Shannan Cooksey - Portfolio by Shannan Cooksey

DESIGN PORTFOLIO Shannan Cooksey

Table oF Contents

Thesis Project Residential Hospitality Retail Object

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EDUCATION DESIGN

MAKING PLACE

Final Year Honours Project 2014 - RMIT I began my thesis project with a question; How does Interior Design contribute to and develop a sense of ‘Place’ and support well-being? The ideas of placemaking & well-being came from my own passion for human-centred design, and my belief that good design can transform every day life & interaction. The site I chose for my project was a high school in my local area, I chose the educational sector as I believe this is a place where well-being is a key design consideration & I had assessed this site, a portable wasteland, as lacking any sense of place. The terms ’sense of place’ was at the core of all my design decisions, it reflects the idea that well designed & considered space becomes a ‘place’ through its ability to foster a sense of authentic human attachment and belonging. That a place has an identity & in this case to has an identity that supports and encourages positive well-being. The key design ideas that I developed through my research were related to Variation, Character, Atmosphere, Human Scale, & Visual Complexity. I used these strategies to re-design the portable building that made up this school environment, and create spaces that were engaging, responsive and had a feeling of place. Starting from the perspective of a student I strove to create buildings that offered opportunities for social interaction and for occupation, to the students & teachers that used these spaces. To create customised learning spaces that reflect the type of learning in a specific and bespoke way. To create active hubs of activity, engagement and a school environment that in its essence was a Place.

Existing Site - 20 Portables have sat on this site ‘temporarily’ for 10 years after a large portion of the school burnt down.

Strategies for Place To begin the design process I took all my research around Variation, Character, Atmosphere, Human Scale, & Visual Complexity and turned them into to strategies for Place. The 4 strategies that became integral to my design are; The Permeable Edge ‘Wrinkling’ the overall edge of the building to create pockets of additional space which facilitate social spaces and extend the classroom beyond the portable wall. A mingling of exterior & interior spaces & functions to facilitate use. The Sheltered Garden Creation of sheltered and protected outdoor spaces, to create refuge and safety within the overall outdoor landscape & give psychological ease to encourage inhabitation of the external spaces.

The Elevational Roof Line Remove the known identity of a ‘portable’ with its flat, bulky roof & create roof lines that respond to the orientation of the buildings on the site & that create architectural variation/ interest in the landscape.

The Active Classroom Use of clusters to group the buildings by function, so that each cluster is designed to support the specific needs of the user through the built form of the space. Cluster A = flexible use space for general teaching, B = media and photography, C = art based project work.

Cluster A is designed to accommodate lecture style seminars as well as tutorial based learning, with flexible desks on rollers that can move from inside to outside (seen below), and allow group work as well as individual learning. The sheltered garden (seen right) accommodates shaded & sheltered use of the outdoor space surrounding the portables - where currently none exists. All edges and corners of the buildings are designed to be occupied to create spaces to spend time, socialise and use for more activated and engaging learning. The surrounding deck grounds the portables into the landscape & connects the indoor & outdoor spaces.

Cluster a - Multi

Cluster B - Labs

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C A

Cluster B is designed as a lab space, with enough computers to allow usage by all students in the class at once. With specially design computer rooms that can be darkened, containing follow along projection screen on each wall. This cluster also houses a photography and sound lab, allowing media students access to these facilities, which were previously unavailable. While the technology of laptops & tablet now allows flexible access to computer technology I feel it is still important for schools to consider the physical space these technologies will be used in, my aims is to create the optimal and most supportive space for the creation of computer, photography & sound based work.

Cluster C is designed for arts based classes. These spaces are all interlinked and the most open to the elements, with window seats that allow access from both the inside & outside creating a fluid and flexible indoor/outdoor learning environment. Sinks and storage are also key requirements that have been accommodated in this space. Individual desks & chairs allow for complete flexibility and control by the students to shape their own space. This cluster also features the rooftop garden (bottom right), where students and teachers can climb the stairs to gain a vantage point over the school & is used here as a technique for placemaking through its refuge/outlook relationship - favoured by our instinctive selves.

Cluster C - Arts

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Residential DESIGN

PEACOCK ST

Residential design by Brave New Eco 4.

“BRAVE NEW ECO provides a range of tailored design and consulting services for new and existing homes. Our interiors and retrofit-driven design approach responds to the way you live and the way you want to live. We put people and environment at the heart of our ecological designs.” - Brave New Eco design philosophy The Peacock Street project, is a residential renovation that I have worked on at Brave New Eco, and is currently in the contracting/tendering stage.

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1. Astra Walker A67.31 Icon Tapware 2. Electrolux Fridge EBE5107SD 3. Smeg Gas Cooktop PGA95F-4 4. Schweigen Rangehood (90cm) 5. Smeg Thermoseal Oven SAP3900X 6. Laminex ‘Deep Sea’ door fronts 7. Interia ‘Big O’ handles 8. Abey Regatta 1.5 bowl sink

$ 848 (brushed platinum) $ 1323 (aged brass) $ 2,118 $ 2,423 $ 1,569 $ 4,990 (RRP) $$ TBC $ 684

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The renovation project involved the development of kitchen, bathroom & laundry concepts & designs that responded to the clients needs & desires for their home. As a young family, the kitchen was to be the hub of the home, with all modern fittings, and a space that hid the ‘messy bits’ through the design of a raised kitchen sink splashback & addition of a pantry area. Bathrooms are designed to be open, airy, fresh and with character & personality, achieve through the use of quirky fishscale tiles, a second-hand vintage vanity unit & Volkerhaug ‘Bent’ lighting.

3. 4. 1. Astra Walker Tapware A67.05.LH 2. Maddie concrete vanity basin 3. Astra Walker Shower A67.24

The laundry space is filled with customer joinery that creates a practical space, creating a mud room, where kids boots and coats have a specific storage home.

4. Caroma Pearl Toilet Suite

All materials and products selected are chosen to be in line with Brave New Eco’s sustainable design philosophy. Considerations such as EO rated boards in the cabinetry, low VOC paints, and the inclusion of recycled and reused elements into the design, were all important steps that were carefully researched and sourced. Following on from the sustainable aspects of the design, I also sought out & researched products from local Australian and New Zealand designers and makers such as ‘Wood Melbourne’ and ‘Middle Earth Tiles’.

$ 544 (brushed platinum) $ 653 (aged brass) $ 495 $ 1165 (brushed platinum) $ 1398 (aged brass) $ 703

1. Dining wall light GALA LED (InLite) 2. Laundry cabinet LED - LOOMI 12C (About Space) 3. Bathroom wall light Old Skool Bent (Bolkerhaug) 4. Kitchen option 1 - Terracotta (Antonia Throsby) 5. Kitchen option 2 - Porcelain (Antonia Throsby) 5. Kitchen option 3 - Potter light (Anchor Ceramics)

$ TBC $ 39.90 $ 258.50 $ TBC $ TBC $ TBC

Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment Schedule Concept Boards.

FUTURE PROOF

Residential apartment design for 2033 A flexible, modular design for living in 2033, where rooftops and dead carparks are the site of a new style of vertical living, using the beehive as the inspiration for a new systematic approach to apartment design. Occupying the rooftops surrounding the Treasury gardens, these ‘hives’ of modern living give the focus over to the gardens, highlighting their importance in our future cities as places of refuge within a rapidly & hungrily growing urban density, and alerts us to protect this open space. My design strategy is to think more sustainably about our homes & they way we live. And to think as space as a precious commodity rather than an entitlement. In a future world, we will have to learn to live with a lot less. Space & ‘stuff’. Therefore my design aims to create a compact and efficient use of space, while still allowing user based customisation. So that each home reflects the user & their sense of self, rather than providing mass produced, identical shoeboxes. Users can choose to occupy a single unit pod, with bed, bathroom & kitchen all within a 16m2 area. Or they can choose to add a varying combination of pods to create their ideal living environment. The flexible nature meaning many groups can be catered for and a household can shift from small to large and back again with the addition or removal of a new pod. Each module is formed from the hexagonal shape of the honeycomb, & the curved interiors inspired by the organic, flowing honey within. The beehive was chosen as the inspiration for this project as a reminder to live a more sustainable and ecological lifestyle, like the bee who only travel around 3kms from their hive (lest their journey become unproductive), we also should learn to live sustainably and locally, as to develop & preserve our homes our sense of community. Bee Inspiration.

Pod A - Live + Bed + Bath

Pod B - Living + Dining

Pod C - Bed + Bath

Pod D - 2 Bed + Bath

Pod E - Kitchen + Dining

Pod F - Living + Bath 20

Pod G - Study + Outdoor

Hospitality DESIGN

SYDNEY’S CAFE

Sydney Road, Brunswick Cafe design Cafe Design for a small lounge/cafe on Sydney Road, Brunswick. This project involved creating an intimate, warm & friendly cafe that locals could feel comfortable to spend an extended period of time in, while also accommodating for the in-and-out take away customer. The main focus of this project were developing a strong understanding of the practical requirements and detailed joinery elements found in a cafe space. The cafe, named ‘Sydney’s’ to create a neighbourly feel, is designed to make local residence, young professionals and students feel at home within the space. The warm materiality and textures used throughout the space is key to inviting this feeling. The spatial layout is also important to this design, with different zones allocated to different levels of engagement with the space & the type of service required. Just inside the entryway a small take-away waiting area is formed by a few benches near the coffee machine and allows easy access to the till for those who are only after a quick transaction. Just across from this space is an area for those who would like to sit down, but are not quite committed to the long term stay to move out the back of the cafe. Here customers can sit with a coffee in the window or pull up a seat at a table & enjoy their lunch with a friend or alone. Out the back the mood shifts to a more relaxed lounge room feeling, for those who want to get settled in. Rugs & carpets slow the movement in this space & darker colours create a cosier mood. Specification of a mix of industrial & vintage Scandinavian pieces creates an eclectic feeling, to appeal to the young, alternative market of Brunswick. Overall this design creates a home away for home & embraced the local community as well as the visiting coffee enthusiast. Reference imagery; 1. cafe servery for cakes & swwet treats, 2. vintage eclectic atmosphere created through furniture peces, fabrics & wall arrangement, 3. site: Sydney Rd, Brunswick.

Retail DESIGN

MEET ME AT MIKE’s Chapel Street Retail Concept Design

Concept development for a retail brand - Meet Me at Mike’s. This project involved an in-depth look at how retail spaces shape our behaviour, buying patterns, mood & how this can be carefully executed to reflect the philosophy and clientele of an existing brand. Meet Me at Mikes - a current online blog and brain child of Pip Lincolne, was previously a retail space on Brunswick St, Fitzroy.Which reflected it’s target audience, women interested in handmade, vintage and quirky clothes, games & bits & bobs. However this didn’t last, and therefore I have moved the site for this store to the Toorak Rd end of Chapel Street in South Yarra, in the hope of targeting the boutique shopper. This store now specialise in local designed fashion objects, & specialised crafted/ handmade objects from local Melbourne makers. Thinking along the lines of Dinosaur Designs & Craft Victoria. The store is pared back to allow the details of the items to shine through. With one exception. The entrance way and visual merchandising area in the front window are covered in a quirky knitted installations. Hanging above the entryway & counter area the installation reflects the fun ‘yarnbombing’ trend of the minute, attracting a youthful market to the store & reflecting the nature of the brand. I have employed wayfinding techniques to encourage shoppers to be drawn in to the back of the space with a wide entry & well hanging pendant light feature at the back end of the store. With focus given to detailed object display, with many display tables & shelving areas. Overall this design winds together beautiful, simple, forms of display and layered, textured materiality, to create a hub for specialised local products. And to ultimately sell and promote ‘cool stuff’ for ‘nice people’, reflecting the philosophy of the brand. Reference imagery; 1. window display inspiration - macramé, 2. minimal rustic display, 3. women shopping on Chapel St, South Yarra - target audience for store.

Object DESIGN

Illuminati

LED Lighting Design Displayed at Euroluce Why does the LED strip always have to be the hidden, 1 trip pony, ugly duckling form of lighting? Often LEDs are used for hidden, joinery or outdoor lighting, however their environmentally friendly nature means that LED is the lighting solution of the future and therefore begged the question, how can strip lighting be a feature rather than a hidden element of the lighting design? The design and creation of this lamp tested ideas of how the simple LED strip lighting could be used in creation of a one off pendant or lamp that would sit at home in the Euroluce showroom. My idea for the lamp was inspired by Olafur Eliasson’s ‘Multiple Shadow House’ (2010), as I wanted to highlight the effect of multiple shadows that is created by the strip lighting, rather than hide or avoid them. I favoured a minimal & simple form for the lamp, as I wanted the effect the be the hero of the object. Therefore with this intention, I explored forms where a single material would become both the support for the LEDs and also the object being lit. This lamp, formed by a single piece of aluminium, brings this design intent to life. This lamp is made from water cut aluminium which was then hand folded with a metal press & anodized with a matt black finish. The additional timber detail stabilised the base & hides the wiring at the back of the lamp. A warm white LED strip light was used. Exploring these processed gave me a better appreciation of product design and the detailing required to give a truly minimal & simplistic look. Final prototype was displayed at Euroluce showroom in Melbourne for 1 month over November/December 2013. 1. Olafur Eliasson’s - ‘Multiple Shadow Effect’ installation, 2. & 3. testing out the shadow effect (soft & hard) given off by the LED strip lighting.

Form exploration - How can the light body also become the light source? Image 2, when flipped upside down, became the prototyped lamp.

Shannan Cooksey 0423 966 541 cookseyshannan@gmail.com Interior Design Portfolio