As the Lead Designer, my job was to establish an identity for the interior design of the new residential building. Working with the real estate team and architects on record, I examined a few questions before exploring an initial design strategy.
1. With the number of luxury residential buildings completed and in progress in Washington DC, how can the project set itself apart from the competition for new tenants?
2. What kind of character and experience do we want to provide to the residents?
3. Do we want to fit in with the neighboring buildings or have a differentiating identity that is unique and exciting?
4. How can we give tribute to DC's famed landscape architect and provide a green and sustainable interior environment?
Visual communication is key in presenting and explaining design concepts, provide a subject for discussion, and whether it can be feasibly built. I showed several different design directions, material palettes, and how to add service and value to address the above questions.
Lobby Elevations: (Left) Early design iteration of Lobby Concierge, proposing a minimal mid-century luxury luxury design. (Right) Later design after a 1 week sprint, showing integration of landscape design.
In presenting the design options to the client, it was demonstrated that the initial "luxury mid-century" design gave an image of refined luxury that would fit with the competing buildings in the area and market towards up-and-coming DC workers.
The lobby provided:
An area for social gathering with proposed tech hub for impromptu meetings
A public living room for tenants and their guests
Sourcing reclaimed wood from Arlington to finish the walls, eco-friendly and anti-microbial upholstery for the lobby seating, utilizing natural lighting for the lobby, and porcelain floor tiles for ease of maintenance while offering anti-slippage surface.
The later design maintained the ideals of offering social gathering, technology, and sustainability. To differentiate the building, a more visually active design was created to demonstrate a vibrant interior landscape to connect with the neighboring park. The purpose was to have an integrated indoor/outdoor experience. Artists were consulted to create a custom feature wall of textural trees. Glass blocks were proposed for the amenity feature to offer more lighting fluidity between spaces and continued movement. A green wall was introduced with advisement on maintenance and humidity control.
(Above) Residential amenities, continuing the idea of social activity with nature and the outdoors.
OUTCOME: