chelsie biehl
303 NE 16th Ave // apt 324 Portland OR 97232 740.525.6679 chelsiebiehl@gmail.com
education
The University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio (2003-2008) Bachelor of Science in Interior Design College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning Number One Nationally Ranked Interior Design Program (Design Intelligence) Bachelor of Science in Interior Design The University of Copenhagen Copenhagen, Denmark (summer 2006) Architecture and Interior Design program through the Denmark International Study program. Included design studios, history classes, and architecture study tours through Denmark, Sweden and Finland. Marietta Senior High School Marietta, Ohio (1999-2003) Graduated with Honors Diploma, Member of the National Honor Society 3 years Completed 200 hours of volunteer service through Academic Community Training
professional
Skylab Architecture // interior designer Portland, Oregon (October 2010-present) Contract work supporting the interiors department in SD and DD phases of various projects including the W Hotel Seattle, a local government office building including a large workstation component. My responsibilities include precedent and inspiration research, concept narrative development, schedule writing, graphic design, presentation building, and ff&e and material specification. Osmose Design // designer Portland, Oregon (September 2009-ongoing) Freelance work for a small interior design firm. My responsibilities include digital modeling and rendering, creating shop drawings, sourcing materials, and precedent research. Projects have included a coffee shop at the Commodore Hotel in Astoria, a ski lodge proposal, a modern deck renovation, and various residences. Paper Source // supervisor Portland, Oregon (February 2010-October 2010) Part-time position where my responsibilities include teaching workshops, producing and assembling window displays, merchandising, staff supervision, and customer service. Arches National Park // park guide Moab, Utah (February 2009-July 2009) Volunteer internship through AmeriCorps, during which my responsibilities included guiding nature hikes and youth table talks, the development and delivery of new interpretive programs, and hiking trail maintenance. Mica // merchandiser Cincinnati, Ohio (September 2008-February 2009) Part-time work with a small boutique specializing in handmade and local objects. My responsibilities included the design and construction of seasonal window displays and retail floor merchandising.
professional
505 Design // design assistant Boulder, Colorado (September 2007-December 2007) Internship with mid-sized architecture firm. I was actively involved in space planning, site documentation, and FF&E selections and specifications for a number of large projects including a renovation to the Denver International Airport, a golf course clubhouse and restaurant, and outdoor pedestrian malls. Communication Arts // design assistant Boulder, Colorado (March 2007-June 2007) Internship with large multi-disciplinary design firm. Primary responsibilities included production of various presentation materials for client meetings, internal design reviews, and new business proposals. Also involved with extensive precedent research, and material research and sourcing. Rebekah Sigfrids Design // design assistant Cincinnati, Ohio (March-Dec 2006) Six month internship for a small design office where I became an Integral member of a design team of three. I was involved with all project phases, from initial concept design and sketching, material and furniture selection, cad documentation, and final renderings for residential and commercial projects. ESA // design assistant Nashville, Tennessee (March 2005-December 2005) Internship for a large architecture firm specializing in health care and education design. My responsibilities included Photoshop renderings, cad documentation, and preparing presentation materials for client meetings and design reviews.
service
The Art Institute // Competition Judge (2011) Selected to be on a panel to critique and review over 150 student design submissions and select the top three finalists to receive awards. The Art Institute // Design Review Critique (2010-ongoing) Active guest critique to 3rd and 4th year interior design studios. Americorps Education Award (2009) Received a monetary education award for completing over 600 hours of volunteer labor with the National Park Service. Academic Community Training (2003) Completed over 200 hours of volunteer service with Strecker Cancer Center and Reno Elementary School’s kindergarten and second grade.
computer skills
Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, AutoCAD, AutoCAD 3D, Microsoft Office, FormZ, VectorWorks, SketchUp, Rhino 3D, Maxwell Render
manual skills
construction experience, hand and computer rendering, model building, space planning, retail merchandising, graphic layouts, trend sensing, various types of presentation building
do good Boulder, Colorado // Spring 2008 Do Good sells items that are handmade, local, charitable, and sustainable. This project includes significant market research, consumer and trend analyses, site analysis, programming, and design development. Without de-valuing the historic building site, this adaptive re-use project brings the addition of maneuverable and flexible interior components that the staff can manipulate and re-shape as products and ideas rotate, change, and evolve. Each element added to the space helps tell the story of the products and the people who made them. The owners and staff of Do Good are enabled to chance the store with new products and new seasons; the space can respond quickly and easily to the careful curation of the store’s products. Right + Following pages: N-S section facing West and a segment of the plan.
do good
do good
Owners quarters // Retail view Extruded aspen trees wrapped in yarn serve as a dividing line between public and private spaces within Do Good and a focal feature of the retail space. The bench seating is created by stacking and staggering various pieces of industrial felt - made from fashion industry waste.
do good
Classroom // Lofted Retail view The perforated wall panels are made of wheatboard, an economical and sustainable substitute for plywood or mdf. The holes allow for merchandising and fixturing as well create artistic embroidering opportunities for the staff. The walls can be “stitched� on for decorative and story-telling purposes.
do good
Model images The fixtures within Do Good are made of stacked hexagonal cardboard and masonite pieces that are linked together. The cardboard is easy to make, work with, write on, recycle, and replace with the cycling of products and users. Stacking hexagons allows for growth in two directions depending on the size or amount of product types.
diagrams
Diagrams used as a communication tools for do good. Each diagram conveys a different spatial issue in the project. Counterclockwise: Diagram to communicate different functions within the floorplan and the percentage of square footage allocations for each, Progression of spaces diagram, and a programmatic volume study.
trends During the initial stages of Do Good, I researched social trends found in consumption today. Left and above are examples of spreads in my final program that communicated this trend analysis. I highlighted social trends and then broke down each one into an clear synopsis and applied it to Do Good’s design philosophy. I looked at the following five trends - luxury : redefined, philanthropy, higher consciousness, sustainability and curated consumption. I then conducted case studies on brands that have used the understanding of each trend as a starting point for their success.
ceramic Portland, Oregon // Spring 2010 In pursuing a long-time interest, I took a ten week course in which I learned the basic techniques and ideas of wheelthrown ceramics. I used the course as a way to improve my understanding of craft and ability to create with my hands. It was a refreshing way to engage my creativity outside of interiors. Here are some of my favorite end results.
solar house
Cincinnati, Ohio // Summer 2007 In a design team of three, I designed, detailed and built the millwork for the University of Cincinnati’s solar decathlon house. We created a consistent module for providing storage throughout the house while concealing hvac, water tanks, and household appliances using mdf and 3form resin. This project entailed working within a ten-week time frame, relying solely on donated materials, and the overall construction of each piece.
haven Cincinnati, Ohio // Spring 2006 Below are furniture pieces I designed and detailed as part of the design of a coffee shop and used bookstore. The pieces create individual spaces for retreat within the shop, display featured books and themes, help blur the programmatic boundaries between bookstore and coffeeshop, as well as helping move people through the retail space by encouraging coffeeshop customers to find their own retreat space among the books for sale.
haven
The furniture pieces created for Haven are constructed simply of walnut wood veneer, plywood, stainless steel frames, and merimekko upholstery. Left: a detail drawing of the material connections.
s 14 c
Astoria, Oregon // Autumn 2009 While doing freelance work with Osmose design, I assisted on the design of s14c, a coffee shop in the Commodore Hotel in Astoria, Oregon. Above are images of finished space.
s 14 c Part of my role in the development of the coffee shop was to emulate the tone and silhouette of a desired cast metal chandelier using only found pieces. The first stage of this task was to scour local resale stores for scrap spun metal pieces. I then documented the pieces I found to have usable and interesting silhouettes, and played with their arrangement until I found a combination that imitate the original inspiration piece.
s 14 c
I was also responsible for designing and detailing the focal sign wall at the back of the shop. The client was interested in using street signs to adorn the wall, while we wanted to explore the signs’ shapes and the nuances of textures and tones. I explored some of my favorite european street sign silhouettes and played with their juxtaposition and relationship to one another. The final design became distressed wooden signs densely populating the dark grey wall. Leaving the wall tone-on-tone with textural variance.
w hotel
Seattle, Washington // Winter 2011 My primary role with Skylab Architecture has been on the renovation of the W Hotel in Seattle. I worked alongside principal Jeff Kovel and in collaboration with Andee Hess of Osmose design. I assisted in the initial conceptual design and precedent research and have seen the project all the way through schematic design and now into the beginning phases of design development. I have played an active part in all material and furniture selections and prepared all materials for client meetings.
warming hut
Winnipeg, Manitoba // Autumn 2010 In collaboration with a local architect, I developed a submission for Winnipeg’s yearly competition for warming huts along the frozen Red River, where locals ice skate all winter long. The hut opens to visitors in three directions, and gathers them into a central seating space, sheltered from the cold and wind, where fifteen feet of benches face each other, creating a very intimate and communal space. The space is a catalyst for conversation, intimacy and sense of community.
columbia blvd
Portland, Oregon // Autumn 2010-present While at Skylab, I’ve worked on a team of three designing the Columbia Blvd Water Treatment Plant in North Portland, Oregon. As a department of the Bureau of Environment Sciences, the client was very concerned about sustainability & quality around ff&e selections. I worked with principal Jeff Kovel to develop a furniture package that met those needs, along with a detailed workstation layout that can be customized to varying worker types within the same space.