Boogazine Proposal

I have put together a PowerPoint video presentation to highlight the key ideas for my boogazine and which areas i would like to look into. I will be presenting this video to my tutor to get his views on my proposal.

 

 

(video can be viewed in full screen mode)

Unique Cafes! honours project

So, I've mentioned the idea of having a cafe at the base of the water tower for my honours project, but that's all I've said so far, just a cafe. I don't want this to be any old cafe, similar to all the rest, i want it to be THE place to be, the place people are talking about and recommending to others. So, i've started looking into unique cafes....

The Book Club, London -something a little bit different

"Its hard to define this venue, as it offers customers so much variety, but essentially, The Book Club is a café by day, and a platform for art, literature, philosophy, design and music by night.

Popular with trendy twenty something’s, this café provides punters with quality snacks in a bright and airy environment, and slightly more culture with your croissant than the typical coffee shops.

Described by The Independent as ‘currently, the venue for hip literary events’, The Book Club also offers speed dating, life drawing classes, and live music from Faris Badwan of Indie band, The Horrors in January alone. So if any of this appeals, then make sure you check it out. " It also has a book room, pool room and a ping pong table.
 
source - http://london.myvillage.com/article/londons-unique-cafes
 
Interior design by Shai Akram http://www.shaiakram.co.uk/
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love this visual of the interior, so simple but effective.

 

 



 

 

 

 

 
Candy Cakes, London - for those with a sweet tooth!

From each and every cake to the interior of the cafe, this place is so colourful and vibrant making it hard for customers not want to call in! With three 'Candy Cake stations' in London its hard to miss out!

Magnificent pop up van at Hamleys!

 

It's busy atmosphere and vibrant design inspired a visiting artist...

When I visited Dubai when i was younger, we went to Cafe Ceramique. Here, not only can you enjoy a wonderful lunch but at the same time paint your own ceramic pot! What more can you ask for? great fun for everyone!

http://www.cafeceramique.ae/home.html




Urban Station, Coffee Shop offices-for those on the go

This coffee shop charges by the hour, which includes free drinks, free WIFI, and even conference rooms for your convenience. Maybe it is just another internet cafe, but it's individual layout and improved payment scheme makes it just that bit better than the rest.





Whilst researching this topic i came across Cafe Bravo in Berlin. This has JUST the type of glass extension i would love to have on my cafe. Because it has a mirror style quality to it, it reflects the buildings surroundings which is a really nice touch, and look how beautiful it looks at night! Really inspiring...

 

 

 

 

La Patisseries De Reves- for a futuristic experience!

"Owned by pastry master Phillipe Conticini, La Patisserie des Raves is incredibly innovative in its approach to displaying its goods. Each of the pasty goodies are displayed under a temperature controlled glass bell on a round podium in the center. When a customer orders any of the sweets, one of the staff returns with it directly from the kitchen."

 

http://www.lapatisseriedesreves.com/

 

 

 

As Ormskirk is known for it's gingerbread, my cafe could give visitors the oportunity to decorate their own gingerbread man when they come in. Another nice way to like in with the area.



More research to follow!...

Boutique hotel designs

Otherwise known as 'design' or 'lifestyle' hotels, boutique hotels have a number of individual or themed rooms. For this reason they are often smaller. Hotel Madera in Hong Kong have some really uniquely designed rooms making it quite an exclusive place to stay in...







And some other fascinating boutique hotel rooms....

Honours project - more ideas

I want the Water Tower to be something different, something that people will travel to to visit. A place to meet friends or family or somewhere you would visit often.
To do this it needs to be something that Ormskirk doesn't already have, something a bit different. It must be designed in a way that makes it a pleasant and comfortable place to visit, making you want to come again. The activities put on, or whatever i plan to use the site as, must be enjoyable and affordable to make people want to use it more often.

So, the building has five floors, with the top one being the tank. I plan to have the staircase on the outside of the building creating more room inside. Some ideas are;

• Floor five- (the tank) CINEMA ROOM/CAMERA OBSCURA. This room is completely dark and so would make a great cinema room. It would only house between 15 and 20 chairs so would only be very small. The screen would be on one of the shorter walls. This would be suitable for school visits; they could either use the screen to watch films, plays or educational videos. Otherwise it could be used for the children to come and learn about the tower, its history and the area.                        

          Alternatively, The tank could house a camera obscura. There is one of these in Edinburgh.   You can see live moving images of Edinburgh projected onto a viewing table through a giant periscope. The images are fantastic and you can see for miles. This would also be another way for people ( visitors and school pupils) to learn about the area and also have an unforgettable unique experience! It would also be a good way of bringing larger groups to the tower.

The view on the dish at camera obscura Edinburgh.

• Floor Four- a 'classroom' or room to benefit the room above. I think if the camera obscura was to be used for educational student visits it would benefit from an additional room below with tables and chairs for example, more info on  the area, maybe like a mini exhibition as the camera obscura room would only be used in pitch black so couldnt house information in there.

• Floor three- 'CLASSES' ROOM. Ormskirk has several gyms which hold a number of classes each week but there are some classes that are less common, these could be held here. This would be a great way of gaining regular visitors and and also giving jobs to people who want to hold classes. Some ideas for classes are;

1. Baby music classes. These classes are loved by babies and toddlers. They get to play with other children and join in with percussion instruments. It also gives parents a chance to meet on another.
2. Art and craft classes. Possibly a new project each week, this would allow art lovers to meet up and share their hobby.
3. Language classes. Quite self explanatory really! Once or twice weekly courses in certain languages.
4. cookery classes. Get professional tutorials in one off recipes to recreate a special dining in experience. The only problem is this would require a kitchen. An alternative would be cake decorating.
5. Music lessons.
6. New and/or unique fitness classes for men and women. The likes of zumba, aerial yoga, kickboxing, spinning or mixed martial arts.

baby music classes

Aerial yoga
• Floor two.....ideas to come! still none...

• Floor one- SHOP. This will be a shop selling local produce only. Locally grown or made food. Works of local artists or things made in classes...

• Ground floor- possibly a CAFE. As i mentioned in a previous blog post there is space for a glass extension outside. This would provide the cafe with a larger seating area and would bring the outside surroundings in. Depending on available space, there could be a small gardening area. Locals or school children could help out with the maintenance of the garden and plants could be planted in memory of others, which might be nice with it being close to the hospital. Going back to the water theme, another idea is to have toys or activities outside that when played with, produced a water flow over the glass extension. It is just a small reminder of the building's history.

perhaps something like this which is wound up to produce the flow of water

Or something more fun like this!

More to follow!...

Holiday snaps!

I've not added any photos recently so here are a few from the cruise I went on this summer! :)



La Coruna, Spain




The Medieval markets, La Coruna, Spain



    La Coruna, Spain

 

 

 

La Coruna, Spain 

 

 

 



 

The Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao.

 

 
 

 

Bilbao



Guernsey

 



Guernsey

Guernsey

La Rochelle

La Rochelle

Birthday Bunting!

Seeing as i am training to be an interior designer i thought it would be useful to put my sewing skills to practice! I recently celebrated my 21st birthday and so I'd made some bunting to hang up.

Here are the results!

 

Honours project - building plans

Here are some Auto CAD plans of the tower I got of the council's website.

 

 

These show the current owners' plans for an additional staircase on the outside of the building. I like the idea of this as it would create more space inside where the original staircase is now. This could also be glass if possible so that it would fit in with the potential glass extension.

This plan shows the position of the water tower and where it is situated next to the nearby flats.

And a quick sketch i did of the tower....

 

 

Honours project - water inspired interiors

After looking into the history of the Hospital Water Tower I have been looking into interiors inspired by water. I want to incorporate something like this into my design to reflect the history of the building. These little touches will be a lasting reminder of the buildings character and story.

 

 

The glass works below reflect the fluidity and movement of water. The glass shows reflection and it's ripples show depth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The room below, in the Roca London Gallery, has a ceiling which has a fluid like look to it. It's architect Zaha Hadid often likes to incorporate geology into her work. This particular building's design is inspired by the various phases and states of water. Water acts as the transformational element moving across the facade, carving out the interior and moving through the main gallery as individual drops.

Read more about the project at http://www.rocalondongallery.com/en/project

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I love these mirrors which resemble dripping water. They're really eye catching and interesting and would give a really dramatic look to a room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This ceiling is fantastic! It's deep ridges, ripples and curves resemble waves and movement in the sea. These fabric sheets cleverly draw the eye to the beautiful sea views outside and sway with the help of the air conditioning!

 

http://www.dezeen.com/2011/03/11/hilton-pattaya-hotel-by-department-of-architecture/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course there are various water features that can be used inside or out. Or possibly from inside, heading out! The running water would be a constant feature of the building.

 

 

 

 

The water tower has a small amount of unused land at the side of it, after looking at glass works, i've looked into glass extensions. This would increase the amount of floor space on the ground floor and also create a different dimension to the building itself without distracting from its character and style. Here are some glass extensions that may be suitable.

 

 

 

 

I like these simple designs as they don't alter the building's style yet they create a lot more space.