Expand view for photograph Three abstract 3D sculptures are displayed against pastel backgrounds: pink on the left, yellow in the center, and pink on the right. Each sculpture has unique, curving, and layered shapes in soft, pastel colors.
Expand view for photograph A diagram illustrates four zones of personal space: Intimate, Personal, Social, and Public distance. Each zone is labeled with descriptions, and shaded areas radiate outward from a small figure at the center.
The COVID-19 pandemic uprooted life and forced communities, businesses, and individuals to reprioritize. Using the Lever House in New York as a place for intervention, we were challenged to imagine a mass exodus from downtown offices and to utilize the vacant space for social housing. Additionally, we were asked to consider dialogue and proxemics, and how these spatial theories apply to the built environment.
This began with examining a person, or a single unit, as they interact with others and move throughout a space. Through the understanding of intimate and public space, the part-whole relationship became a guiding principle in designing the interiors. For example, the floor plan follows a hierarchy that transitions from personal-to-public space, by beginning with an individual's room and leading gradually through the kitchen, the living room, and to the vertical circulation. The staircase is the most public space, acting as its own interior form. This spatial volume not only provides a juxtaposition of soft curves against the Lever House's unrelenting grid, but it encourages playful horizontal and vertical circulation through the 3D representation of personal bubbles. Using these core principles of proxemics, overlapping and guiding transitions were developed through the space.
Fall 2020 Design Excellence Award Winner
Kaitlin Reynolds
Interior Design Core I
Instructor: Clay Odom
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