Dining Views

WPA Poster

The above image is a creation of my own of a WPA poster. The WPA posters in the past advertised issues on all levels, such as economic, politic issues as well as diseases such as syphillis. The posters below are two of the few that I chose as inspiration for my creation. I took the elements of the images being complex and text being simple and added that into my layout. I chose simple colors just as the Be Careful poster. And the orientation of the worker is inspired by the central orientation the dog. My poster as you probably have noticed is advertising the issues of high unemployment in America. Jobs are constantly being shipped over to the eastern parts of the world, leaving Americans without well paying jobs.

A Transitioning Journey

I have come to find the phrase "I am going to take a bath" a broad statement. It could mean the cleaning of the body from dirt and odor after a long days work. It could also mean the cleansing of the mind body and soul. People also take bathes for leisure of relaxation. There are a few forms of bathing, it could be steam bathing, mud bathing, sun bathing or sitting in a tub of water. After doing research of a cultural bath experiences I chose the Jewish culture as inspiration to design a spa. The spa is not just an ordinary spa it is made to reach the needs of temporary wheelchair bound people that still have their mobility to move their bodies. Therefore, ramps are placed throughout the spa. While reaching the needs of the handicap I have based my spa around the Jewish bathing ritual, which is the the cleansing of the mind and soul for purification. The bath ritual was most common in Jewish women until not long ago men of the Jewish culture began purifying themselves just before Sabbath or during high holidays. The ritual consisted of reading a prayer before, in between or after dips, which was seven dips. The Jewish did the bathing routine as a way to purify their past identity. Women did it before marriage as a symbolism of purifying her identity and entering into a new beginning, or after milestones such as menstrual periods, divorce etc. After looking at many of their baths (Mikvahs) I found that there pool spaces were all rectilinear about 10x10 and stairs lead them down into the pool. The space was design for the privacy of one. After reading about the Jewish culture I have found the connection of transition and one can look at life as a journey , there are many paths you may choose to take. So below I based my design conceptually around a Transitioning Journey. The space gives one the choice of enjoying their experience with a group of friends or having their privacy.

Above is a view of the PLAN of the bath facility. As you can see there is a left and a right ramp that are set out to guide the client to a pool area. Each ramp is 5' in width. The grey tile is two 1'x1' Slate and is used as
a guide line to and through the pools. The blue tile next to the slate is a 6"x6" Aqua blue glass tile. And next to that is a 1'x1' White Porcelain tile.There is also an exiting ramp that lead the people out of the pools . I chose to have a opposite exiting ramp as a symbolic relation of not back tracking your life when purifying or trying to move forward.

Above is a perspective view of the left and right ramp that lead to the pools. The wood flooring is of a Composite Wood, which is not an absorbent or water, and is long last than your typically wood.

CEILING PLAN (above): structural elements contains a Stainless Steel, and a light grey tinted structural glass.

When entering into the pool I have expressed through material , transition. When first entering the pool one will encounter a on the walls a rough finish of Stucco painted White.
As they move through they would then encounter a smooth Blue Marble wall and polished White Granite seating which is a 1-1/2' above the pool floor and a 1-1/2' below the water level which is 3' deep. The partitions walls that are in the center of the pools is of a Frosted Glass, standing 8' above pool floor. When exiting the pool the opposite wall is made of a white Waterproofed Gypsum Board. The wall surrounding the landing platforms are 8' above the floor and from the pool floor to the ceiling it is 11'.

Above is a section cut through the bath facility . From left to right you are viewing the width of the hall which 5' , 5' landing with stucco walls, 9'-3" of seating space in the pool with the partitioned frosted glass wall in front of it which is 4' Wx8' H 2"T , 4' w space with another partition frosted glass wall which is 3' in width. When exiting there is a slightly sloped ramp that has a 1'rise and a 12' run. The railing shown above and throughout the space is constructed of Horizontal Stainless Steel Cabling.

Model of one pool

Looking into the space of the pool.

Materials
White Porcelain Tile

Grey Slate
Glass Tile
Stucco
White Granite


Stainless Steel Cable Railing
Frosted Glass

waterproof gypsum board
Blue marble
Composite Wood


Tinted Grey Structural Glass

A Place to Bathe

There are many buildings that are out there in the world today that are handicap accessible. However, many of these facilities were not totally designed for the physically less fortunate people. To be specific many building have ramps that are available to those that are wheel chair bound whether it is temporarily or permanently. Some of these ramps seem like they were added on to a facility without full consideration of what it's convenience could be. Therefore, we have the opportunity to design a facility or place to bathe for people that are wheel chair bound. To further elaborate this place to bathe is not your typical thought of a place to bathe, however we had to research other cultural traditional rituals of bathing. After researching I found that Jewish have a traditional bathe that is considered Bath of Purification. The Purification ritual was fully for the honoring and nurturing of women. It was a way to give a woman a place in the world when others are being so demanding of them. These women would go attend the Mikvah (bath) after milestones in their life, such as menstrual periods, divorces, before or after childbirth. They would also attend the Mikvah before their wedding day. It is a way if cleansing your previous identity, to start a new and refreshing life. Recently men have started to attend the Mikvah before Sabbath (a day set out for worship) and Holidays. Ancient Mikvah were filled by natural spring or cisterns were filled directly by rain water.
Baths today are more inviting, they have a modern spa look, as show in the photo below.
Baths today still carry the meaning of the tradition of the Mikvah. A Mikvah is a spiritual ritual bath for married Jewish women who follow the ancient traditional laws of family purity, which guide the intimate relationships between husband and wife. Unlike an ordinary bathtub or swimming pool, a kosher mikvah must contain a certain quantity of ‘Mayim Chayim’ (living waters) – gathered rainwater.
Modern day mikvahs are equipped with filtration and purification systems. They are chlorinated and kept at a comfortable warm temperature, and are always connected to the Mayim Chayim.

Urban Pathways

I really enjoyed this project which was learning the function of adobe Illustrator. In the beginning I encountered many frustrations, leading to restarting multiple times. However, I am happy with the outcome of the above photo.

Dining-Open Opportunities

Wall Section of Louvered Wall


When first encountering this project, which was the designing of a dining space, we as a class had to choose a chair. As you can see above, the chair that I chose was a Klaussner Dining Side Chair. The second step was to design a side table as well as a dining Table to place in this dining space. I approach the assignment by designing the dining table along with the side table, base around elements from the dining chair that I chose. Then I took the approach of developing the the space using the same technique. As I went along in this project I found that I had not formed a concept to base my design around for the final touches of the dining space. So I took that into account and started to think about the space, in the mind frame of a dining experience, I came up with the phrase an Open Opportunity. I found the concept statement or phrase to fit well broadly, due to the fact that when people are dining you may have many options (open opportunities) to choose how you would like to dine. You may choose to dine in the dark, or take the Japanese experience and sit on the floor, etc. You may also at a dining area have the opportunity to sample a variety of foods as well listen to the open conversations that is shared around the table. The the element of having opportunities are developed through my space through having a louvered walls that gives one option to close the adjacent room off from the next, or open them wide to give an open plan to the next room. There is also a skylight above the dining table to give the option of having a dinner in early evening to use natural light. However there are also lights hanging above the table that hang from the central spine of the skylight that also gives one the option to give a late evening dinner and the choice to use artificial lighting. The idea of the louvered wall came from the beams that are underneath the table. The skylight is a replica of the design of the table. The indention which is a pass through to the kitchen in the left (west wall) come from the voids that are portions in the dining chairs.

Scene Discourse