Nicole Kules Interior Design Portfolio
WORK
IA OFFICE SPACE EXIT TO THE UFFIZI GALLERY ONCOLOGY CENTER THE CHAIR RESIDENTIAL LOFT SENIOR THESIS
1. IA OFFICE SPACE
Choose a design firm and design a new office space located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Develop a comprehensive understanding of the issues related to workplace design in today’s business environment by producing a workplace suitable for the design firm after researching their culture, needs, and wants.
Front Desk Sketches
Concept: Evolving the mobile workplace by providing intersection zones, escape zones, and work zones to allow for creativity, collaboration, and production. IA’s current office spaces are very open and reflect their free-form culture. I wanted to reflect this in my design, so the only spaces enclosed are the conference rooms and private offices. Intersection zones along the main hallway allow for collaboration and stimulation among the employees. Many different work environments are offered so employees are encouraged to get up and move around, but every employee is provided with a home base. The lighting over the hallway creates an intimate, gathering space. The trapezoid shape of the lights is a reinterpretation of the intersection zones.
2. EXIT TO THE UFFIZI GALLERY
Design an exit and piazza to the famous Uffizi museum in Florence, Italy that adds new life to the existing space and piazza but also blends in with the rest of Florence’s historic architecture.
The Uffizi Gallery currently does not have an efficient exit for the large numbers of visitors it receives every day. The exit to the museum creates an environment that makes visitors feel crammed and disoriented. The museum’s exit should guide visitors out while allowing them a chance to reflect upon what they just experienced. The main component of this design is the canopy structure. The canopy slopes downward gradually as the exit stairs and ramps meet street level. The varying levels of the ground match up exactly with the level changes of the canopy.
First Floor Plan
Second Floor Plan
3. ONCOLOGY CENTER
Design a health center for a specfic cause. Requirements include branding, graphic design, architecture, and interior design for this interdisciplinary studio. This project is based heavily on the client, and branding the space for them.
First Floor Plan
A4 2
1
?
?
O W
B OM W
DN
B M WO
?
B WOM
?
?
Site Plan
Second Floor Plan 1 A4
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
MB
Exterior
Community is a youth oncology center that is very technology based and forward-thinking. The motto is ‘kids go here to get better, not because they are sick’. The center includes private rooms for patients to live. The lobby is surrounded by glass panels that extend upwards to support a lounge space for patients who live at the center.
Community Logo and Exterior Signage
4. THE CHAIR
Design, detail, and build a chair at full scale. Experiment with form to create multiple iterations that will be a basis for the full scale final chair. My final chair is constructed using only plywood. Complex joints and notches proved a challenge for my design, especially the miter joint for the angle of the arms of the chair. A floral pattern is applied on every surface of the chair to lighten the wide chair and a half shape.
Final Chair
Process
Process Models
5. RESIDENTIAL LOFT
Design a residential loft for a unique client including their living space and also a space to operate their business, charity or hobbies. This project branches outside of residential design by adding a second design component.
2
1
4 First Floor Plan 1. Entry 4. Kitchen 2. Office 5. Dining 3. Studio 6. Living
2 1
3 5
3
5 6
4
6
Second Floor Plan 1. Master Bedroom 4. Child Bedroom 2. Master Closet 5. Child Bath 3. Master Bath 6. Open to Below
The family I created has a youth artists’ studio in their home. The parents run the artists’ studio, while in addition the mother is a professional baker. The large studio in the entry is where the father spends most of his time, while the mother has her large kitchen with industrial size appliances.
6. SENIOR THESIS Determine a topic based on a specific interest and passion. Design a minimum 30,000 sq. ft. building dedicated to this topic. Overall project must be branded, with interior design and architectural components being the main focus.
CONCEPT: The relationship between humans and animals - The transformation of dogs overcoming negative situations in order to live a normal life by aiding the community as a service dog, animal therapy dog, or pet. PROBLEM: Whether from abandonment, neglect, or animal testing, dogs are residing in crammed kennels where they may be euthanized. The community is not connecting with the animals in the shelters. SOLUTION: To create a center for abused dogs to allow them to recuperate and be trained as service dogs, animal therapy dogs, or to be adopted into a good home.
Why Houston? Texas has some of the most lenient animal abuse laws in the country. Also, cities in Texas are divided because of income inequality. This type of environment creates the perfect spot for an animal center with a large community aspect. A main goal of the center is to bring diverse groups of people together for the good of the community and the animals.
Elevation A
Elevation B
UP
UP UP
UP
-
First Floor Plan
DN
Section A
Second Floor Plan Section B
UP UP
Section C
The retail space is a main part of the Top Dog center. The experience of adopting a new pet will include everything at Top Dog, so a store is essential. The hanging boards in the rendering to the right allow for workers and visitors to display information. These boards also create a divide between the rest of the space without placing a wall here. The rendering below shows the adoption zone desk and the stair going up to the second level. Chrome cutouts in the wall frame the ‘Top Dog!’ sign.
Nicole Kules 440-309-3453 kulesnc@miamioh.edu 107 Shakespeare Lane Avon, OH 44011