[week.09]

The focus this week has been on our healthcare project again. We are making changes from the meeting that we had last week. I am editing our floor patterns, updating drawings, and editing our floor plans. This week has been hectic at my home – I am moving apartments inbetween all of the hours that I am working!

This week I met the Knoll rep, John Romano, who showed us a slideshow about their new products and updated our catalogs. He was a pleasure to meet and talk to – he has great energy and enthusiasm for what he does. He seemed interested in coming by UT to do some informational presentations for us about Knoll and their products.

This week went by really fast. We have been really hitting it hard at work and had a really big presentation with one of our big clients. People have been in and out of the office a lot! Another exciting update is that the Treehouse is coming along great – I have not gotten another chance to go out to the site and help build it again, but I will do so in the future! It is a really exciting and heart-warming project. To know that you are building something that is making a difference in somebody’s life or bringing them happiness is a really great thing.

Our Design Philosophy at Smee+Busby varies from person to person. Our Design Manager has a philosophy that he holds very close to heart – he really looks up to Mockbee. He believes in architecture and has known that he wanted to be an architect since he was three years old. He was a kid who grew up in a house that had a wing dedicated to his father’s firm. His architecture is not just a style it is a methodology. He believes in honesty in materials, in cultural relevance, and appropriate climate response. Design should be utilized to serve the poor, not just as a means to glorify the already fortunate. He believes that you can do world class excellent design no matter where you are – you do not have to be in a big city to produce quality work. He sees that building and designing tend to be very separate, and he intends to blur the boundaries between the two. He studies under contractors to inform his architecture – he knows that learning the skill makes him a smarter and more informed designer. He brings this spirit to work with him every day.

Cheers to you all.

This week my friend Tom and I are putting together our heads and mass-producing a few sets of cornhole for friends. Putting our woodshop skills to good use :)

Week 9

This past week, I had alot of fun with people from work. We just found out that the FOOD ROOF is getting a $60,000 donation. So, we celebrated by dinner at the Ostafi's house. Mary and Jo Ostafi are definitely my people of the week. They both work at HOK and are super awesome. Mary is a sustainability specialist and Jo is the Vice-President of our S&T(Science and Technology) Group. Living in downtown, they all invited us over for dinner to enjoy some produce from the 1st Urban Garden site.

Mary Ostafi, founder of Urban Harvest stl at the Garden Site with her Sunflowers

I spent a portion of the week coordinating a marketing booklet for the Urban Farm. The other part of the week I spent designing the Taj Mah Toilets. This is project is such a nightmare, but it is going to be the best looking toilet. We've decided to use this beautiful Carvart glass toilet partitions and are inserting lightblocks into the ceiling... craziest bathroom ever. However, the client gave us some direction, so I will be representing the concepts based on the clients input.

These values guide everything HOK does for our clients:
We create exceptional environments that meet our clients’ most complex design challenges.
We inspire people through our work by expressing timeless cultural, organizational and personal values.
We connect people and place with ideas that come from many minds and imaginations.
We care about serving our clients, enriching lives, improving communities and protecting our natural environment through design.

These are the values of most every person I have met at HOK. I cannot believe how many creative, inspiring, connected, caring people I have been priveledged to work with this summer. The 4 principles of HOK, as simple and small as they may seem, truly guide and compromise what makes HOK one of the best design firms in the world. I will never forget my experience, and I will never forget the people who have molded my perspective on design and touched my life.

Week 9: A Bitter Sweet Goodbye

On Monday in the morning I looked for a fabric for one of the designer. After lunch I went on a job with Sherlene. The job addresses one of the bedrooms for the home owners. It consists of the bed shirt, curtains, bed comforter, and a table coverlet. The job had complications and it was good to see how the designer handled each of them. We also had to stop by another client’s house. She had trouble visualizing the furniture piece in her living room. The client wanted to see the chair and a side table in their home. I helped decided on a fabric for the chair. The client decided to keep the side table for the living room.

On Tuesday Rachel and I went out to the warehouse to sort all the items for Marsha job.  Marsha who is the owner has a big job next week in Florida. She is flying a group of people to help with the job consisting of one designer, drapery, and someone to alter the fabrics. We had all the purchase orders for the job and had to locate all of the items. On Wednesday Rachel couldn’t come in until lunch. I called vendors about pricing. I also assisted two designers with task they need done. Natalie needed me to find fabrics that she used for a client. I located all the fabrics for her. The rest of the day I went through discontinue list for different vendors. Thursday was a slow day. After lunch the whole firm through me a goodbye party. It was amazing for me to see how much the designers appreciate my hard work. The rest of day I organized Braxton Culler into categories. On Friday it was my last day. I continued putting up the Braxton Culler. I also went through the discontinues of Braxton Culler. This experience taught me more than just about interior designer.

On the firm website they have their mission statement and the designer philosophy. Yessick’s Design Center’s will provide their clients with three important elements. The first is “to provide a beautiful, creative, and functional design atmosphere.” The second is “to provide superb customer service and quality at a competitive price.” The third is “to provide a unique shopping experience with a presentation that exceeds all others.”

This is Marla who is the Manager of Yessick’s Design Center.  She has been there since the business started with Marsha. Marla knows everything about the business and about all the designer’s projects. She handles all the purchase order and keeping up with the status on them. I feel so bad when most of the calls are for her, because she is very busy.

week 9: I don't want to leave!

This week was my last official week of my internship; however I will still be here for a few more weeks. Word on the street is that we’ve hired a new intern, Emmy Barnett! She starts next week and I’m excited to have someone else from UT here! I’ve been busy this week working on contractor boards for Alana’s project (the project I spent all last week making finish boards for). I have also started work on another finish board due right before I leave. Thursday I helped select vinyls and Cryptons for waiting room seating. It was a nice break from the contractor boards to just spread out in the library and lay out a bunch of samples. I also ordered a bunch of samples for various projects. Friday afternoon I got to go back to the job site at Brentwood Academy with Leslie; she wanted me to see the project almost finished before I leave. Its looking great and everyone is really happy with it. I may get to go back with her to punch it if that happens before I leave.

We had three reps come in and do lunch presentations and quite a few come in for quick updates. On Thursday a rep came to update us on the newest from Nana Wall, which we remember Lindsay using a few years back! It was really awesome. Check out their website to see some cool photos http://www.nanawall.com/ Many of the install shots are residential, but if you click the application tab at the top, you’ll find photos of the Nana Wall installed in educational, hospitality, and various other areas—much more applicable to what we would probably do.

Sam and Milo

This is Samantha Tallo, one of our interns from Cincinnati! She is from New York and has the cutest dog, Milo! This is a picture of him visiting the office Friday!

ESa’s Design Philosophy

ESa, as I’ve said before, is all about relationships with other people—clients, designers, the community, reps, anyone they come in contact with. That’s part of what makes this place such a great place to work, I’ve heard it said by many employees; so many of them came to work here and never left. ESa strives to solve client design problems in order to promote wellness.

ESa’s website says “The most beautiful architecture is designed with a deep understanding and respect for people” and I think that quote really sums up who ESa is, as well as my experience working with them. It has been an honor to be able to work with and learn from such a talented and supportive community of designers. I have felt constantly pushed to be not just a better designer, but a better person. I know that I am changed completely from my time interning at ESa, and that I am definitely interested in coming back. 

week 9: already 9?

Typically Monday mornings start off slow, but this week started off fast. I immediately walked in and was asked to test some fabrics for a client meeting that was in process. After that, the day continued to move along with trying to find missing orders and samples, as well as ordering and pulling new ones. Tuesday I did a lot of little odds and ends for different designers. I delivered a finish board to a client, picked up a set of drawings, pulled alternated laminate finishes, etc. My main job for the day was to call different manufacturers to check pricing and availability on a bunch of different fabrics. I had never done this before so it was a good thing to learn. You can also reserve the fabric for a later date if needed. Wednesday I did a lot of calling manufacturers to check pricing and availability for fabrics. I have gotten really good at this task. Design Tex also hosted a lunch-n-learn for some of their new fabrics and wallcoverings. Thursday I started the morning off by going to a job site to do field measurements and then converting these into AutoCAD. The rest of the day consisted of ordering, pulling, and filing lots of samples. After work, I attended Post Neocon and met different reps as well as seeing some familiar faces from UT. (I believe Abbey has posted pictures). Friday morning was full of sample ordering. I also went to another job site to take pictures of the construction progress. I really have enjoyed this project because I have been able to see it progress and it is really moving along now. Some of the light fixtures had been installed as well as most of the paint was being finished.

Design Philosophy

The IDS team of 100 full time employees is committed to understanding and meeting the evolving workplace needs of our customers in order to leverage their physical space into an asset rather than an expense.  

“Our results have been achieved through the successful promotion of the teamwork concept among all employees and a company-wide commitment to client satisfaction. Our achievements are possible only through the active involvement of everyone in the company.” – Tom Foster, Owner and Founder

The internship at IDS has been very rewarding and fulfilling. I have thoroughly enjoyed working and meeting everyone involved with IDS. The people and environment are laid back, which makes it fun. But I still have learned a tremendous amount. I look forward to taking my experience back to school and implementing what I have learned.

Kayla Beebe is the last designer that you will get to meet as part of my internship. She is extremely sweet, and I almost always see a smile on her face. Kayla works as one of the main designers for HCA. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Kayla.