Type: Responsive Architecture Design
Duration: 12 months
Context: Virginia Tech Master Thesis, Individual Project
Role: User Research, Ideation, 3D Modeling
Define Problem
Analysis the potential pain points according to the user information. Get the design direction of this project.
User Information
This project is for the start-up company called A to Z Design. Their office is located in America and their most clients are from Zhongguo(China).
Based on the fact of Zhongguo(Chinese) admires foreign design, the company provide advancing product design for the clients.
Meanwhile, they also serve some local projects in America.
Pain Points
Analyzing the user's character, I find out there are three main pain points for their office space:
1. How the space suits the increasing people
2. Where the convenient location is
3. with affordable money
Discover
Analyze each pain point with detail. Create the design principle for this project.
Increasing Users
The company who uses this building is a start-up company, which has only 5 founders at the beginning. With more projects coming in, they hire more and more people. The building scales up each time when the people doubled. Finally, this company steadily grows to about 50 people.
For the space need, the 5 founders have their own individual offices. Employees have group offices. Also the architecture has corresponding space for meeting rooms.
Location
The site is located in the suburban area of Washington DC, which next to the Rock Creek Park. This site is only 3 blocks away from the main street. Therefore, the site can provide an urban context which means clients and employees can easily get into. But people do not need to afford too high price for the land.
Develop
Design Concept
Since the project's site is at the crossing corner, it's naturally to use circle as the basic design element for this project. What’s more, people can enjoy a pretty view while working. For the structural grid, it get inspired by the round logo, laying out the columns layer by layer. In the interior, blocks add up when it grows to show the "responsive" character.
Design Principle
Design Solution
This part shows the technical drawings of the final scheme. with plans, sections and elevations in each phases of this company.
Reflection
The user experience design is every where. As long as we can understand the problem on the users' position, we can make the design satisfied them.
