The Pink Shell Revisited

I received some feedback on my work on The Pink Shell pavilion project.  While the concept was well received, it was suggested that the images could be higher quality....which is true.  Here is another attempt at a better rendering.

The Pink Shell - A Pavilion in Lincoln Park

Clearwater - Proposal for an Urban Dialysis Center

Building from Franklin Street

This is Clearwater, a hemodialysis center implemented in a modern building in a dense urban area. As patients with end stage renal disease typically require hemodialysis three to four hours three times per week, I wanted to implement a unit close to home and/or work. In addition, I felt that patients should have the opportunity to use their treatment time to do activities that they might otherwise be doing, such as relaxation, work, or exercise. Evidence shows that patients have less stress and higher satisfaction if they are given choices regarding their care and are provided with positive distractions. In the design of Clearwater, patients have the option of treatment in more open areas with equipment available for exercise or treatment in semiprivate space set up to allow work on a computer. I took advantage of the open floor plates to flood the space with natural light. All treatment areas have a view of a window. Plants are incorporated throughout the space and water elements are present in the lobby garden. As exercise has been shown to have a significant effect on clinical outcomes in patients on dialysis, I allocated two thirds of the treatment area to have the option of exercise during treatment. I also included mobile nursing units to incorporate best safety practices. This gives the nurse constant access to an electronic medical record and the ability to barcode scan all medications at the point of delivery. Both of these practices have been shown to dramatically reduce medical errors.

Several issues related to healthcare design impacted my ultimate design. Hemodialysis requires the delivery and drainage of significant amounts of water. Including adequate plumbing stacks required that I abandon my original choice of the historic Inland Steel Building. Instead I designed a new building inspired by the footplate of the Inland Steel and found an alternative location within the Chicago Loop. Aligning the treatment spaces along plumbing walls while maximizing views encouraged me to abandon the idea of an area configured to encourage socialization amongst patients. Material choices were largely based on the need for infection control. I chose sheet rubber flooring and film veneers to minimize seams and to permit easy cleaning. In order to have light passing through the entire space, I chose systems furniture for the office area. Patient exam rooms were walled with smart glass to give privacy.

Selected Materials and Colors

Floor Plans

Lobby Atrium  - Franklin Street Elevat

Lobby

Exam Rooms

Quiet Treatment Area

Treatment Area with Exercise Equipment

Colors and Selected Materials for Clearwater

Marathon Advantis Rubber Sheeting
American Biltrite

Bio Foil
LG Hausys

My Studio Environment
Herman Miller

Smart Glass
The LTI Group

Floor Plans for Clearwater

Proposed Site in Chicago Loop

First Floor - Lobby Garden

Second Floor - Exam Rooms, Office & Conference Space

Clearwater is a proposal for a dialysis center in a dense urban area.  The proposed site is at the corner of Franklin and Washington in the Chicago Loop.  The building is a four story modern building inspired by the Inland Steel Building.  Each floor is approximately 12,500 square feet

Third & Fourth Floors - Treatment Areas

Inhabiting Public Spaces: The Pink Shell

This project part of a graduate interior design theory class called Design & Society.  We were to create a design for a public space that would affect how people would interact or use the space.  We also had to use the "manifesto" we had developed in a previous theory class or use the manifesto of another designer/architect.

Lincoln Park is a major public space stretching along the lakefront of northern Chicago.  It is a place for Chicagoans to meet, exercise, and play.  There are multiple structures within the park.  Some of them, such as the Chess Pavilion and the Totem Pole, have become iconic landmarks that serve as meeting places for clubs and groups.  However, the northern end of the park does not have such a landmark.  I propose to implement a new pavilion near the north end of the lakefront path.

Noting that many of the popular Lincoln Park pavilions are located near turns, I selected a site near a fork in the path.  The site is near the Bryn Mawr underpass and the Hollywood Beach.  While this is a popular area to meet before running or playing volleyball, this is no distinctive landmark to serve as a meeting place.  I wanted to create a gathering place that is highly visible from the path, inviting for congregation, and easily “namable.”  After exploring a variety of shapes, I chose a shell as an easily recognizable shape that would allude to the beach.  Lake Michigan, as fresh water body, does not contain crustaceans that would produce typical seashells, but it is home to a variety of snails with helical shells.  I selected a pink hue as reference to the Edgewater Beach Apartments, which are prominent in the northern Chicago skyline, as well as the popularity of Hollywood Beach with the gay community during the summer.  I expect that the pavilion will serve not only as a visible meeting place for people before heading off for other activities, but also as a place for locals to “hang out” in the park.

The process of my design was shaped by my Bohemian Manifesto, design informed by Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Love.  As I essentially served as my own client for this project, I took Beauty and Love to be a design of a pavilion that I found aesthetically pleasing and would be a space that I would thoroughly enjoy using.  Freedom meant that I would not feel bound to the style or aesthetic of the other pavilions and landmarks in the park.  The hardest for me was Truth, maintaining integrity to my original design intent.  I had explored multiple shapes, a few of which I was much more excited about from an aesthetic standpoint.  However, Truth insisted that I remain faithful to the idea that my pavilion should inspire people to say: “Meet me at the….”

Pavilion Explorations for Theory Project