Seth Riskin Lecture

Last week I had the opportunity to hear Seth Riskin speak in our auditorium at UNCG. He has studied something that all of us don't stop to really think about, light. Seth was a past gymnast and has used his ability in his recent works of art. He uses the light through lasers, cameras, holograms, reflections, rainbow transmissions, and much more to portray his work. He dresses up in a special black costume that has lights on it and he dances as the lights move in different ways to create things that have never been seen before. It's hard to imagine viewing light in a different way than we know it. Seth has also experimented with sky dancing where he is up in the air as light is projected from him.

His studies consist of the history of light itself. He talked about the anthropology of light and how a light-body is the identification between light and life. Light has been talked about in the Bible and how God says he is light. Light is used through fire during certain kinds of worship. Fire dancing can be seen in Hindu, India, which is where Seth got his idea for light dancing.

Seth linked how design and light are connected. As designers, we need to think about how natural light and artificial light can work together for the spaces we design to help best define the space that it is being used for. Light is not something that you just add to a room, but it is something that helps define the room by the mood and feelings you get from their luminosity. Seth showed us a quote by Louis Kahn that said, "A great building must begin with the immeasurable, must go through measurable means of design and in the end must be immeasurable." I will think of this quote every time I start a new design project.

To see more on Seth Riskin, go to his website at www.sethriskin.com .

Design Development 2 [Central Regional Hospital]

Design Development 1 [Central Regional Hospital]

On Monday, we each presented our ideas we had for the three wards at the Central Regional Hospital in Butner, NC. Here are shots from my presentation. I have decided that I want to go with a different concept and have light transparency be more of a focus instead of metamorphosis of a butterfly. My hallways need more development as well as my bedrooms. Some strong ideas that I will keep are the carpet walls in the bedrooms and group rooms and making two different areas in the activity rooms. These are just ideas and they are all subject to change.

Peer Response

Kalani Gonzalez has started his design off by his concept of an ecosphere. He wants to focus on the three layers of our ecosystem, water, land and sky. I think this is a great way to help distinguish between each ward because it will help with wayfinding throughout the hospital. I love how he even related the characteristics of an animal that lives on each water, land, and sky to the characteristics of the male adolescents, female adolescents, and children. The only thing that I want to know more about is the materials and fabrics because the light fixture for the male adolescent ward would probably not work since it is hanging and that would cause a problem with trying to reach it. Also the fabrics in the female adolescent ward are complex and I feel they might cause a bit of anxiety because of how much detail they have. I would recommend something more simplistic that would put the patients at more of an ease. I love the aquarium idea for the children's ward. It will be cool to see how it all comes together.

Tracey Wright's concept is all about creating a sense of place. She wants her spaces to be flexible so that transformation can take place. She focuses on making personalized places to hang the artwork of patients in the hallways throughout the wards. This will make the patients feel more comfortable with their surroundings and feel like they have a special place in the ward itself. I like how she makes each door entrance to a bedroom personal with the use of color. The bench connected to the bed in the patient bedrooms is a great idea because it makes the room feel more home-like. I would explore color more by the hues of blue and yellow. In the sketches they are very bright. Something that has a darker hue might work better.

Concept Exploration + Schematic Design

When I was thinking of a concept for the 3 wards in the Central Regional Hospital in Butner, NC, I really wanted to bring the outdoors in. After all the studies we have done, it looks like bringing in nature is what will make patients feel more at ease and comfortable. Roger Ulrich did a study on how patients who could see a tree from their window, as opposed to those who only saw a wall, had a faster recovery rate. Nature makes you feel so relaxed and I want the patients at Butner to feel the same.

The first three images are from my sketchbook on all three of my concept ideas:

I chose the metamorphosis of a butterfly because it is all about transformation and a freeness of spirit.

The following images are of my schematic designs I have quickly sketched out. I address circulation, ideas, materials and bedroom ideas.

Site + Program Analysis

The site and program analysis are important when beginning to design because you first have to know about your building in depth. Last Friday when we toured the hospital, we got in groups and each group took notes on a different aspect of the building. My group had to focus on wayfinding, climatic and geographical aspects. Here are images from my groups presentation.

Precedent Study [Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas]

The following images are from my presentation about the Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas. Our next project is to design an existing psychiatric hospital in Butner, NC. It is very sterile and dull with little activities to do there for the patients. As designers for the third year students, we are to help make their environment more pleasing to be in and not feel so trapped and locked-in. I did a study on this hospital to find information about how they made their hospital environments pleasing to the patients. It is studied that patients who have views to nature or get to go out into nature have a faster recovery than those who don't have access or views to nature. With the Dell Children's Medical Center, they have really done a great job in bringing the outdoor nature in. They have a healing garden and six courtyards.