Origins at Frankford: Enriched Care Center, Main Level
The main level of the Center provides a safe and meaningful place for the older adults to spend their day. It offers a much-needed routine and provides opportunities for social interaction, participation in multidisciplinary therapies and meaningful activities. A main-street concept is applied using vernacular architecture to assist wayfinding and the building is opened to the roof skylight to provide more daylight and create an indoor ‘court-yard’ with a user-operated kinetic sculpture.
Provides a safe and meaningful place for the older adults to spend their day
Vernacular architecture and motifs are used to provide familiarity
Wandering trail provides a safe path for this common behavior
Circulation encourages engagement
Managed interaction is encouraged
Origins at Frankford: Enriched Care Center
The lower level of the Center, which is accessed with an escort at the keyed elevator, houses group therapy and training spaces for staff and familial caretakers.
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The second level of the Center, which is accessed with an escort at the keyed elevator, houses medical offices and examination rooms. A view of the kinetic sculpture, and level below, as well as common finishes are used to provide familiarity and comfort.
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The upper level of the Center, which is accessed with an escort at the keyed elevator, houses administrative offices, hoteling work stations, and collaborative spaces for staff and non-familial caregivers.
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Origins at Frankford: Independent Living Residence
A typical residence was designed to meet the needs of a person newly diagnosed or in the early stages of dementia with a second floor suite for their caretaker. The residences are traditional Philadelphia style homes to provide familiarity and comfort for the occupants. A ramp and deck have been added to provide a safe means of entry for those using mobility devices while offering outdoor living space. Finishes, furnishings, and equipment have been selected that consider the needs of an aging adult.
Origins at Frankford: Continuing Care Home
A typical residential suite and a private nursing suite were designed to meet the needs of a person in advanced and late stages of dementia, respectively. Finishes, furnishings, and equipment have been selected that consider the needs of an aging adult and that remain consistent across each level of care. The familiar finishes and materials assist in the transition from stage to stage. A wandering trail, similar to the one at the Enriched Care Center, provides a safe place for the occupants to wander while providing areas of engagement and repose.
Origins at Frankford: Finishes and Furniture Selection
The needs of the aging adult were considered during all furniture selection. All finishes contrast with the flooring specified. A variety of seating options are offered, to allow personal comfort, but each provides a full arm for support, high backs, proper seat height, and foot room below. Tables have rounded corners wherever possible and side tables and consoles are taller than typical to provide touch surfaces to assist balance. Lighting is individually controlled and adjustable for personal choice.
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Origins at Frankford: Finish Selections Explained
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Blue and green hues are frequently used in healthcare settings because we perceive cooler colors as calming throughout most of our lives. However, as the eye ages, a yellowing of the lens occurs. When viewed through yellow lenses, blues become muddy brown. As seen here, a yellow filter has been applied to the image to exemplify the yellowing of the lens. Also, contrast becomes increasingly important as the eye ages. A lack of contrast can cause difficulties with depth perception causing accidental falls.
The chosen color palette considers the aging eye by using high contrasting values and warm hues which will not be distorted by the yellowing of the lenses. A yellow filter has been applied to demonstrate.
Graduate Thesis:
Life with a Diagnosis of Progressive Dementia: Longevity vs. Quality
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Origins at Frankford:
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A master-planned community that considers the needs of those diagnosed with dementia and their caretakers, while promoting independence and dignity. The community consists of low-density independent living residences and higher-density multi-story assisted living and advanced care apartments. The campus serves as a holistic community of like-minded individuals which provides individualized and group therapies, social interaction, behavioral and medical health services, while also acting as a research facility. The 5,000 Sq. Ft. Enriched Care Center serves as the hub of the development, and is the focus of this project.
Independent Study: The Chinatown Clinic
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Physicians and medical professionals from Philadelphia area hospitals have been operating a free clinic in Chinatown, for more than a decade, serving the uninsured population of the community. The clinic, which occupies space in the former convent at Holy Redeemer Chinese Catholic Church, was in need of renovations to incorporate a women’s health exam room and to improve existing exam and laboratory facilities. The concept developed is based on Feng Shui to provide comfort to the largely Chinese and Native-Chinese Migrant population served by the clinic. Custom casework was designed to improve storage capacity, finishes were specified to improve patient privacy, and lighting was upgraded to improve efficiency.
BIM Modeling:
Revit: Two Fathers’ Townhome
A client profile was given that included two single fathers sharing a townhome with 3 pre-teen and teen boys. The challenge for this project was to create private spaces for the fathers and private and shared spaces for the two separate families.
Residential Studio, Undergraduate:
As a part of a two-person team, my partner and I developed a luxury penthouse apartment for an eclectic middle-aged couple who entertain often and are collectors of art and artifacts from around the globe. The challenge was to work with a partner to create a cohesive set of drawings and renderings that evoked the same style.
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Partner: Ali Griffin
Detailing:
The following details were developed, for Healthcare Studio and Hospitality Studio, to demonstrate an understanding of how finishes were applied and how finishes come together with building materials.
Handwork, Drafting & Watercolor Rendering:
The Temple of Neptune was selected for study. The plan was drafted in ruin and elevations and section,imagined, The drawings were rendered using watercolors.
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Hospitality Studio, Graduate:
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The Ellington is a boutique hotel, located at the former Locks Gallery, adjacent to Washington Square Park in Philadelphia. The hotel contains a jazz themed bar and restaurant called Lady Ellas’s. The concept for the space is based on the Art Deco period but is updated with clean lines. The building’s façade was perforated to add visual interest and provide additional day-lighting to the interior. The perforation was continued as a language throughout the space, playing with concepts of privacy and repose. Walls and ceilings were perforated and furnishings and finishes are either perforated or highly contrasting to seem perforated. As a nod to the site’s former use, art works of and inspired by the period are displayed throughout.
Healthcare Studio:
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Wellness is a is a 5,000 sq. ft. Urgent Care Center. The concept was developed to communicate fresh, clean, well-organized space that considers the acoustical and physical needs of the staff and variety of patients. Medical mistakes were researched and it was found that acoustical controls, close circulation, day-lighting and views of nature were found to be an important factor to avoid errors. As such, wayfinding became a necessary control device to prevent interruption of the work of the medical staff.
Commercial Studio, Graduate:
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RiverView is an MGM Mirage land development company headquartered in Philadelphia. The proposed land development project is a waterfront recreation, entertainment, and retail district. The concept of the headquarters reflects the new waterfront location within an open office plan. As MGM Mirage is a largely entertainment based company, theatrical elements and luxurious finishes were mixed in to the boardwalk aesthetic. Collaborative and touch-down spaces were essential to this relatively traditionally hierarchical company.
Residential Studio, Graduate:
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An aging-in-place penthouse condominium was designed for a married couple, based on their individual and shared interests, in downtown Philadelphia. The needs of the aging adult were considered during all space planning, finish, & furniture selection. The couple was interested in Mid-Century-Modern furnishings and artworks. Though the space is thoroughly modern, the rooms were designed to nod at Mid-Century architectural details and motifs while providing finishes that consider the possible future need for mobility devices. Special consideration was given to kitchen & bath areas, which are common rooms for accidents in the home, and to non-glare surfaces and acoustical controls to assist with declining vision and hearing.
Special Topics: Autism Mobile Unit
Design Competition, 3rd Place
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The A.J. Drexel Autism Institute posed a multi-disciplinary design challenge to teams participating in this special topics course. Teams competed to research and develop a plan for a van that would be used for both public awareness and for community outreach. Our team developed a concept based on multi-sensory therapies used for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in a palette of soothing seaside finishes and patterns. We decided that the exterior of the van should advertise for the cause at awareness events, but also be discreet while providing Autism assessment to individuals within the surrounding community. Our team developed the exterior graphic with Drexel’s Mario the Magnificent incorporated but with a removable magnetized logo. An adaptable interior with stowable therapy supplies and lockable storage was determined to be safer for the children who would occupy the space.
Team Members: Lauren Young, Lana McLean, Steph Heucke, Maureen McMenamin
Retail Studio, Graduate:
Toro Flagship Store
An up-and-coming fashion designer, Amelia Toro’s, work was studied to develop the concept of the space. Toro’s current work was architecturally influenced, to provide structure to softly feminine pleats and ruffles, while using lace and open woven materials to give a softly feminine appearance. Situated on Philadelphia’s ‘Fabric Row’ the buildings’ façade was given an intervention to add interest to its’ corner location. Toro features a custom-denim boutique on the mezzanine situated above a flowing double grand staircase.
Retail Studio, Undergraduate:
Herman Miller Showroom
Design Competition, 2nd Place
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The office furniture showroom was looking for a more customer friendly shopping experience so a meandering path of circulation was created. Inspired by great office buildings of the past, there are hints in the architectural details of these famous buildings: Lever House, The Chrysler, The Empire State, and The Rookery Buildings. Famous furniture pieces are highlighted by placing them in prominent locations throughout the space.
Graphic Identity:
The following projects represent the work from three different seminars which utilized Sketchup, 3ds Max, and Adobe software. The first two utilize Adobe tools to create graphics and patterns to apply the identity to two very different restaurant concepts – a family-friendly smoothie and treat shop and an upscale Asian-fusion restaurant. The third utilizes 3dsMax to create all furniture, finishes, and equipment, and merchandise items in a tea café and shop.
Photography:
For an introduction to photography course, photographs were produced that utilized the principals of design: balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern rhythm, and variety. Composition, scale, and catching “the decisive moment” were practiced in both portrait and ‘street photography.’
Handwork, Sketching:
The following sketches were produced for various projects.
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