Wheelchair exercise

For our studio class, we had to spend about an hour in a wheelchair and go to different buildings and areas and see how disabled people see the world and what were some issues that we had. In this picture Whitney was trying to get into the so called "accesible toilet" but it seemed impossible for a wheelchair to turn around or even get in the stall since a trash can was in the middle of the way and the space outside the stalls was minimal. Riding in the wheelchair I noticed that it takes a lot of practice to be able to turn, stop, and navigate in a wheelchair. Another interesting thing that I learned was that it was harder to roll and control the chair on carpet. This experience made me realize how important it is to have those ADA requirements in public places.

St. Ignatius Chapel sketch

This church was so interesting to look at inside and outside. I think my favorite part of it was the tree and the lamp attached to it. I also tought the door was very unusual and interesting. I liked how there was a small door and a big one for the entrance and how people have to bow down to get in the church. The colors coming out into the walls in the middle of the church was so beautiful to look at. And the shape of the interior with all the curves made it seem like a sea. I would think it would make it feel more enclosed but they made it so it didnt make it tight. It still felt open and airy. My sketch shows the light and the curves of the church.

Seattle Job Shadow

For our Seattle field trip, I signed up to job shadow an interior Designer that works with yatch companies either to work with a client that already owns a boat or to make a boat sell. We went to tacoma, WA to look at the actual constructions of the yatchs at Nordlund. It was so interesting to see how complicated it is to build a home in a boat. All the measurements are complicated and custom fitted to the shape of the boat. For example the walls are curved in a boat so they have to order a custom sofa to fit right against the wall of the boat. We also saw the very begining of a boat construction which was just the bottom base of the boat and the top of it was on the side being built, I learned that you have to flip to top part of the boat on the bottom part. It just all looked so complicated. I heard that some of their boats take 4 years to completely finish. You need a lot of patience to have this job. We got to see all of their plans elevations and more in their a least 40 page packet for one of their boats.
We also went to Ocean Alexander in Seattle, Wa they sell yatchs. We got to go on a finished on that cost 5 million dollars which was amazing. The interior looked so cozy and private. There were 2 seperate entrances one for the owner, family guests, and the other for the crew. I was so excited just to be inside of the boat. It looked so beautiful. Although I don't think any of the boats we saw could ever be accesible for people in wheelchair. The master bedroom was my favorite room, it had a huge bed, two seperate closests, tv, bench, his and hers sink and toilet and the shower between. There was 3 levels on that boat. The top part was outside bar area, wheel, and hot tub. It looked perfect for me if I was rich. Overall good experience, the ladies talking to us were very nice and explained to us many things if we had questions.

Spokane expo

Going to this expo was interesting. I got to meet designers from different backgrounds and different materials that they worked with along with their company. I was surprised by how many of the spokepersons knew about our interior Design program in WSU. Most of the designers took their time to talk to us about their products and some of them even offered to give us free samples. They were very passionate about what they did. I noticed how every company in their were focusing on being Green giving out tote bags that replaced the plastic bags that so many people use each day to throw away in the trash after using them for a couple minutes to carry goceries. These bags end up in the oceans and are harmful to our planet and all the living things on it. I thought the expo was going to be bigger overall with a lot more people but it was enough to learn something new.