Cora Embree
Interior Design Portfolio 2024
hello!
From a young age I have been fascinated with finding beauty in every day life, and now enjoy exploring this through design. I am passionate about orchestrating interior experiences that are both practical and elegant, and particularly enjoy telling stories through historic preservation and hospitality environments. This portfolio showcases academic work completed during my education at Virginia Tech, prior to my 2023 graduation. As I enjoy learning about the design industry, I am excited to study for the NCIDQ exams and am interested in pursuing WELL or Fitwell. When I am not designing I can usually be found exploring with my camera or testing new baking recipes, always searching for beauty in the ordinary.
cora.embree@gmail.com
/coraembree
832-964-5470
Table of Contents
01 Savor
02 NEXT
03 Plateau
04 K’e
05 Kernel
06 Other Works
Restaurant
Workplace
Art Gallery
Live - Work
Meeting Pod
Photography & Watercolors
01. Savor Senior Year Spring 2023 | 16 Weeks | 11, 173 SF | New Orleans, LA Awarded 1st Place in ASID + IIDA Virginia’s Student IDEAs Awards Thesis Project | Restaurant + Culinary School
Located on the doorstep to the French Quarter, this restaurant fosters the growth of communities and individuals by offering a space to savor the moment. Inspired by the front porch culture of New Orleans, the restaurant bridges the gap between public and private settings. The slow living lifestyle of the Big Easy encourages rest and socialization, inviting visitors and locals alike to slow down and enjoy the company and food. Culinary education will allow students to savor their culture by learning how to share recipes with others. Emulating the experience of the front porches found throughout New Orleans, this space will offer a warm welcome, farewell, and in between. The space is divided by the existing patio on the second level. This patio indicates the original separation between the house and outhouses, where an outdoor courtyard would have provided an inbetween space. This division creates a transition, similar to a front porch, between the dining room and kitchens.
Parti Diagram
Inspiration Images
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Reception Perspective Reception Perspective
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Level 1 Floor Plan NTS
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Level 2 Floor Plan NTS
01. Reception 02. Dining Room 03. Bar 04. Private Dining Room 05. Kitchen 6
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06. Teaching Kitchen 07. Dishwashing Station 08. Cold Storage 09. Walk in Freezer 10. Dry Storage
11. Office 12. Restrooms 13. Waiter’s Station 14. Outdoor Dining
Exterior Views
Branding
ST. PHILLIP STREET
TREMÉ
ENTRANCE
N RAMPART STREET
FRENCH QUARTER SITE
FOOD DELIVERY N Site Diagram - 1000 N Rampart Street, New Orleans
Color Scheme
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NE Section NTS
Level 1 Dining + Bar Perspective
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Level 2 Dining Perspective
Level 2 Dining Axon
Level 2 Private Dining
Level 1 Dining Axon
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Outdoor Dining Axon Balcony Perspective
Outdoor Dining Perspective
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Marble
Bennison Fabrics Upholstery
Cane Webbing
Bolia Upholstery
Brass
Existing Hardwood Floors
Walnut Finishes
Carnegie Velvet Upholstery
Existing Brick
Larkspur Vines Wallcovering
Terrazzo
Marble Checkered Tiles
Level 2 Teaching Kitchen Perspective
L1 Teaching Kitchen Axon
Kitchen Axon
Level 1 Teaching Kitchen Perspective
L2 Teaching Kitchen Axon
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02. NEXT Senior Year 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 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.
Parti Diagram
Inspiration Images
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Reception Perspective
NEXT reinforces company values through branding, reminding employees and customers of the connections their products enable.
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.
A central node symbolizes individuals connecting and spreading out from a common point.
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Floor Plan NTS 01. Reception 02. Work Cafe 03. Mother’s Room 04. Wellness Room 14
05. Resource Room 06. Meeting Room 07. Inclusive Design Lab 08. Retail Mockup
09. Storage 10. Home Office Lab 11. Phone Room 12. Team Space
13. Benching 1 14. Benching 2 15. Project Room 16. Private Office
Meeting Room Perspective
Work Cafe Perspective
Color Scheme
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Designtex Madera Wallcovering in Desert
Mannington Spaciastone LVT in Gibson
Custom Scalloped Millwork
Steelcase Matte Brass Powdercoat
Steelcase Acacia Veneer
Designtex Wannabe Rib in Slate
Armstrong Flooring Palazzo in Nero
Shaw Contract In Common Carpet in Include
Designtex Speckle Boucle
Steelcase Black Stained Oak
Northeast Elevation NTS
Team Space Perspective
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Home Office Lab Perspective
Benching Perspective
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03. Plateau Senior Year 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
Gallery Section NTS
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Reception Perspective Gallery Perspective
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Level 1 Floor Plan NTS
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06 Level 2 Floor Plan NTS
Floor Plan NTS
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Level 3 Floor Plan NTS
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01. Reception 02. Gallery 03. Office 04. Art Storage 05. Lecture Space 06. Event Kitchen 07. Lecture Storage 08. Restroom 09. Living Room 10. Dining 11. Kitchen 12. 3/4 Bath 13. Guest Room/Office 14. Main Bedroom 15. Main Bathroom 16. Outdoor Space
Movable Wall Axons
Gallery Perspective
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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
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Lecture Space Perspective
Deckton Stone
Bendheim Fluted EcoGlass
Marble Countertops
Sherwin Williams Zero VOC Paint in Pure White
Light Oak Wood
Black Stained Polished Concrete
Unika Vaev Acoustic Felt Baffles in Isle
Mannington Amtico - Wood in Fumed Oak
Color Scheme
Third Floor Apartment Perspective
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04. K’e - IDEC Competition Junior Year 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
Parti Diagram
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• • • •
Mixed-use environment Cleaned brownfield Transportation Sustainable
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Accessible Infill site Shops Parks
Showroom Perspective
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Floor Plan NTS
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01. Maker’s Space 02. Showroom 03. Cash Wrap
04. Office 05. Flex Space 06. Living Room
07. Dining Room 08. Kitchen 09. Primary Bedroom
10. Primary Bathroom 11. Guest Bedroom 12. Guest Bathroom
Spatial Diagrams
Quartz Countertops
Public
Crackled Ceramic Wall Tile by Tile Bar
Brass
Flex
Makoto Hexagon Umi Terracotta Tile
Private
Intersections Wallpaper by Tempaper
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 illustrates 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.
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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.
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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.
North Section - NTS
West Section - NTS
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.
Maker’s Space Perspective
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05. Kernel Hybrid Meeting Pod Junior Year 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 each 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
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Designtex Mark in Honeycomb
Designtex Felt in Sunny Yellow
Designtex Felt in Mouse
Designtex 3M Wood Grain in WG-1141
Pod Perspective
Single Pod Perspective
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Possible Configurations 32
Hard shell reflects outer sounds
Structure covered in acoustic felt
Soft core absorbs interior sounds
Movable Seat
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. 33
Interior Perspective
Alternative Interior Perspective
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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.
Interior Options
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06. Additional Works 2018 - 2023 Photography Architectural photography taken from 2018 - 2023 on DSLR and iPhone cameras with edits completed in Photoshop.
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Watercolors Assignments completed during Spring semester 2022 during my Junior year at Virginia Tech. 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
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24” x 36” Watercolor Monochromatic Study
24” x 36” Watercolor Analytique
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Thank you. cora.embree@gmail.com
/coraembree
Cora Embree
832-964-5470