Portfolio // 2023

A collection of selected works.

PORTFOLIO

Master of Interior Architecture + Product Design // Class of 2023

College of Architecture, Planning, + Design // Kansas State University

Madisson Westcott

Hello,

I’ve always felt a strong appreciation of space. The power of being the director, the attachment that grows through personalization, the community it can bring, and the bonds it can strengthen. Since my freshman year, I have been been exposed to a vast amount of pieces and spaces. Throughout this time my appreciation for design has only grown as my grasp on the concept has deepened.

Everything is designed. Design plays a vital role in not only my life but the society we live in. Going deeper than just appearance, having the ability to encapsulate essence and showcase innerworkings. It presents an opportunity to create solutions and shape others lived experience.

During the design process I seek to find balance, show expression through attention to detail, and place the pieces of the puzzle in the way that fits the most human need. The spaces around us should be designed to be lived in.

Here are my selected works from my five years spent at Kansas State University.

KENNEY FORD HALL

SEMESTER: Fall 2022

LOCATION: Manhattan, Kansas

SIZE: ~ 125,000 sqft.

PROJECT GOALS: Enduring less than ideal living conditions is a stereotype that comes along with the college experience. With higher enrollment rates and the cost of living rising, the standard Residence Hall model needs to be updated. Students deserve to coexist in spaces that are built to foster youthful bodies and emergent minds rather than one size fits all, temporary containers. Through vast research, site visits, a resident survey, and a community coordinator interview, we were able to implement knowledgeable spatial zoning, furniture specifications, and materiality choices. This semester long project was designed by a team consisting of Payton Stalcup, Emily Marion, Robin Bowman, and myself for our graduate Capstone studio.

Interior View - Level 2 + 3 Community Hub

SAFETY WELLNESS INCLUSION COMMUNITY

Diagram - Bubble Map

Diagram - Principles Applied

Ground Floor Level 1

Levels 2-9

KEY

All Female Floor (39 occupants)

Co-Ed Floor (39 occupants)

All Male Floor (39 occupants)

Co-Ed Floor (59 occupants)

Proposed renovation calls for transition from all female residents to a co-ed residence hall.

Floors 2-9

Floor 1

Ground Floor

Diagram - Floor Breakdown

Diagram - Zoning

1. Community Hubs

1. Coffee Bar

1. Lobby

2. Rec Room

3. Community Coordinator Apt.

4. Public/Private Study Spaces

5. Makerspace

6. Music Room

7. Sick Ward

Plan - Level 3, 5, 7, 9

1. Main Stairs

2. Elevators

3. Laundry Room

4. Community Hub

1. Main Stairs

2. Elevators

3. Community Hub

4. Resistant Assistant (RA) Room

5. 2 person suite 6. 4 person suite

Major moves include leveling the site to allow for equal opportunity entry, adding a mezzanine to create a double height entry space, and turning the existing floor lobbies into double height ‘community hubs’.

Exterior View - Front Entry

Diagram - Proposed Ground and Entry Level

Interior View - Ground Floor Lobby

Interior View

Interior View - Resident Suite

Interior View - Level 2 Community Hub Laundry

Interior View - Ground Floor Makerspace

Interior View - Ground Floor Recreation

BECOME CYCLE CLUB

SEMESTER: Spring 2021

LOCATION: Birmingham, AL (Due to them having the least desirable outdoor cycle conditions, according to Wired’s ranked list of bike friendly states.)

PROJECT GOALS: Design a single level retail project and place the site in a major city. Required to include two uses, a retail space and an experiential activity that relates. Rejuvenation is the the action or process of giving new energy or vigor to something and served as the concept of this design. The space should still offer the familiarity of your typical fitness boutique in the way that it is modern, clean, and sleek but should offer a new vigor through combining modularity and repetition of organic forms. The user should feel a sense of rejuvenation while in the space through the use of fresh colors and materials, circulation designed with ease in mind, and an overall high energy atmosphere.

Interior View - Front of House

Interior View - Approaching Corridor

Interior View - Approaching Terminus

Elevation - North Facade

Exterior View

Exterior View

ARCHITECTURAL FIRM

SEMESTER: Summer 2021

LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA

PROJECT GOALS: For this project, we were asked to design an office for an architectural firm based out of Los Angeles. The firm has seven different disciplined studios and the space is required to have a second, mezzanine level. Restrooms, catering, stairs and elevator placement are all predetermined. The goal of this project is that the circulation of the office will flow naturally and feel as if you’re walking through a neighborhood. Different types of collaboration zones will offer a variety of preferred postures and set up opportunities. Spaces within the office will be inspired by places in a city where community comes together to help spark collaboration such as the park, cafe, library, or a bus stop.

Plan - Level 1

Plan - Mezzanine

Conceptually, I looked at City Structure and Community Collaboration typologies while being inspired by the eclectism of LA. Kevin Lynch’s Images of the City served as a guide in creating a plan based on paths, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks

Concept Diagram - City Structure

Interior View - Front Desk

Section B - B

Section A - A

Interior View - Stair

Interior View - Overlooking Cafe

STEAM COFFEE CO.

SEMESTER: Fall 2020

LOCATION: Blue Earth Plaza, Manhattan, KS

PROJECT GOALS: Within the given rectangular shell, design a coffee shop that includes a mezzanine space. It was also asked that we create a client to assist in defining the spatial experience. The client, an avid traveler and coffee connoisseur, was inspired by Brazillian coffee transportation and the railroad system after a vacation in Brazil. The structures in place are inspired by forms extraced from railroads, shown through frameworking and masses. The space is to read as industrial while being complimented by modern detailings and furnishings. Though most of the materials are heavy, the atmosphere is light and brisk to ellude to the sensation of riding on the trains amongst the rails.

Interior View - Front of House

Plan - Level 1

Plan - Mezzanine

Diagram - Custom Components

Interior View - Mezzanine

THE ‘NITA CHAIR

SEMESTER: Fall 2022

DIMENSIONS: 31”H X 19”W X 25”L

PROJECT GOALS: Design and fabricate a chair. The ‘Nita chair is a side chair that was designed to pay homage to the ancient practice of weaving. The process consists of intertwining warp and weft, vertically and horizontally. The design plays with the idea of warp and weft at a larger scale, with the wooden elements being the warp, and the woven sections the weft. It should appear as if the wooden elements are weaving through the woven sections. By creating an expressive, unique pattern of weave in combination with the wooden materiality, the outcome becomes a modernized interpretation of vintage handicraft furniture. This combination will help to achieve a cherished, emotionally durable piece. Inspired by my grandmother, Juanita, who never misses a chance to show her love through knitting.

Exploded Axon

Prototype (left) and Final Frame (right)

WRAP COFFEE TABLE

SEMESTER: Spring 2021

DIMENSIONS: 17”H X 21”W X 36”L

PROJECT GOALS: Design and fabricate a hardwood coffee table. I was inspired by research on Scandinavian Modern furniture designer Kaare Klint, who summarized the language of the design movement as “sleek pieces that were also functional and offered proper storage”. To remain sleek and also involve a storage component, without the use of drawers, I decided to create a void by having two parallel table surfaces and waterfalling the sides. To keep things simple and streamline, the legs continue the wrapping motion by encasing the void box. The table should read as elegant, modern, and functional while staying true to the core values of Scandinavian Modern Design.

Perspective

Final - Front View

Final - Top View

MADISSON WESTCOTT

Interior Architecture & Product Design

CONTACT

913-777-1421

maddywestcott@gmail.com

linkedin.com/in/maddywestcott

PERSONALITY TYPE

EDUCATION

High School

Shawnee Mission South

Overland Park, Kansas

2015 - 2018

Master In Interior Architecture & Product Design

Kansas State University

Manhattan, Kansas

2018 - 2023

Peer Educator program, Women in Design club, Merchandise design

Education Abroad

Kansas State University Italian Studies Program

Orvieto, Italy

January 2022 - May 2022

Nursery Attendant

Prairie Life Fitness & Genesis Healthclubs

Overland Park, Kansas & Manhattan, Kansas

2016 - 2022

Supervising children while their parents worked out. This role led to creating many meaningful connections, insights on customer service, training new employees, and learning how to create schedules.

Yearbook Editor, Quill and Scroll, Animal Rights club, Varsity Cheer (JV Captain 2015)