ABSTRACT
The environment has the power to affect human’s behavior. We, as human beings, perceive our environment very sensitively every single second. The environment is as important as the air we breathe. Elements of the environment that can affect people include spacial arrangement, light, sound, temperature, and smell, A good environmental design is attentive to human perception and can help to improve human working abilities.
However, in the modern society, most of the environmental designs are not friendly to people due to either limited budgets or limited space. A poorly designed environment may subliminally be perceived negatively and create a situation which may for some cause a decrease in working ability and a loss of efficiency.
In my thesis, I will redesign the Winship B.204 to create an environment that can increase and improve people’s working ability. The design of the environment will incorporate lighting, sound, smell, spacial arrangement, and temperature with each other so as to define the style or even character of this space. In addition, I will explore different ways to apply natural elements to this environment. I will use the graduate studio, Winship B.204 as a prototype and discover if the space with design adjustments, can improve people’s imagination and creativity.
DESIGN CONCEPT
A warm, friendly, fun, and inspiring working environment.
Crafting Darkness is a redesign of the studio Winship. B.204 which incorporates lighting, sound, projection, and installation. I seek to apply elements in nature to the space we work day and night. I seek to create a visceral experience to make the environment more attentive and enhance creativity. How I approach this project is to observe, to research, to collect ideas, then to provide solutions by using my personal experience in lighting to design a better space for people who work inside.
The studio of our graduate students in the M.F.A. design program at UT Austin is a space located at a basement level with no windows but only cold concrete walls and numerous industrial pipes attached to the ceiling, which increases nothing but working pressure. In addition, there are no natural elements in this space. In all, it is a cold black box without light.
My first step is to re-arrange the space so as to decrease the pressure. Then, I will divide the space into four main areas: meeting area, public working area, private working area, relaxing area. People who work inside can find their preferable space that fits their working mood. Also, I will utilize a great amount of glass material to lower the pressure. This decision can also increase the possibility for lights to come in from the windows. Through this re-arrangement, the studio will become a friendlier working environment. My second step is to apply natural elements, sounds, colors to space so as to create different visual impacts and multiple visceral experiences. The main purpose is to manipulate human’s perception to what they see and what they feel. Lastly, I will come up a model of the new design of the studio by using two software, SketchUp, and V-Ray. Through the process of incorporating my experience in theatre lighting design and my knowledge of this two software, I explore more possibilities of this space.
The studio of our graduate students in the M.F.A. design program at UT Austin is a space located at a basement level with no windows but only cold concrete walls and numerous industrial pipes attached to the ceiling, which increases nothing but working pressure. In addition, there are no natural elements in this space. In all, it is a cold black box without light.
My first step is to re-arrange the space so as to decrease the pressure. Then, I will divide the space into four main areas: meeting area, public working area, private working area, relaxing area. People who work inside can find their preferable space that fits their working mood. Also, I will utilize a great amount of glass material to lower the pressure. This decision can also increase the possibility for lights to come in from the windows. Through this re-arrangement, the studio will become a friendlier working environment. My second step is to apply natural elements, sounds, colors to space so as to create different visual impacts and multiple visceral experiences. The main purpose is to manipulate human’s perception to what they see and what they feel. Lastly, I will come up a model of the new design of the studio by using two software, SketchUp, and V-Ray. Through the process of incorporating my experience in theatre lighting design and my knowledge of this two software, I explore more possibilities of this space.