May 3, 2016
- Viktoria Dekany
- May 3, 2016
- 13 min read
EXPERIENCE
I had a fantastic opportunity working in an existing project, redesigning one of our university campus which is located in a very modern environment, in Media City Uk.
It was a great experience how to talk with a client and present our design proposals in a professional manner.
In this post I would like to share all the way of my journey within a Professional Practice, where the task is to re-develop an existing university campus in the highly valued MediaCityUK Manchester.
12 April 2016
STARTING...
We launched the next project where we are able to work on a live brief. The University of Salford's MediaCityUK Campus is currently not used properly. The place is not inviting and stimulating and there is an opportunity to change the whole ground floor design.
We will have a real client, who is a very successful designer and lecturer, and have to present our initial ideas on halfway and our final ideas at the end. I am very excited about this project as there is a chance to get noticed by this famous tutor and make my plans builded over the year. I will try to do my best and find the best solutions for the current problems on the campus.
13 April 2016
THINKING...
One thing which is sure, I will focus in my design to create a futuristic, high-tech and new media atmosphere as the Campus is part of the high-valued MediaCityUK, home of BBC. They are keen on the very modern and spectacular design and I want Salford Campus take a part in this futuristic area.
First of all, I will do a wide research on new media artists, new techniques, extreme lighting systems and futuristic design.
14 April 2016
SITE VISIT...
I visited the site to analyze and terrain the space, what works well and what is problematic. First thing which was quite annoying is the reception area: The staff was a bit violent when asked my Student Card. I just stepped into the building and they didn't even let me breath until I showed my card. It was a bit strange. The next thing which was annoying, there was no any sign label where to find particular areas in the building. All in all, the campus doesn't have an allocated welcoming area, people who visit the space at the first time, just guessing where to go. I definitely want to make a change on this.
Currently, the ground floor function is having coffee, a light meal and socializing, but not learning. There are no inspiring area to be productive and effective. It has some comfy sofas next to the windows and a very cheap collection of dining tables and chairs in the middle which belongs to the cafeteria.
I am not satisfied with the ceiling lights at all; it's too simple and boring. Moreover, the corridor area has not got any natural light at all. It needs more lighting. The corridor space is not used properly by anyone in the campus. It has some sofas in the dark but you can never see anyone sitting there. People might cross it to find toilets and the lifts.
I am very keen to find the solutions for the current problems and produce a very inspiring and inviting design!
16 April 2016
RESEARCH...
I spent 3 hours to research the modern, futuristic design elements and make the campus more exciting. I found very good ideas which I would use in the building.
Ideas for the sign directions:
Making the 'paper snake' a bit interesting?
Ceiling ideas:
Ideas to the studio and corridor area:
17 April 2016
ANALYZING THE FLOOR PLAN...
I started to analyze the plan of the ground floor and make changes. One thing which I really want to fit in the ground floor is the individual learning spaces. I believe that they would have the function to inspire the (arriving) students to do some productive learning and a great awareness for the visiting people, or even for the walking people on the street.
I want to provide both quiet and buzzy learning spaces for the students. I red some articles which discussed the importance of spaces within education and office. The research revealed that there are two type of people: one needs a very quiet space, while the other one needs a buzzy and dinging area to produce work.
I will separate the ground floor for four sections: a welcoming/greeting area, individual quiet learning spaces, buzzy space, and the cafeteria as a socialization part of the floor.
20 April 2016
IDEAS...
In the redesigning of MediaCity Salford Campus, my first idea was to give identity to the building. I mainly used dark red, white, grey and black colors which comes from the Salford university brand.
Reception/ welcoming area:
One of the biggest problem is the Reception Area of the building. There is no a particular area where people are welcomed and can get any directions. Also, the security staff are very strict when they ask the arriving people student cards.
Based on this current problems, I wanted to create a bigger and better use of the Reception area of the building which has a welcoming atmosphere. I would remove the current lobby's glass wall and open a bigger area. It would have sign directions on the background which shows all the spaces of the building. Making it modern and futuristic, materials would be white shiny corian, where letters are highlighted by led lights.
The individual learning space from glass / Modern sofa as a buzzing learning area:
The next thing which I was considering is the learning spaces. I think the current design of the ground floor doesn't provide all the facilities for students to produce work or learning. My idea was to provide both a quiet and separated area but also a buzzy, open space for the students. Students who prefer learning alone and in a calm environment, can go to the individual glass cabinets where are 4 computer based. The students who like working with their friends or in groups, can use the sofas in the middle.
Other inspiring thing would be the Christie Tiles on some part of the main walls which would broadcast live lectures or images from other campuses student life. Like the performance -, television - or music band group.
Cafeteria:
The cafeteria would be separated from the learning areas and people could socialize in the comfortable chairs and have their light meal, tea or coffee.
Corridor:
The next problem is the corridor area of the building. That is the darkest area and not used properly by anyone in the building. People may cross it to find the toilets or lifts. I wanted to make it more alive and provide an opportunity to give an insight into the campus life. I would put different sizes of monitors to the wall which would broadcast the TV studio's works inside and people could watch what's going on inside the walls. I was also thinking to provide more lights, such LED which would create a futuristic atmosphere.
26 April 2016
PREPARING FOR MIDDLE PRESENTATION...
The next thing was to prepare my ideas for the presentation to Robin, the client. First, I was thinking to do some hand-drawings of the interior spaces but then I thought it would be good to showcase my ideas in a large A1 board.
I chose the best view of the interior, the top view of the glass learning space and elevations, furniture ideas and the reception area.
The board at the first stage:
I printed the board and finished it by hand, such as the floor on the wide visual and the reception background wall.
The board at the final stage:
3 May 2016
PRESENTATION DAY...
Today was such a long and exhausting day! As I spent my last week in Hungary and I had to travel back on the day when we had to present our ideas to Robin, I was really nervous how I will perform front of this famous man. I felt that this is a very important part of the journey and I have to do my best.
I woke up at 2am in the morning in Hungary, my flight boarded at 6.30am and I arrived at 8.30 to Manchester. I think I don't have to say how tired I was... :)
Straight from the airport I went to the university. I thought the class already started the presentations so I was a bit nervous that I couldn't prepare myself enough. Luckily, when I arrived to the classroom, it was just a few people and a casual speaking. Then, Matthew and Adelina suggested to keep a trial presentation so they can help us to give tips for the actual presentation time. I was the first person who had to talk. Actually, without any practice, I think I did a quite good speaking. I felt myself so weak and tired, however I tried to hide it as I wanted to perform as a professional at "my work". Matt and Adelina were very satisfied with my work which was a very good feeling! They liked the way how I presented my board, so this gave me a good start to prepare myself for the real presentation.
Robin was late an hour, but I stayed awake successfully :) I gathered all my strength and I made a good presentation again. I was the first person again and I experienced the bad side of it unfortunately. Robin only had a half an hour to stay so each of us had only 2,5 minutes to speak. Thanks to the ringing tone of the timer I forgot the most important bit of my ideas, the Christie Tiles. Robin is obsessed to them and it would have been really good if I could mention it.
All in all, it was a good experience and now I am not afraid to speak front of people. At least, not that much than before. :)
8 May 2016
CONTINUING BASED ON FEEDBACK...
After the presentation day I had some days to relax and relief and I could continue the project with clear head.
Robin really liked the idea of having a proper welcoming area of the building, so I will focus on the Reception Area visuals and it's floor plan in cad. Also, I have to do the whole floor plan by cad, such as the glass cabinets, sofas and coffee furnitures spaces and measurements.
Another thing which sparked my interest was the exhibition idea. Robin thinks it would be good to have seasonal exhibitions which could attract people to visit the campus. So my plan is to research the possibilities of exhibition themes and visualize one of them in my final presentation. I would take this into the corridor area as I want to keep the main space for learning and socializing. The corridor is quite long so there will be enough space to do some funky stuff.
In the final presentation I will do a powerpoint where I include the cad floor plan based on my ideas, furthermore I explain each space and put visuals from different angles.
10 May 2016
SHORT RESEARCH...
Here are some examples of the exhibition themes:
Interactive art
This is ideal for sculpture artists, but will work with two dimensional mediums too.
Considering how the audience can interact with the work. Moving parts, wheels, tactile layers, film or live photography and installations are all fair game. Include instructions that artists should make the works touchable and interactive-friendly.
3D art
This one’s mostly for the sculpture artists, but doesn’t have to rule out painters and other visual artists.
Unique medium
Choose a unique medium for artists to work with (newspaper, plastic, corrugated cardboard, metal, etc.) Everyone will use the medium differently incorporating it into their own style and you will receive a wide range of works which really showcase local creativity.
Things that move and live
Beyond traditional 2D or 3D art, think about building a theme around moving images, performance art, live demonstrations and interactive sculptures. Creativity abounds when you push outside-the-box thinking.
Based on above informations I would use all types of the exhibition themes seasonally but my personal favourite is the idea of having an interactive art in the corridor.
I spent a few hours to find the perfect ideas which could fit as an exhibition into the corridor area.
So... what can be touchable and interactive-friendly?
Interactive Light Art
I like this interactive light art piece designed by artist Caitlin Brown. It appeared on September 15 as part of Nuit Blanche Calgary in Alberta, Canada.
The Cloud is made from 1,000 working light bulbs on pullchains and 5,000 burnt out lights donated by the public. Visitors to the installation could pull the chains on and off creating the flickering aesthetic of an electrical cloud.
Media Canvas with Matrix LCD
Iris by Hybe is an interactive media canvas made of an expandable LCD matrix. Using the Kinect, the installation begs users to play with it. The design is supported by work of Da Vinci Idea Program 2012 by Seoul Art Space, Geumcheon, Korea.
IRIS creates various patterns along with control over the amount (size) of passing lights, through the phased opening and closing of circular, black Liquid Crystal. This is an interactive medium for visual simplicity which uses the passage of ambient light, not emission of light itself.
It has 400 LCD displays measuring (20×20) having 20 custom designed Arduino compatible controllers, processing and Kinect for interactive content play.
Interactive Audiovisual Installation
Footfalls was commissioned in July 2006 by the NTT, Tokyo, for their solo exhibition of Tmema projects. The project developed as an outgrowth of the "Bubbles".
In Footfalls, stepping and stomping sounds produced by the visitors' feet are detected by microphones under the floor, and used to govern the size and number of virtual objects that fall from a six-meter high projection. The harder the visitors stomp, the more items fall. Using their silhouettes, visitors can then "catch" and "throw" these projected objects around.
Interactive Wall Installation
Float4 collaborated with Materials & Methods to develop a gesture-based interactive art wall in the lobby of the State Employee's Credit Union's new headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The art installation is comprised of 18 LCD screens surrounded by low resolution LED tiles. Material & Methods created various content scenarios, while Float4 provided its technological expertise in order to develop unique gestural interactivity.
The interactive art wall reacts as visitors pass by modifying the content displayed following to discover different types of interaction to each scenario.
Firewall Media Installation
Developed by New York-based media artist Aaron Sherwood, ‘Firewall’ stems from a performance piece being developed as Purring Tiger (with Kiori Kawai) titled ‘Mizalu’, which will premiere in June 2013.
Made using processing, max/MSP, arduino and a kinect, the piece measures the average depth of the spandex from the frame it’s mounted on. If the material is not being pressed against, nothing happens. When someone presses the panel, visuals react around where the person applies pressure, and the music is triggered.
An algorithm created with max allows the music to speed up and slow down and get louder and softer, based on the depth. this provides a very expressive musical playing experience, even for people who have never played music before
I love all ideas above but I will do the visuals correspondingly for the interactive and touchable wall art.
12 May 2016
CLIENT FEEDBACK...
We received Robin's feedback for our presentations and I was quite right in the continuation of my work.
He said that the presentations that include such statements up front are the strongest. That's good as my presentation are one of them, I had statements at the beginning. He also wanted to remind us another couple of things such as:
When a space is enabled for interaction, what type of interactive installations draw people in and what type of interactions stand untouched?
Why and what can be done to encourage interaction that is meaningful? When you carry a mobile media device what makes external media displays meaningful for interaction?
In my research, I was searching the answers for exactly these questions. In my opinion that some kind of interactive installations always attract people and rise visiting people attention.
In the new design of the ground floor, I want to use the corridor area of the seasonal exhibitions. The corridor area is quite boring at the moment but the interactive features could make it alive not just for students but for visitors too.
14 May 2016
VISUALS...
I started to make the visuals of the final presentation. This is my favorite part of every project. I just love photoshopping and playing with the layers.
I started with the reception area:
I think it would be good to have a big area to welcome the visiting people and avoid the security staff's severity. Another important thing is the sign direction as it's currently missing from the ground floor.
My visual represents the idea of having a nice and large reception desk which would be from white shiny corian and red lights in the middle. Also there would be some chairs if someone has to wait. The direction texts on the background just a representative example how I imagined it. The ceiling would have long LED lights which could change colour.
The next space is the cafeteria:
Again, staying loyal to the university brand colors I was using red, grey and white in the furnitures. I wanted to have a curved wall with sitting which can create more space to people. Materials are shiny mosaic tiles, light grey and red tufted fabric, and shiny long checked tiles.
Glass learning cabinet inside:
This is the curvy shaped glass learning area where are four computer based. Students can go to study seperated in a calm environment but they are able to see what's happening outside. Materials are metal and wood.
Corridor area:
This is my favorite space of the ground floor. The corridor would have interactive features such as the interactive walls and the pendant lamps. It also would have some sofas to sit down and enjoy the exhibitions. Materials are interactive walls, Christie tiles and long checked shiny tiles on the floor.
17 May 2016
FINAL PRESENTATION BOARD...
I started to plan the final presentation board which will show my main ideas in a nice way. As my middle board was in a horizontal format, I wanted to keep this but I had too many images and it couldn't fit as nicely than in a vertical layout.
I started to organize my elements by sketching:
I was planning to do two large sheets but then I realized I don't have that many elements to fit in two pages. As it was only an interior design project, I thought I don't need to show the exterior of the building or all the floor plans.
I wanted to show a wide scenery of the main area and the interior of particular spaces. I also wanted to include the floor plan where I can illustrate a diagram of the different spaces. Another important thing was to show the materials and brand colors which I used in my design. And of course, to finalize with the associated texts.
I am happy with my board, hopefully Robin and my tutors will also like it.
A few words about my final board:
I wanted to show the bits in a chronological way, as (beside the wide image on top) I started with the materials and brand colors, then the diagrammatical floor plan, and visuals of the spaces accordance with circulation.
As I mentioned, I started with juxtaposition of the brand colors in horizontally and did the same with the materials in vertically. This gives a border to the board.
I thought it's important to show the floor plan and how I was divided the area into different spaces - the diagrammatical portrayal shows nicely this.
The visuals represent the particular areas' interiors. I attached the technical floor plan of the specific areas which shows their exact space within the building. I think it's much easier to understand them.
I created all the visuals and edited them together as a board too, in Photoshop. I enjoy using Photoshop very much.
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