Assignment Four:
Assignment Four centres on designing the interiors for an entire studio apartment space using a given floorplan and client brief (which I was able to extend upon to create a more detailed specification). The aim of this assignment was to master the processes and techniques that underpin interior design, in order to build a strong personal approach to my own practice. I learnt about the design cycle throughout this assignment, which is a structured approach to developing creative ideas through to executing and completing a design project. This knowledge aims to build a solid foundation for all of my future projects.
There was a choice of three client briefs for this assignment, and I selected the young professional working in the creative industry who has just purchased a studio apartment in a trendy area in a large city. For the purposes of this project, my client’s name is James Gill-Sanderson and he is a hipster-style gentleman in his early 30s, who has just purchased an apartment in a converted factory building in on-trend Shoreditch in London. He wanted the resulting interiors to reflect his indie lifestyle as well as be sympathetic to and reflect the industrial exterior of the building.
I enjoyed putting together this assignment and the overall work was graded with a Distinction. The finished project was a huge 457 A3 pages long, so for the purposes of this website I have edited it down to show the highlights here:
Client brief featuring clear and specific details about the client and his lifestyle. I illustrated a Shoreditch street here to provide added context to the brief.
Evaluation to specify what is required from the design in response to the client brief. I illustrated the exterior of the apartment building to provide a sense of place.
Evaluation specifying what is required from the design and what can be achieved in the studio apartment space in response to the floorplan provided.
Specifying the project requirements for the apartment in terms of zones and multi-functionality, along with a hand drawn map of Shoreditch for location context.
Stage one of the design cycle was interpreting the brief (as above), while stage two is research. This is the first page of my existing studio apartment research.
I produced 114 pages of studio apartment research for this assignment. I have included the highlights and my favourite pages in this portfolio gallery.
As part of the research stage, I found many examples of existing industrial and mid-century modern studio apartments; design styles the client loved and wanted.
The apartment has a double height ceiling, so it was important to research existing spaces with mezzanine levels and those which best utilised this feature.
I was particularly inspired by this studio apartment case study from Trellick Tower in London by architects Buchholzberlin and interior designer Peter Heimer.
I also loved this studio apartment design by Maria Ko in St Petersburg in Russia, using an industrial and mid-century modern colour palette and minimalist design.
In Maria Ko’s design I liked the use of colour to zone areas within the apartment, and the application of bespoke furniture to make best use of the floorplan.
This Lisbon case study by architect Lucas Diz used vibrant colour and clever space-saving ideas to define various multifunctional spaces in the design.
This studio apartment in Paris is unified with mid-century inspired wooden panelling and lime green elements, however clear functional zones are defined.
This Barcelona loft apartment was designed by NeuronaLab Architecture Studio and is characterised by a multifunctional baby blue unit in the centre.
Micro apartment in Ecuador where a multifunctional melamine unit (unifying furniture design and architecture) has been built to maximise the space.
London micro apartment by Proctor and Shaw architects. The translucent elevated sleeping area maximises the high ceilings and allows flow of light.
Seoul visually uncluttered studio apartment by interior designer Ian Lee with a pared back scandi and minimalist approach and bespoke built in storage.
Luxury inner city studio apartment by Brad Swartz Architect, influenced by Japanese and Scandinavian interior designer, which includes a movable divider.
Mid-century style studio apartment in Kyiv with a floor to ceiling tiled wall, stunning mustard yellow cabinetry and classic quality mid-century modern furniture.
More views of the Kyiv studio apartment featuring the kitchen and living spaces. The materials and textures-focused interior design is by Yevheniia Dubrovska.
Inspired by all the research, I put together a bubble diagram showing the macro layout of my own studio apartment for stage three of the design cycle.
Investigating traffic flow and space using my bubble diagram as a guide for furniture placement on a sketch layout of the final studio apartment design.
Investigating traffic flow on the mezzanine level for furniture placement on a sketch layout of the final apartment design for stage four of the design cycle.
Concept board presenting the general mood, theme, colours and textures of the industrial loft studio apartment scheme, using imagery from Shoreditch.
Researching materials for a bespoke industrial dining room banquette seating, as well as Shoreditch-based joinery contractors for stage five of the design cycle.
Researching industrial-themed mezzanine levels, balustrades and staircases in order to maximise the double height space in the studio apartment.
Sketch I produced for a bespoke mezzanine level, staircase and walnut wood balustrade, as well as research into specialist building contractors
Final FF&E selections for the balcony area of the studio apartment, following in depth research and comparing various options for each furniture piece.
Final FF&E selections for the hallway zone of the studio apartment, including light switches and electrical sockets, lighting and practical dual purpose pieces.
More final FF&E selections for the hallway zone of the studio apartment design, including flooring, wall coverings, lighting and further furniture pieces.
Final FF&E selections for the home office zone of the studio apartment scheme, including electrical sockets and switches, lighting, flooring and wall coverings.
More final FF&E selections for the home office zone of the studio apartment design, including a radiator, practical space-saving furniture and storage options.
Final FF&E selections for the dining room zone of the studio apartment design, including flooring, wall coverings, sockets and switches and furniture.
Further final FF&E selections for the dining room zone of the studio apartment, including lighting, window treatments and bespoke banquette fabric choices.
Final FF&E selections for the living area of the studio apartment interior scheme, including flooring, wall coverings, switches, sockets and furniture pieces.
More final FF&E selections for the living area of the studio apartment design, including lighting, soft furnishings (cushions) and window treatments. .
Final FF&E selections for the mezzanine level, including flooring, wall coverings, light switches, sockets, furniture and the bespoke mezzanine construction solution.
Further final FF&E selections for the mezzanine level of the studio apartment scheme, including lighting, furniture pieces and ceiling coverings.
Final FF&E selections for the kitchen area of the studio apartment design, including wall coverings, flooring, switches, sockets and the kitchen units and worktop.
Further final FF&E selections for the kitchen area of the studio apartment design, including kitchen hardware, cabinet handles, appliances and lighting solutions.
Illustrations of the bespoke solutions for the final studio apartment design: the mezzanine level, staircase and balustrade, and the living area banquette seating.
Testing my final FF&E selections on a copy of the studio apartment floorplan, to see how all the pieces interact and to assess the traffic flow in the space.
Testing my final FF&E selections for the mezzanine level on a copy of the floorplan, to see how all the pieces interact and to assess the traffic flow in the space.
Furniture moodboard to test how all the final selected FF&E items for each zone work together in the required design style; this one is for the balcony.
Furniture moodboard for the hallway, in the mid-century modern and industrial design styles. The pop of orange adds energy, reflective of the busy location.
Furniture moodboard for the home office zone of the studio apartment, featuring plenty of storage and space-saving foldaway furniture selections.
Furniture moodboard for the the dining area of the studio apartment, featuring the bespoke banquette seating and industrial-themed window treatments.
Furniture moodboard for the living area of the studio apartment, featuring wall coverings, window treatments, flooring, furniture and lighting choices.
Furniture moodboard for the mezzanine level, featuring the walnut wood balustrade, a pop of orange for consistency of design and all of the final FF&E choices.
Furniture moodboard for the kitchen area, which uniquely sits right in the centre of the studio apartment floorplan, in the mid-century and industrial styles.