Currently

attempting to remember how to use SketchUp effectively on my mac...it's been a while.

drinking a tall glass of chocolate milk, Nesquik, to be precise.

fearing making my first few loan payments.

feeling content with the world in spite of this.

looking forward to a night of papermaking, letterpress, and wine with friends.

missing my go-to Syracuse friends and family.

planning on taking some online classes through lynda.com

singing along to the Nat King Cole album playing on my turntable.

thinking about my awesome Grandma, who is in Haiti volunteering at a clinic right now.

wishing I could get on the first flight to Italy in the morning.

Insta Obsessions

palombaserafini // Run by Milan-based architecture and design studio Palomba Serafini Associati, this insta features tons of eye candy for designers of all disciplines. 

londonbrekkies // I love breakfast. I love London. This insta combines these two loves and makes me long for the mornings I spent studying abroad. Just don't look at it when you're hungry.

teresacfreitas // Ordinary things displayed in imaginative and fantastic ways. Everything seems like you're looking at it from down the rabbit hole. 

debbiealbrethsen // Debbie Albrethsen is a Utah-based residential interior designer. I regularly check her instagram for palette ideas and inspiration for my own place.

Starting today, I have a weekly collection of five things that I find interesting, exciting, or generally entertaining. This week's topic is simple: five things that made me happy this week.

1// Spending a night in Syracuse with a great friend, pretending to be the Log Lady.

2// The fact that it's mostly been raining instead of snowing - with a few small exceptions.

3// Salsa dancing into the early morning hours with friends from work, on a Thursday.

4// Being told I seemed like a more "seasoned" interior designer by a product rep.

5// Having ample time to catch up on my reading despite a crazy schedule.

Dream Home: Office Edition

Perhaps one of the biggest paradoxes of our time is that interior designers have fantastic (all too often expensive) and an income suited only to purchase home goods from Ikea. Okay - I'm exaggerating a little. Okay - a LOT, but ask most designers and you'll soon realize we're too poor to actually own anything we pick for our clients. Ignore the fact that I'm fresh out of school for now, because that certainly doesn't help at all. 

Anyway, I spend a lot of my time perusing materials and furnishings binders, samples, and catalogs. While my focus is much more commercial (I can't tell you how many times I've swooned over open office benching systems), I still daydream about the things I'd like to curate for my own home someday. After getting a new set of Restoration Hardware catalogs at work, I couldn't stop thinking about how desperately I'd love to have a home office. Here's what I'm daydreaming about this week:

1//2//3//4//5//6//7//8

1// Atkins Quad Shelving from Restoration Hardware

2// Geodisic Table Lamp from West Elm

3// Flatiron Desk from Restoration Hardware

4// Potted Succulents from Crate & Barrel

5// Shelby Rug from Pottery Barn

6// Curved Upholstery Chair from West Elm

7// Driftwood Side Table from Crate & Barrel

8// Overarching Floor Lamp from West Elm

Currently

attempting to create a general schedule of events for my evenings to avoid couch potato-ing.

buying '642 Things to Draw' for a little inspiration.

dreaming about owning my own coffee shop.

drinking a glass of Coppola Merlot.

fearing the impending doom that is my first student loan payment.

learning about LEED core concepts for the Green Associate exam.

listening to 'Zombie' by The Cranberries.

looking forward to seeing friends in Rochester & Syracuse this weekend.

making more time to read every night.

thinking about going back to school...eventually...after working for a few years.

Insta Obsessions

curatedinterior // A visual delight for this interior designer. Each post features beautiful residential interiors to swoon over.

food52 // Food magazine-worthy images of everything from brussels sprouts to banoffee pie. Get ready to start drooling.

katieonthehill // If you love all things organized, you'll definitely want to check out this insta. Her balanced compositions of day-to-day life in the UK make me want to take the first plane across the pond.

coffeeshopcorners // A perfect mix of my two loves, interiors and coffee. I'll definitely be looking here for inspiration for my own cafe someday!

On Being a "Real Person"

So we meet again! Here we are - one week into September, a solid four months into the ever stressful, crazy exciting, and terrifically unpredictable post-grad era. And no, I'm not talking about the cutesy but overall meh rom com starring Alexis Bledel - you really let me down Rory.

**Look how cute I was...so oblivious to the orb of confusion that is "post grad"

Anyway, the past four months have been...challenging...to say the least. To anyone who's gone through this before, congratulations on making it to the other side. To those who are currently experiencing this, I feel you...I promise we can do this. And to those who are still operating the grand illusion that is undergraduate life, well, good luck.

Let's rewind to May. College graduation alone is this giant pressure cooker of emotion. It's the pinnacle moment of your undergraduate career, EVERYONE and their mother is going to be there - literally, and there's the impending sense of doom over just what it is you're going to do with your life. If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me "So Danielle, what are your plans after graduation?" well, you know the rest...

Great job graduating! ...Now what?

Getting to that, the months following graduation can be some of the most uncertain, anxiety-inducing months any young adult will face - unless you're one of the lucky ones who had a job straight out of school, in which case great job being proactive and employed! ...now go away. For pretty much my entire life, all I'd really known was school. All of a sudden, that was done, and I was now faced with the daunting task of finding a "real job," and let's face it - ain't nobody got time for cover letters. Unfortunately, as any recent college grad will tell, you actually have all the time in the world for cover letters.

Back to the present... It's four months later, and can officially say that I am an interior designer - like, how cool is that? Emerging professional status. Here's the thing, though - it definitely didn't happen overnight, and it most certainly didn't happen without quite a few hiccups along the way. Looking back at my sad little "professional" email account, I sent out well over forty job applications in the span of two months. I had cover letters zipping out to Boston, New York, Chicago, Seattle...you name it, I probably sent it. I was looking for a big city, and a definite change of pace. To my disappointment, an overwhelming majority of my applications resulted in complete radio silence.

About halfway through the summer, I saw a post on a Facebook group (run by an awesome former professor) for an entry-level interior design position in Rochester. The job description sounded fantastic - it did, after all, actually contain the words entry-level. If you've recently graduated, you know how stupidly hard to find that is. The only potential problem seemed to be the location. Rochester? Isn't that just Syracuse but, uh, bigger? Honestly, if you had told me at the beginning that I'd end up here, I'm not sure I'd have believed you. All i can say is, I'm glad I decided to give it a shot, because it definitely ended up being one of the better decisions I've made in my life.

There's about a million and a half things you can do to get a job and if you ask me how I went about it, I'm not sure I could give you a straight answer. One of the most important things I can concretely say is that you must be open to whatever life throws at you. Roll with the punches, if you will. Because the thing is...you can have all these goals and plans, but if you completely rule out anything that doesn't fit your exact, ideal situation, you could really miss out on something fantastic.

So to sum up my first little life lesson on being a "real person," don't rule anything out that could potentially lead to something good. Whether it's a job offer, an invitation to an event, or even just a conversation over coffee with a total stranger - you never know where it may lead.

Until next time!

**Thanks to Ian Simon-Curry for the photo

In Pursuit of Thesis: Week Ten

You know what they say about riding a bike? That once you learn you'll never forget? Using Revit is not like riding a bike.

...at least not at this point, anyway.

For those of you that don't know, Revit is a computer aided design program focused on 3D modeling. It's fantastic because you can build a digital model and pull construction drawings straight out of it all in one, convenient little package. It's not fantastic because it's sort of like a teenager - it eventually does what you want it to, but you have to really know how to manipulate it. In other words, it's fairly user-friendly, but you can do SO much with it that it can become difficult to know how to go about it.

Unfortunately, I'm out of practice with Revit, and my first go-around with it left a lot to be desired. For all intents and purposes, I haven't learned how to use the program. Because of this, I've spent many hours harassing classmates, watching youtube videos, and hitting the books. In other words, progress has been slow, but progress nonetheless.

With so much going on in the last few weeks, I'm really just trying to keep my motivation up. Nevermind everything's due in the next four to five weeks and then I'm graduating....

...I got this

Until next time,

In Pursuit of Thesis: Week Nine

Let's be honest for a minute. It's the first week post-spring break, and there are roughly six weeks left in the semester. Productivity hasn't been my strong suit this week, and this post will be relatively short in the spirit of things.

All of this is not to say that I haven't been working - quite the opposite actually. The strange thing about this point in the semester is that everything seems to be shifting from development mode to production mode. There are a few minor tweaks within my floor plan and material considerations that I have yet to work through, but I've largely moved into solving those as I work on the digital model and drafting. I've also been dividing a lot of my efforts between producing construction documents and moving forward on my actual design as well as working towards finishing up my Capstone reflection paper. For some reason, this really makes me feel like I'm getting nowhere. In actuality, I'm getting somewhere - multiple somewheres - at a bit slower pace.

Speaking of all that, it's been quite the process really focusing my energy onto using Revit. I've learned the program before, but it's been just long enough since I really learned it that it seems like a foreign concept to me. Getting all of my designed elements in there has been quite the (re-)learning experience. But hey, might as well do it while I have the time, right?

And on another note, I'd previously been thinking about how I could incorporate angular forms into the space without simply including more, possibly overwhelming, sculptural forms. With a focus on the classrooms, I feel like this will largely happen in the reflected ceiling plan - specifically in the lighting and acoustical panels. I may or may not use both ideas in the final design, but small clusters of these elements could be an effective way to reference the large sculptural pieces in the main public areas. Check out these awesome designs I found that could be interesting:

Lord & Taylor in Ridge Hill, NY by Reggiani USA

Ecophon Solo Triangle seen Here

Similarly, I've been focusing on including solutions that would allow the students to have some more control over their learning environment as well as the work they produce. At this point, I've decided to include a 'blank slate' of a blackbox theater, pop-up isolation practice rooms in the music studio, and a moveable gallery wall system in the main lobby. I also found this great modular seating system that has a pretty subtle form similar to the angular forms I've included so far. 

HM77 Seating System

Anyway, I'm really excited to show you more progress as these next few weeks come and go. It's really exciting to finally see everything taking shape and I can't wait to see it all come together in a final design! 

Until next time,

In Pursuit of Thesis: Week Eight

The moment you've all been waiting for is here...or more accurately...the moment I've been waiting for. I spent an entire afternoon sitting on the most comfortable of couches, sipping on a cappuccino and enjoying the sunshine reflecting off the building across the street. So what? 

So I've survived midterm week - not that it was an event I was particularly worried about. There's something so inexplicably wonderful about the minute you get out of your last class before spring break - no matter where you may or may not be going. It's certainly temporary, and there's definitely work to be done over the following week. But, for now, I'm basking in it. 

I always find this point of the year really refreshing - as I'm sure many people do. I don't know if it's the lack of sleep from the weeks prior, or the elating effects of a sunny day in Syracuse, but I'm feeling incredibly accomplished and at ease. I still have the ideas of finding a job, graduating, or even just finishing my thesis successfully in the back of my mind, but there's nothing about those that's causing me to panic...right now. 

After my second formal review in thesis, I'm more excited than ever to move forward. Something about hearing the words, you're actually ahead is incredibly motivating. Especially when, despite my constant progress I tend to feel like the work I'm producing isn't enough. Call it a curse of the 'mostly' Type A personality. Regardless, I'm not letting it get to me and I'm planning on moving full-speed ahead. 

As I’ve probably said before, actually taking a step back to look at everything I’ve done is always a little surprising to me. You know how if you see a person every day they don’t seem to change, but if you’ve been apart for a while they can really seem different from before? That definitely applies to my thesis – definitely. Here's an idea of what I've done:

From this point on, I'm really moving into the how does this actually work phase. I need to make sure the large, sculptural elements I designed can actually be constructed with the materials I imagined and really see how it's made. Lighting is another obviously important part that I've been thinking about in my head, but not necessarily on paper. But don't you worry, I've got it all planned out. In fact, I'm considering combining lighting into the sculptural pieces, with a translucent, colorfully lit resin mixing with the use of light tubes in some areas. Kind of like this:

See original here

Programmable LED behind translucent resin panels from Seeyond

Angled tubes mimicking the form of the panels.

Another idea I'm really considering over break is the incorporation of angular forms and triangles throughout the other spaces. While these won't necessarily take shape in a sculptural manner like in the main areas, I'd like some elements in the classrooms and secondary spaces to give a nod to the major ones. What I'm most concerned with is incorporating all these elements without them being visually overwhelming. It'll be a really fun mini-project to play with once I return from SEATTLE next week. Check back soon!

Cheers!

In Pursuit of Thesis: Week Seven

Every once in a while, a magical thing happens where I have a three-day long burst of motivation. While I'd say I certainly have no problem buckling down and working on something for an extended period of time, actually being excited to do so, for so long, is a much more uncommon experience. Anyway, last weekend was one of those rare phenomenon - pretty much every minute I had, I spent working on thesis, enthusiastically I might add.

In a few short days after my last post, I managed to pump out a pretty holistic and thoughtful floor plan for the majority of my space - the whole space. There are definitely some minor tweaks to be made throughout the classroom spaces, but I'd definitely say I hit that 75% mark that I was talking about last week. Plus, I made some serious headway modeling the changes I'm making to the space digitally and physically. Check it out:

Purple: Classrooms      Yellow: Student Lounges     Green: Public Spaces    Blue: Group Spaces

First Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan

Third Floor Plan

Compare that to this current moment, where I can barely motivate myself to even talk about my lack of motivation and work flow. Unfortunately, the one part of my space I've been struggling to solidify is probably one of the more important ones - the main reception and gallery area. Something about essentially designing blank wall space in a thoughtful manner is really giving me headaches...maybe literally. My biggest issue is that the initial entry space is so strong in comparison to the gallery area. It's the "second impression" of the design you get, and figuring out how to make it equally, if not more, impressive has landed me a ticket on the struggle bus.

I've spent a large part of this week creating a second model of just those two spaces in an attempt to figure out how to arrange the gallery in response to what I've designed in the entry. I think a lot of my decisions will be based on my inclusion of the angular forms seen in the entry space. After talking to a few classmates about it, it'd probably serve me well to figure out where seating areas should be and then plan the wall space around that. I'm currently toying with the idea of moveable gallery wall systems as well (especially considering I might be using some sort of a portable practice room in my classroom spaces). Also, I think it might be a good choice to allow for the students to arrange the gallery in addition to what is displayed in it, giving them another facet of the program to take part in and control. Hey - it goes with the concept of empowerment in a way.

Anyway, I have my second review this week so I'm hoping to get back on the productive streak this weekend. It's hard to believe it's already the midpoint of the semester! Can't wait to show you everything I have next week (:

Until then

In Pursuit of Thesis: Week Six

There are officially two short weeks until spring break, which means there are just two short weeks until the mid-point of the semester. The entire concept of this clearly hasn't hit me yet, because I'm feeling just fine - but check back on that in a week or so. Anyway, while the idea of flying across the country to Seattle (!!!) is a wonderful thing to daydream about, I'm really hoping to make some serious progress on my thesis. I've set a lot of goals for myself in the next few weeks - with my midterm review and a solidified draft of the written portion of my Capstone on the horizon, I'm starting to feel some pressure.

Right now, I still feel like I'm at a pretty good point. The expectation for my midterm review is that I'm 75% done with my floor plan - that's a lot of percent - but I really feel like it's totally do-able. Just in the last few days I've made quite a few decisions that are really helping me to progress.

Before I can get to the nitty-gritty of laying out individual rooms and spaces, I need to solidify my major design concepts. In the images below, the green colored form show where I've intervened so far. Again, these forms are based off of my original concept model work from last semester. These forms, in some places, will extend up the wall in a very angular manner, some will double as hang out places or seating - such as in the main entrance.

A very basic model of what these forms will look like. This seating element gives the entrance a 

function other than prolonged entry.

A section of the entry. The lighter green portion on the right will be a 

sculptural piece mimicking the form of the seating area at the bottom with less visual weight.

The area on the top left will allow for students to view the entry from multiple perspectives 

rather than from below only. 

First floor overall design concept plan.

Second and third floor general plan for warehouse space. The

section enclosed by the green will be open to the floors below and above.

This week, I got so excited about where I was going with these forms that I was on the edge of going overboard. After a brief discussion during class, I decided to include these forms (in three dimensions) only where I've intervened with the structure of the building. In other words, I've place them only where I've added partitions, cut through the floor, and so on. As I move forward and actually draw out perspectives and sections, I intend to add two dimensional elements mimicking these forms throughout the rest of the space - a development you should start to see next week. 

Right now, my biggest roadblock is figuring out how to divide the classroom spaces from the student lounges. Specifically, this becomes an issue on the third floor of the warehouse space, which will be open to the floor above. In a few, select spaces, I'm considering using the angular form itself to create a room within a room. That being said, this idea would need to be applied very specifically in order to avoid the form seeming completely arbitrary.

A lot of the solutions to this, I think, will come from working with my physical model I made a few weeks back. With my particular designs, a computer model will only confuse me at this iterative point. I'm really looking forward to learning how to put that into Revit...gulp. We'll talk about that next week though. 

Until then!

Searching for a Job is a Full-Time Job

You ever heard that phrase before? Well I hadn't, and I'm learning the unfortunate truth that it is. I'd love to sit around for the next few months pretending that all I have to do is go back to classes next year, but alas...the threat of unemployment looms.

Luckily for me, my final semester is structured in such a way that I'm required to think about the job hunt and how I want to present myself in that search. For the past few weeks, I've been googling the words "architecture firms hiring in city" with few hits, most of which bring up job descriptions that require 5+ years of experience - a very disheartening qualification. If anything, I've learned if I'm going to get a job in a design or architecture firm, I'm going to need to be the one showing interest in the firm, not the other way around. Obvious? Yes. But any job I get probably won't be posted directly on a firm's site.

Regardless, I've been spending some time developing an application package for myself - this includes the standard cover letter, resume, maybe a letter of recommendation, and for me, portfolio samples. If you're like my parents at all, you might be surprised to see how involved, and creative this process might be. Writing the, gulp, cover letter is still a major pain in the butt, and the resume is no walk in the park, but imagine making it something that's going to stand out in a field of creatives.

There's a lot of whacky stuff out there, but let's be real, I'm not one of those people. The package design I chose to go with is relatively simple, but I think it really represents me. For my application package, I chose to use simple fonts and little bursts of color - specifically a bright green that I love. Plus, the inner envelope is made of this awesome wood-grain textured paper. See below:

So...would you call me for an interview? :D Let's hope hiring managers will!

Until next time,

Guys, I'm Famous!!

...Just kidding. But I was featured in an article in my school's student run paper, The Daily Orange.

Check it out here!

Best,

In Pursuit of Thesis: Week Five

Well, it's that time of the semester again...that week where all hell breaks loose and your entire house is suffering from what can only be assumed is the plague. Dramatic? Eh...sure. Yet here we are. Unfortunately for all parties involved, I've been out of commission with a fever and body aches for just over a day which, in turn, means I didn't get a chance to take pictures of or scan images of my progress work this week. You'll just have to give me the benefit of the doubt on this one.

Regardless, I'll try to walk ya'll through my thinking moving forward this week. Generally speaking, I've been working on tackling multiple areas at once - in other words actually putting to pen and paper my ideas more holistically.

At this point, I'm still focusing largely on the entry and lobby area, the transition space between parts of the building (aka hallway) and the student lounges on each floor of the warehouse space. That being said, I'm playing with the ideas of using angular, designed elements with viewing windows as a division between the shared lounge spaces and the more "private" studios and classrooms. I've also been thinking about creating this same type of element in the hallway space (shown in green below). Using the same angular forms and possibly some interesting lighting or colored windows/skylights could create a really interesting and dynamic transition space that reflects the overall design concept.

What's proving to be most difficult for me is the inclusion of multiple perspectives throughout the experience of the space. I've decided to include an upper mezzanine level in the immediate entry space to allow students to experience the somewhat sculptural element there from below as well as above. And, on a somewhat off-topic note, I'm working on developing a angular seating element that is integrated into the stairs and wraps around an existing structural wall to connect to the lobby area. 

Looking at the more secluded spaces - like the student lounges and studios - I really think a lot of this will come into play with the division of spaces. In addition, I'm also thinking about extending either an opening or some sort of cohesive element through all four levels to allow users to see up to the skylights as well as down to levels below. 

Again, sorry for being a doof and not having my current process work included in this post! It's much more exciting with it and my sickly head didn't anticipate not going into studio today...pssh, excuses...I know. Pinky swear that I'll have lots o' visual goodies for you next week! Until then, here's some good ol' inspiration photos:

Love the light coming through the openings.

From getaddictedto.com

Inspiration for the hallways, who wouldn't want to experience that?

From Plenty of Colour

Interesting transition from wall to ceiling plane. 

Vertical and horizontal perforations.

From Sky Lab Architecture

Visually suggested 'windows' in an angular form. 

From pinterest

Cheers!

Life is too Short for Bad Coffee...or Design

I've always been a coffee person.

Ever since my grandparents started me on decaf, probably way before I should have been drinking coffee at all, I've loved the taste, warmth, and smell of a good cup o' joe. Long gone are the days of adding a gallon of flavored creamer and a pound of sugar, though. Ever since starting my job at Cafe Kubal in June of 2012, I've learned to love my coffee black and my espresso sweet. (No, not with sugar you ninny...just with superbly roasted espresso beans of course! Pssh) 

Of all the jobs I've had, this one is by far the most enjoyable, exciting, and rewarding. What's better than crafting a perfect cappuccino or smelling fresh-brewed coffee all day?

On top of over a year and a half of being able to rock it behind the bar, I recently started down another exciting avenue within the company. Knowing my background in interior design - it is, after all, what I'm studying at Syracuse - my boss came to me when it was time to redesign the SU cafe. Of course I was thrilled, and the various projects have since been completed. Check out the before and after!

New grab-n-go display refrigerator with merchandise display shelves and new, 

wall-mounted menu boards and lighting.

Baked goods display case was lowered to be flush with the existing counter. 

Hanging menu boards were removed to allow for more visual access between baristas and customers.

New lighting was installed and brick was painted to help reflect light into the space. 

New commercial grade chairs were specified to stand up to wear and tear of a busy cafe environment.

This week, I just finished working on fitting a cafe design into an existing space within a local medical center. It's been quite the challenge, with everything currently an awful shade of mauve, a focus on economy, and only 150 square feet to work with. But with some quick tricks, an eye for detail, and a knack for space planning, I managed to pull together a little design in just a few, short weeks. See it below:

What's more exciting is the cafe just opened its doors this morning. If you're ever in the Camillus area, check it out! And of course, I'll have photos of the space itself soon!

Take care!

In Pursuit of Thesis: Week Four

Somehow, the fourth week of classes have come to a close. A quarter of the way there...whoda' thunk it? Anyway, this week entailed a more formal thesis review with both of my professors about where I was with my project and thoughts about moving forward. Naturally, despite the fact that I think I'm actually in a pretty decent place, I was irrationally nervous going into the week.

Sometimes having so many ideas floating around in your brain and on a ton of unorganized pieces of trace paper can really make it feel like you haven't accomplished anything. Regardless, pinning everything up and talking about it to my friends and professors really made me realize I actually have a pretty good idea of what I'm doing moving forward.

I spent the majority of the week leading up to my review focusing on large aesthetic concepts as well as the main entry space. (Fear not, I'm still thinking about the space holistically..not just one area at a time). As I've said in previous posts, I'm really concentrating on emphasizing the existing structural elements of the space while adding a unifying element based on my conceptual work from last semester.

Here's some of my visual inspiration:

From CreativeLIVE San Fransisco: Build LLC

Eegoo Offices by dEEP Architects on ArchDaily

Arthouse Cafe by Joey Ho

Via PJHM Architects on Pinterest

My own concept model work

Looking at all of this, I decided to move forward with the idea of implementing a strongly triangular and geometric motif throughout the various areas of my design. These particular designed elements will be vibrant and colorful - whether this color is inherent in the material I chose or not has yet to be decided. Right now I'm thinking that it could be really interesting to use a color changing material or dynamic lighting to create a glowing effect like in the first image. 

Part of this thinking has to do with drawing students, parents, and the community into the space. What many, but not all, of my users (aka at-risk students in the city) are lacking is a support system from their families. With this in mind, my intent is to give families and community members a sense of prestige when they, or their children, enter the space. I want people to think "Hey, my kid goes here?! I must have done something right...I'm so proud!"...and so on. 

As an initial pass, most of the work below shows my general ideas for space planning and aesthetics - most of which will occur in the bright yellow areas on the plan. Using these vertically oriented, triangular forms, I'll create a visual cohesion between the entry (now located in the shipping and receiving dock), the reception desk, and the student lounges located in the four story building. 

After my review, I'm really focusing on the idea of the interaction of light between floors and through structural elements, visual access across floors and from different perspectives, and the physical division of spaces. Keeping all of these aspects in mind, I'm really excited to play with different angular "viewing windows" in the student lounge or class spaces that mimic the forms in the entry. (See the second and third inspiration images for more of an idea). 

Similarly, I plan to open up space between each floor of the classroom areas. At this point I've already opened up the top two floors of the warehouse space to one another and added south facing skylights to bring in more light and create an interesting focal point. Moving forward, I intend to emphasize this idea and carry it throughout multiple levels so the user can experience it visually from multiple perspectives. 

I'm really excited to see where I end up four weeks from now at the next review. Each week has brought about some tweaks here and there - from day to day, my thesis isn't the same. Hey, change is good, right?

Until next week!