This week has been important for us because we are starting to finally branch away from preliminary designs to finalized schemes that require information on hardware and materials. We know what we want to do and how it will fit in the space. The question is, how do we build it? One important thing that we did to get a feel for how the central movable wall would work in the space is create a life-size scale model of the studio gallery at the Cigar Factory by using large sheets of cardboard.
We also met with a local engineer so that he could give us some input on our designs and whether or not they would work. He talked a lot about the structural bracing of the movable walls and the different ways that we can stabilize them so that they don’t tip over. This meant switching from a primarily hanging wall to one that is load bearing on the floor and kept in line by a track on the ceiling.
After all of this, we broke up the duties between the walls and more design for the reception desk and bar. I was put on the team that would work on the reception desk and bar. Yesterday during studio, we decided that it would be important to go to the current REDUX building and see what they currently stored at the desk and how it was used. We also took dimensions and asked for advice from Greg who was more than happy to help. We can now use this information to finalize the schemes and prepare information on what hardware we want to use. After these two groups rejoin, we should have a solid base to begin working with on all of the projects.
