Community Service Project: Conceptual Development

This community service project was a great learner experience as there was a real client whom we talked to and discussed the goals and requirements of the design. The goal was to create a venue space on an island of the park where it mostly is rented as a wedding venue, as well as other community gatherings. I was face with several challenges while designing the conceptual layouts. I first worked in concept development where I took similes and metaphors relating to marriage and the venue. I came up with several ideas such as the island is a secret garden, the island is a hidden gem, Love is infinite… the concept I moved far with is life is like a journey, where I further found the quote “Where there is love, there is life”  by Mahatma Gandhi. I thought this quote fit perfectly as I wanted to incorporate both the celebration of love in the nature setting.

Several factors I was faced to with were preservation of totem poles of the island, privacy issues, and sound issues, keeping a light footprint on the island, as well as using existing buildings as a commercial kitchen for catering as well as restrooms and a bridal area.

Addressing each of these issues caused me to think logically and critically about how I would go about working with these issues. My ideas to work with them are as follows:

Relocate totem poles to different locations of the park for both better picture opportunities as well as having them be seen by more people, allowing for more learning opportunities for their history.

As this is a public park and people have the right to travel through the park as they please, privacy will be an issue while events are taking place. My proposal would be to add a new bridge spanning on the South side of the island that connects two existing bridges. Not only will this allow for great up close views of the river, but the public can conveniently move around the wedding without interrupting.  

The sound can get very loud when the river is active, so I thought the best plan of action was to put the ceremony space where there is an existing amphitheater which will help direct the noise toward the crowd while blocking the sounds of the river. I also tried to bring the reception and ceremony space inward of the island so they are not directly next to the loud noise.

Working with Revit I was able to develop several renderings that show the existing buildings as a new commercial kitchen for catering, restrooms, and a private space for a bride and her bridal park to get ready.

Traced Revit model of building exterior, hand drawn scenery additions

I also worked with the Landscape Architecture students to help me choose appropriate plants and greenery to incorporate in my design.

Aerial view of wedding venue in color pencil

Overall I took a minimalist approach as the island had many useable features and did not need a lot of renovations. The biggest change would be relocating paths to push closer to the edges of the island, and additional plants, flowers, and greenery. I feel I grew in my concept development skills and ability to work with client requirements and provide a great venue space.

From Upper Left: Venue Plan, Inspiration Images, Concept Statement, Aerial View of Venue

From Upper Left: Totem Poles, Ceremony View, Landscape options
From Upper Right: New Bridge Proposal, Demolition Map, Commercial Kitchen/ Bridal Area Plan