Vegetable Fun

Today in class in honor of the fact that it is Halloween we brought in vegetables and had to create something with them by carving and piecing them together. Below are images of some of the final creations.

GHM Model #3

For our presentation yesterday, Wednesday 10/19, John and I were responsible for constructing most of the model. We created the cut out for the back hallway, the alcove for the auditorium, the hallway, the 2nd floor balcony, the front desk, the modular seating, and of course a scale figure to go with the desk. Gluing down all of these curved walls was really interesting but I would have to say that gluing together the modular seating was the most interesting of all with its curves. I think the model turned out really well and in building it I got to use some of the same model building skills that I am learning in my Design Visualization I class. Below I have added some images of how the model turned out and some of the experiences it helps to understand.

Blog That Assignment 4

Elements of Design: line, color, shape, texture, form, space
The elements of design that most relate to the work we are doing at the GHM are line, color, shape, texture, and space

• line - curves in walls throughout lobby and museum
• color - new refreshing and exciting colors
• shape - curves rather than hard corners
• texture - durable materials to add texture and help with acoustics of the space
• space - using the size of the space and the height of the ceiling to an advantage to connect all three floors of the lobby space

Principles of Design: rhythm, emphasis, balance, unity, and proportion

The principles of design that most relate to the work we are doing at the GHM are rhythm, emphasis, unity, and proportion.

• rhythm - the history and curves resenating within the space
• emphasis - using pops of bright colors for way finding
• unity - connecting the museum with the outside community in the lobby space
• proportion - altering the size of regular objects to work with the height of the space

Pinecone Lamp

I found this interesting pinecone lamp light fixture on tumblr.com while I was browsing the interiors posts. I think that it is an interesting twist to a pendant light and I appreciate the semitransparent pieces of wood that are used. The wood panels create a nice contrast when the light is turned on because they come out really dark and then the light glows around their edges. However, when the light is turned off you can see the texture and grain in the wood so combined with its unique shape the fixture is interesting to look at both when it is turned on and when it is turned off.

Source: http://style-files.com/2011/09/12/pinecone-lamp/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20style-files%20(style-files.com)

Photoshop Rendering

For Visual Communications 1 class today we had to have completed a photoshop rendering from a plain wireframe. The original wireframe was of a bar space and we had a chance to change the space into whatever we wanted using photoshop to add entourage, color, light, shade, shadow, scale figures, etc. Above is the rendering that I completed and printed off for todays class. I chose to turn the space into a mountain cabin with a view of the mountain scenery with the colorful fall leaves inspired by the approaching fall weather. We printed off our renderings and pinned them up during class to evaluate the things that were successful and the things that still needed some improvement. I though that this project was helpful in getting us to experiment with photoshop and it was fun to mess around with all of the different tools that are available in photoshop and I look forward to getting to work with this useful too even more.

Ceramic Tile and Carpet Ratings

The two most popular floorings for the GHM lobby are ceramic tile and wood so on Friday I chose the task of looking up the durability ratings for both of these types of flooring and this is what I came up with. For ceramic tile the rating system was developed by the Porcelain Enamel Institute (PEI) to rate a tile types durability to varying amounts of foot traffic. This scale ranges from 1 for the least durable to 5 being the most durable.

• PEI Class 1 Rating (No foot traffic)
• recommended for wall use in residential and commercial applications
• PEI Class 2 Rating (Light traffic)
• recommended for walls and bathroom floors
• PEI Class 3 Rating (Light to moderate traffic)
• recommended for countertops, walls, and floors where normal foot traffic is expected
• PEI Class 4 Rating (Moderate to heavy traffic)
• recommended for all residential uses, some commercial, and light institutional
• PEI Class 5 Rating (Heavy to extra heavy traffic)
• recommended for all residential, heavy commercial, and institutional uses

Most of the ceramic tile produced today is a 5 rating on this scale however this scale does not take into account wearing from things other than foot traffic such as dirt and other damaging elements.

Carpet performance ratings, like ceramic tile ratings, are used to help select the best carpet for areas with varying amounts of traffic. They also do not take into account soiling, poor maintenance, or other damages. This scale is from 1 being the least durable to 5 being the most durable. However, not all manufacturers provide a performance rating but the ones that do it is found on the carpet label. Usually woven pile carpets are more durable than tuffed carpets

• 4 or 5 will maintain its new appearance longer
• 4 is considered outstandingly durable and is recommended for heavy traffic areas
• 2.5 - 4 is considered normal in terms of durability and will last long if it is properly maintained
• 2.5 - 0 should be used in the lowest possible traffic areas

Sources of information:

http://www.carpet-rug.org/residential-customers/selecting-the-right-carpet-or-rug/quality-and-performance/carpet-performance-rating.cfm 

http://www.servicemagic.com/article.show.Ceramic-Tile-Grades.10844.html

http://www.floorbiz.com/tile/rating-ceramic-tile.htm

O'Henry Hotel and Greensboro

O'Henry Hotel

On Friday each member of our group chose a historically important thing about Greensboro, from the list that the GHM committee gave us on Wednesday, to research over the weekend and mine was the O'Henry Hotel. The ideas for this hotel were thought of by Dennis and Nancy King Quaintance because they wanted to translate the great things about Greensboro into a hotel for the people of Greensboro. The hotel was built in 1919 but because of its timeless design it looks like it could have been built in 1998 instead. They wanted to design a hotel that blended tradition and innovation all into the same space. They named the hotel O'Henry after the world famous short story writer, William Sidney Porter, who was born in Greensboro in 1862. Some of his work includes "The Gift of the Magi", "The Last Leaf", "Of Cabbages and Kings", and "The Ransom of Red Chief". As a boy he attended his Aunt Lina's school house in Greensboro and his aunt's school house is the one that is displayed in the Gate City exhibit at the Greensboro Historical Museum. They also named the largest banquet hotel the "Caldwell Room" after David Caldwell who was another important figure of Greensboro. The couple used other buildings around Greensboro for different bits of inspiration such as the Aycock school. When they started thinking about having a restaurant in the hotel they decided that it would be better to build a restaurant beside the hotel rather than inside it so the restaurant could have its own identity. They named this restaurant the Green Valley Grill and designed it with a tuscan style and borrowed ideas from the Blandwood Mansion and a little pump house on Benjamin Parkway at Lake Daniel. Below are images of some of the interiors of the O'Henry Hotel. How Dennis and Nancy King Quaintance designed this hotel is really interesting and I think they succeeded as far as making this hotel what they had dreamed.

Common Room

Courtyard

Information Source: http://www.ohenryhotel.com/community.htm