Finkelstein, Devyn

I strive to surround myself with caring and passionate people to create a healthy and fulfilling environment around me. To me it is important to put myself in a position in which I can thrive among my peers. In order to keep an open conversation and keep ideas flowing you must stay openminded. It is so important to be able to exchange ideas with peers and receive input. What I have achieved with consistent, trustworthy, input from peers along with faculty has proven to amaze me in what I can accomplish. It is also amazing giving input to your peers and seeing them put your comments to use. I love to see what can truly happen when receiving and giving help. It is important to always make sure that as I present, I can be proud of my work, and this comes with being brave. You must be able to speak about your work proudly which requires strength and confidence.

Do you have any plans after this semester?

After this semester I will be going home to Houston Texas over christmas break. I plan to take the break to spend quality time with my friends and family as well as to update my portfolio and resume and begin the application process for summer internships.

What type of designer would you like to be?

I am interested in Hospitality design and would love to go into hotel and home design. I feel as though there is something so special about helping create a space that makes clients feel safe and happy. However I did really enjoy creating the office space so I am open to many different opportunities.

Can you tell me about any problems you ran into in the studio or outside?

I felt it was hard to balance my school work with my personal life and keep one from overtaking the other.

What kind of place would you like to design next?

I think it would be really cool to design a hotel. That’s where a lot of my interest lies and I feel it would be a fun project for everyone.

What do you think makes a good workplace?

A workplace is made by the atmosphere, everything from the paint and lighting down to the flooring materials, it is all important. To make a good workplace you must create a space that inspires.

Can you tell me what evidence-based design means to you?

To me, evidence-based design means that you must gather evidence about previously existing elements of a building or site and use it to design the space you are given.

Compared to previous semesters, the semester may be challenging in many ways, but you may be able to see your accomplishments. Reviewing your accomplishments, what did you learn from this studio?

I think this semester taught me a lot about what I am capable of. Managing all of my other classwork on top of this studio was tough but I am proud of how far I’ve come. Along with this I think I have elevated my skills within the softwares and learned more about problem solving on my own.

Would you like to share anything with future students of this studio?

For future students I would say that this is a hard semester but don’t psych yourself out. This semester really helps to shape you as a designer but make sure that you don’t loose yourself in your work.

Crystalline A Matter Of Order

When you first look up the word “crystalline” the words “a matter of order” come up. “Crystalline means having a regular and repeating arrangement of atoms, molecules, or ions in a solid”. I feel as though this could be a good representation in the workspace in terms of order and arrangement. Atoms, molecules, and ions all differ in size and shape but can come together in the end to create something strong and beautiful. Any color and any size, this concept is composed of beautiful, bright, shining spaces, that will come together to create something clear and structured while simultaneously making something so beautiful and complex. I think this concept applies to my project because I want there to be clear structure with different sizes and shapes of space, but I also want it to be somewhere that employees and clients look forward to going into and expecting to see something so cool and appealing.

Wildcard Space: I chose to add a gym into my project for my wildcard space as I thought this would be a good way to bring employees into the office for work. Working out increases productivity, boosts endorphins, and heightens motivation. Working out and being active has proven to improve employees performances at work.