Cora Embree - Virginia Tech Interior Design Portfolio 2023

Cora Embree

Virginia Tech Interior Design Portfolio 2023

I am a senior studying Interior Design at Virginia Tech. From a young age I have been fascinated with finding beauty in every day life and now enjoy exploring this through design.

When I am not in studio I can usually be found exploring with my camera or testing new baking recipes, always searching for beauty in the ordinary.

Fall 2022 | 7 Weeks | 10, 100 SF | Boston, MA Steelcase Competition | Robotics Company Office

NEXT is a home robotics company, developing innovative solutions to establish a system that will improve people’s lives by forming a network of communities.

The NEXT office is situated in Boston, placing the company in the midst of an innovative district with an abundance of opportunities for growth and connections. Boston has grown to be well practiced in facilitating a network between people, enabling the sharing of ideas.

The city pioneered the idea of a subway forming connections within America, enabling innovation, movement, and collaboration. The subway system, known to locals as “The T”, brings different people together and enables the sharing of ideas. The lines connect many stations and bridges the gap between the home and office, enabling revolutionary ideas to break out from a centralized location.

Inspired by the networking nature of The T, the NEXT office implements it’s own network through circulation, allowing employees to experience new ideas at each station and spread them through the office. Curvilinear forms are incorporated throughout the space, echoing the curves of the rail lines and smooth edges of the subway cars. Overall the space is neutral with accents of green, red, blue, and orange. These colors are used for zoning to differentiate separate sections, similar to how The T has Green, Red, Blue, and Orange Lines.

NEXT reinforces company values through branding, reminding employees and customers of the connections their products enable.

A central node symbolizes individuals connecting and spreading out from a common point.

Lines radiating out from the point illustrate the six core values NEXT is centered on: Humanity Centered, Purpose Driven, Foster Connections, Act with Integrity & Excellence, Be Authentic & Be You, Think Big and be the Next.

Meeting Room Perspective

Designtex Madera Wallcovering in Desert

Mannington Spaciastone LVT in Gibson

Armstrong Flooring Palazzo in Nero

Custom Scalloped Millwork

Designtex Wannabe Rib in Slate Shaw Contract In Common Carpet in Include

Steelcase Matte Brass Powdercoat

Steelcase Acacia Veneer

Steelcase Black Stained Oak

Designtex Speckle Boucle

Team Space

Northeast Elevation NTS

Fall 2022 | 6 Weeks | 4,200 SF | Rust Belt of New York Art Gallery and Private Residence

Plateau is an art gallery located in the Rust Belt of New York that provides an in-between space, much like a plateau, between a low and high point. The space offers an opportunity for the Rust Belt community to interact with art in a variety of mediums, gaining inspiration and hope.

The space is influenced by the Allegheny Plateau that the Rust Belt resides on, featuring linear elements echoing sedimentary rock, circulation mimicking the form of the plateau, and transition throughout the user experience.

The sequence of experiences provides a compelling space through the application of movement, organization, and transitions. These elements can be composed to draw visitors in by catching their attention and maintaining their interest.

Parti Diagram

Movable Wall Axons

Lecture and Catering Kitchen Elevation NTS

Community Space

The second floor provides an area for guest speakers to present or for hosting events. Ribbed glass partitions between the catering kitchen and lecture seating can be moved along tracks, connecting the seating area and kitchen to accommodate different types of events.

Movable Partition Axons

Deckton Stone Bendheim Fluted EcoGlass

Light Oak Wood

Unika Vaev Acoustic Felt Baffles in Isle

Black Stained Polished Concrete

Color Scheme

Mannington Amtico - Wood in Fumed Oak

Sherwin Williams Zero VOC Paint in Pure White

Marble Countertops

03. K’e - IDEC Competition

Fall 2021 | 3 Weeks | 1,050 SF | Aurora, CO

Awarded 2nd Place in IDEC National Student Design Competition Team project with Abigail Showalter, Erin Regan, and Kelly Galway

K’e is a living, work, and gallery space constructed from 3 shipping containers for a Navajo textile artist and her photographer husband. The showroom serves as a public storefront for the textile business as well as a maker space, providing storage and displays. An office and flex space connect the showroom with the private residence which promotes indoor/outdoor living.

The Navajo word K’e refers to affective action and solidarity, encompassing connections and relationships. The concept of K’e is incorporated into the space through demonstrating connections, intimacy, and incorporating elements of the Navajo culture.

Exterior Perspective

The Site 10455 E Colfax Ave Aurora, Co

• Mixed-use environment

• Cleaned brownfield

• Transportation

• Sustainable

• Accessible

• Infill site

• Shops

• Parks

Color Scheme

The color scheme is drawn from four cultural Navajo colors based on the cardinal directions and the desert landscape. Black represents Northern nights, white displays dawn in the East, blue alludes to the day in the South, and yellow illustrated Western dusk. Secondary colors were drawn from elements important to the client and their culture. The directional colors were used in the residence, while the retail space encompasses all of the colors to create a cohesive space.

Brass Crackled Ceramic Wall Tile by Tile Bar

Quartz Countertops

Makoto Hexagon Umi Terracotta Tile

Intersections Wallpaper by Tempaper

Public Flex Private Spatial Diagrams

Dining Perspective - Day

Dining Perspective - Night

Indoor - Outdoor Living

Connection with nature is an integral part of Navajo culture. Folding glass doors form a fluid threshold between the interior and exterior living spaces, allowing for larger gatherings, air flow, and natural light.

Flex Space

The flex space provides a functional transition between private and public spaces. It can be used as a photography room for retail use or a movie room for residential use. French doors allow privacy when closed and a larger living area when open.

My role in this project included preliminary research, concept and color scheme development, composing and modeling the floor plan, showroom design iterations, rendering the Maker’s Space Perspective, edits on the Dining Perspectives, and arranging the presentation.

North Section - NTS

West Section - NTS

04. The New Frontier

Spring 2022 | 7 Weeks | 10,100 SF | Roanoke, VA Carilion Clinic Collaboration | Medical Simulation Lab

The New Frontier is a Medical Simulation Design Lab, serving as a collaborative space that is flexible, functional, and comfortable while envoking a sense of curiosity and exploration. This space navigates the new frontier of medicine by seeking answers for the future of healthcare.

The Simulation Lab gains inspiration through curiosity and exploration. Contrast of light and shadow can encourage this, as well as circulation that wanders throughout the space, providing new perspectives with each curve. Curiosity can be explored by allowing flexibility through the use of fluid transitions and permeations.

Parti Diagram

Corridor Perspective

Color Scheme

Arktura Backlit

Acoustic Felt Clouds

Designtex Acoustic Felt

Ash Veneer

Terrazzo

Interface Grooved Carpet in Cornerstone

Armstrong Colorn Sheet Flooring in Ancharite

Testing Area Axon

The testing space and benching serve as the core of the Simulation Lab. The tables in the testing space can be moved or folded for storage if more open space is desired, and mobile whiteboards can be moved as needed. A curved partition divides these spaces to accommodate visual and acoustic separation, while individual pods align with desks. Acoustic clouds are suspended, providing lighting and sound control. Demo spaces, offices, classroom, and debrief rooms break off of this collaborative zone, allowing easy transitions between activities.

05. Kernel Hybrid Meeting Pod

Spring

2022

| 5 Weeks + 10 Weeks of Revisions

Awarded 1st Place in Steelcase Sponsored Studio Competition

Team project with Anna Johnson and Kelly Galway

Revisions completed with Anna Johnson, Kelly Galway, and Ronishka Sabu Nalpathil

As hybrid collaboration becomes more common, spaces that facilitate this mode of collaboration are increasingly important. Kernel proposes a solution in the form of a semi-enclosed hybrid collaboration pod, addressing acoustic and visual concerns. Inspired by a popcorn kernel, the hard shell reflects sound, while the soft interior absorbs sound. The pods can be reconfigured according to the needs of a meeting, and the components of each pod can also be altered to fit specific needs.

* Originally completed in a Steelcase sponsored studio competition, our team was hired to continue working on Kernel for 10 weeks of revisions.

Axon of Possible Configuration

Designtex Mod in Daisy

Designtex Mark in Honeycomb

Designtex Felt in Sunny Yellow

Designtex Felt in Mouse

Designtex 3M Wood Grain in WG-1141

Possible Configurations

Soft core absorbs interior sounds

Structure covered in acoustic felt

Hard shell reflects outer sounds

Components

Kernel is constructed of four main components, inspired by a popcorn kernel. The hard exterior shell reflects sound from outside of the pod, blocking unnecessary sounds. The soft interior core, composed of felt ribbing, absorbs sounds within the pod. This minimizes the impact the inside noise has on the rest of the space.

Movable Seat

Interior Perspective

Alternative Interior Perspective

Interior Options

Exterior Options

Flexibility

Components can be customized to the needs of the user

Exterior options provide pin up and whiteboard surfaces

Interior options include seating, whiteboards, storage, and screens

My role in this project included acoustic and ergonomic research, concept development, iterative physical modeling, and modeling the structure in Revit.

06. Additional Works

2018 - 2022 Photography

Architectural photography taken from 2018 - 2022 on DSLR and iPhone cameras with edits completed in Photoshop.

Watercolors Assignments completed in a professional elective during Spring semester 2022. The course consisted of three main paintings focused on technique and composition, beginning with a monochromatic study and concluding with an analytique.

12” x 18” Watercolor Matrix 24” x 36” Watercolor Monochromatic Study