giana castelli interior design
Contents
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About
Hospitality
Special • T
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25
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Save the Amazon
Healthcare
Tasker St. Mentor Center
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Liberty Audiology
Residential
Philadelphia Studio Loft
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about
Giana Castelli
I am a 3rd year Interior Design student with a huge interest in hospitality design, specifically restaurant and hotel design. I am a big believer of metaphysical & holistic methods in lifestyle and medicine and try to employ it into my designs. Senses and feelings are strongly taken into consideration of each and every design aspect. I choose products and designs that benefit the health and wellness of a space’s users. Sustainability, recycling, WELL Building Standards, and local materials and products are my top priority. I add a level of richness and personalization to designs through custom-built features and systems, individualized human behavior details, and color & material psychological decisions.
-Giana Castelli Philadelphia University ‘18
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hospitality
Hospitality Design
Special • T
Gourmet Tea & Coffee
Save The Amazon
Education & Orientation Center
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SPECIAL T
hospitality
Special T
Special T is a gourmet kitchenware, coffee, & tea store. I apply a concept of mimicking the free, flowing movements of rising coffee steam. It consists of three levels: an event space, a main shopping space, and a cookbook library. A unifying 3-Form lightblock element is the free-flowing architecture element between each level. It is a completely sustainable space using reclaimed woods, FSC certified woods, LEED certified furniture, green-guard fabrics and carpeting, low VOC paints, and original polished concrete flooring. All windows are operable to increase indoor air quality and decrease HVAC reliance. The store’s packaging is used in the form recycled and dyed paper bags with recycled floral tissue paper. Material, color, and fabric choices are inspired by Morocco, “the land of tea of coffee”.
The event space, found in the basement level, is a coffee and tea bar with a central lounge space. It also houses a custom mug-wall feature which consists of a peg board system that is completely interchangable based on branding or employee choices. An acoustic felt-flower wall is on the wall of the elevator, limiting the noise that travels through its shaft and corridor. It is the lowest level of the retail store thus making it the most chaotic part of the coffee steam, where everything is swirling and busy.
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special t
Felt Wall Detail
The custom acoustic felt-flower wall found in the basement is made with FitzFelt heather finish felts. It is located in the basement level, the most “chaotic” section of a coffee steam spiral. Located on on the wall of the elevator, it limits the noise that travels through the elevator’s shaft and adjacent corridor. Each felt flower detail protrudes at both 4 1/2” and 5”, so that the entire wall seems to be undulating. This also helps with acoustics, grabbing and absorbing more sound. 1’-0” felt flowers make up about 75% of the wall and disappate into a reclaimed wood detail. The split between felt and reclaimed wood represents the mixing of the store’s products: soft and bright tea leaves, and dark, rough coffee grinds.
The main entry level is where the cash wrap and most products are found. The cash wrap is seen from all angles of the space and can see up to the mezzanine level as well. Features include a “nook” for plate displays with a special lighting design and a carved wood ceiling, reminiscient of Moroccan design. A custom, rustic directory is found at all corners of the central open ‘hole’. Two main staircases follow the curve of the 3-form central walls that connect all three levels.
The mezzanine houses the international cookbook library. It is the highest level of the retail store thus making it the “disappating steam� where everything is calm and serene. The most acoustical materials are used on this level including carpet and plush fabric seating on the benches. Rapidly renewable bulrush reed insulation is used in the walls as well - to absorb sound and moisture.
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hospitality
Save The Amazon
As part of a three week long IDEC competition, I and two other group members designed a sustainable orientation and education center for the government organization Save The Amazon. The center is placed near Miami, preparing volunteers for the climate. Inspired by the tree canopies of the Amazon and the vast shapes their shadows create, we employed a concept of tree canopy mimicry. It is the canopy layer of the rain forest that holds the wealthiest and most diverse networks of the entire ecosystem. The rain forest canopy layer receives most of the sunlight. Mimicking the canopies and the shadows they create, we created a system of FSC certified wood acoustical ceiling panels that hang below a large array of skylights. Furniture, patterns, and textures chosen followed our canopy mimicry concept as well.
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hospitality
Save The Amazon
The design of the Orientation And Education Center draws from abstract representation of the forms created by these lush canopies and their complex systems. The geometric shapes placed at ceiling height, (11’-0”), embody the shape of a tree canopy. Lighting placed above these forms mimics the way light acts as it filters through leaves. The natural lighting effect of the tree canopy helps reduce stress and anxiety as well as to stimulate creativity and promote a comfortable and hands-on learning environment for volunteers. Under the canopy there are several modular gathering spaces, interactive walls, and numerous sensory experiences.
Human Behavior Features of the Center: • Smart walls to promote active learning • Oculus Rift virtual reality goggles and earphones to immerse volunteers in the Amazon environment and participate in test situations • Tablets for individual testing & walk-through experiences • Mobile glass boards on casters to promote small group learning • Smart board for overall group learning • Rainwater collection barrels to reuse grey water for plants and toilets • Low flush toilets to conserve water • Green walls to improve indoor air quality • Addition of geothermal cooling system • Operable windows to utilize natural breezes for improved indoor air quality • Plant identification station to teach volunteers both the dangerous & beneficial uses of Amazon indigenous plants • Solar shades on all windows to block heat • Natural sunlight decreases use of artificial lighting and electricity • Re-hydration stations to promote the reuse of water bottles and hydration • Daylight sensors
Sustainable features include: • Low VOC paints • Original concrete polished floors • Daytime sensory window treatments and lighting • Rainwater collection cisterns • Solar shades • Geothermal heating/cooling systems • On site garden center • “Plant Identification Station” green walls • Bamboo wood flooring • Clerestory windows & operable windows • A 100% recycled trash content accent wall
The flex space offers mobile lounge seating to promote individual learning, and a plant identification station for additional learning. This space is close enough and open enough to the main classroom to house all student volunteers to meet the 30 student quota.
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healthcare
Healthcare Design
Tasker St. Mentor Center Senior Child Mentor Center
Liberty Audiology Small Audiology Office
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healthcare
Tasker St. Mentor Center
The Tasker Street Mentor Center is a senior-youth mentor center in South Philadelphia that supports the local needs of the community. Teaming up with occupational therapy students, we designed a non-profit community center in a historic warehouse that serves both senior citizens (55+ years), and school-age pre-teens (5-12 years). The center is designed to promote and build senior/child relationships and bonding through the concept of progression. The spaces are organized by levels of intimacy and use of color. Focal walls of each space get darker as you move through the space, and the learning intimate spaces are located on the left. Using a scheme of oranges, blues, and grays to distinguish the progression of private to public, focal walls are painted in darker oranges as the circulation goes through the building. Four distinct orange paints were chosen for the horizontal focal walls of each space, while vertical walls were covered in light blue and light gray. Gray flooring and the use of blues cool down the warm orange tones. Natural maple wood is reflected in the ceiling panels and tables and paired with light orange and light blue fabrics.
A perspective from the main hallway, facing the main entrance, shows the communal great room to the left and the kitchen learning space on the right. The communal great room is the main learning and teaching space for staff, senior citizens, and young children. It has tiered custom seating for more relaxed learning, and tables for more traditional learning. Suspended acoustical panels control sound in the large space and cove lighting follows along the main ceiling curve.
Tiered Seating Elevation Detail
The great room’s tiered seating feature is a completely custom designbuild. It is constructed of 2x4 wood pieces and covered in a 1/4” wood face. 2” fabric seating cushions are uphosltered and removable on each tier. A fabric upholstered wall is placed for ergonomic comfort and increased leisure space. 4’-0” wide steps are on either side of the seating feature to ensure easy access for all users. Tiered Seating Section Detail
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healthcare
Liberty Audiology
Inspired by the ear canal and its layers of protection, I employed a concept of using an enveloping structure to encourage shelter and security in the space. Using this concept, I designed a small audiology office in a tenant space used mainly by young children, the elderly, and office staff. The space encourages a sense of security for elderly and young patients who may be nervous upon entering the space. The furniture and finishes are inspired by the audiology patients: the young and the old. A retro & midcentury design makes both age groups comfortable. The space’s calm colors of neutral browns, greens, and light golds allows for a warming and home-like vibe to further make patients feel comfortable and safe.
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healthcare
Concept Details
The ear canal is enveloped by layers of protection to protect the eardrum along with the rest of the inner ear. To mimick this protection, I created a wooden ribbed structure that suspends from the ceiling. I created this feature to encourage shelter and security in the space for patients. It will act as a protectant for patients psychologically, as the ear’s natural protection helps guard the ear from the outer world. 4” x 4” wooden fins are 8” apart from each other and span from the lobby and down the circulation path of the hallway. The right inner parts of the ribs are raised 6” up towards the ceiling in order to follow the right wall’s curved shape. When users walk down the hall, it will be even easier to navigate.
Taken from the office’s entry, a clear shot of the hallway is seen. Walls contrast each other - one is curvilinear while the other is linear. The enveloping “security” ceiling element is shown and follows along the hallway. A view of the reception desk and the administrative office is shown on the right, and the adult and children’s waiting room is shown on the left.
Separating the adult waiting room from the children’s waiting room is a frosted glass partition that does not fully reach the ceiling. Adults can remain in the main waiting room while watching their children through the screen. To distract children from their anxiousness, the children’s waiting room is full of hands on activities as well as a section to hang up their artwork. A fun retro wallcovering makes up its left wall to draw children’s attention to the area. The area further promotes my concept of encouraging security and distracting from the tension of a doctor’s office.
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residential
Residential Design
Philadelphia Studio Loft Small Studio Loft
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residential
Philadelphia Studio Loft
I was given a 600-700 square feet rectangle as a canvas to create a small studio loft in any city of my choosing. I chose to create an open plan in an eclectic and slightly rustic style. I chose to use features that look original to the space - wooden ceiling beams, white wash wide-plank floors, re-upholstered antique chairs, and traditional-shaped furniture. I chose to use a site in Old City, Philadelphia in order to make sense of using “original� wood features and antiques in the space.
A view from the front door towards the windows showcase the space’s open plan and minimal dividers.