Dinétah Live/Work

IDEC Design with Hoa Vo & Tran Nguyen Submitted as a Class Representative

The 2021 IDEC student design competition prompted design teams to utilize two shipping containers to create a live/work unit for a Navajo textile artist and her partner. The client needed maker space, a retail storefront, and private living space all in one. The core driver to her business was to invite the local community into learning more about her craft, culture, and story.

Navigating limited square footage, the layout design was the primary challenge. While ideating through the possibilities for this unit, we found that the core component of the artist’s needs was flexibility with the dining and entertainment space in congruence with both their private life and hosting retail events with the community to promote their business. To blur the lines between public engagement and private residential space, we made the dining area the flex space, opening up possibilities of how the retail space could function. We felt it was also critical to provide the client with a sense of peace as they move from work space to sleep, and organized the structure so that the bedrooms are separated by outdoor space and a private entrance.