projects, this is the first time I’m going to squeeze a little bit of me into somewhere commercial. Just a little bit excited!
Studio Heatherwick
Earlier today I was lucky enough to attend a private tour of Studio Heatherwick, organised in conjunction with the V&A’s exhibition of Heatherwick’s work.
I had an informative introduction to the studio’s practice and enjoyed a good old wander around. The most interesting part of the tour was the very large 3D work shop. I was very surprised to see the practice really encouraged a make and try design process and during the tour I noticed several of the designers heading into the workshop or busily creating elaborate models. There was an official 3D workshop manager (an obviously gifted model making genius) however the designers themselves freely used the workshop to create their own models and sketch models, often times creating and forming ideas straight from model building rather than sketching or general research. I also noted how important it was for the designers to have a strong grasp and passion for materials not only for use in model making but because the designers pioneered the use of new and previously unexploited materials. The studio’s designers search out companies and suppliers who will experiment with materials, engineering principles and manufacturing ideas that the designers themselves have conceived, rather than limiting themselves to what is already on offer and easy to source.
During the morning studio tour we were hosted by two architects Jennifer Chen and Peter Ayres who both talked us through some of studio’s more famous projects including the metal chair made exclusively from one single extrusion process and the Spun Chair. Arguably the most interesting project was the Towers of Silence. The project involved creating an aviary for birds of prey to enclose a traditional burial arrangement for the Parsi (a religious group with a large number of believers based in Mumbai). The project is set in 57 acres of garden/forest in the city centre and not only does it serve to shield the site from nearby buildings but also houses the vultures (and some other smaller birds of prey) who will eat the flesh of the dead and give them the sky burial the religion requires.
The genius behind all these exciting projects, Thomas Heatherwick, retains the final word on all design work produced by the studio which employs over 80 staff members. Aside from all the exciting design projects and the studio’s home style kitchen – complete with oven – the most surprising part of the tour was the way design jobs were allocated. Designers were encouraged to branch out beyond their immediate specialism – product designers could work on structural projects and architects could work on designing a bag or furniture. Thomas Heatherwick himself is a designer with a 3D design degree and yet throughout his career he has been involved in several architectural projects. Design clearly straddles multiple disciplines and once you have a good grasp of general design you can attempt to create anything with proper research and a good dose of experimentation.
And so it all begins
For as far back as my mind will allow me to remember I have been obsessed with design. I am a believer in clean lines and neutral colours. I love a bit of tat as much as the next girl. I’m frankly a bit old to be a student but too young to be dead. These are my miscellaneous endeavours poured out on yet another social medium
curious-miscellaneous.com 