Bird's Eye View

Hello all! I've been gradually getting more work to do at the firm, and it's an intriguing, different experience every time I visit the office! I'd like to think it is because I have just blown them away with my sheer architectural prowess, but realistically, they are probably just trying to get the new intern something to do. Either way, I don't mind!

Some of the work I was assigned was diagramming work for the upcoming (confidential) project I mentioned earlier. These diagrams are very basic blueprints of the venue, and my role is to place scaled, furniture cut-outs (tables, chairs, beanbags, storage units, etc) on the blueprints and play around with various arrangements of the furniture in the venue to create the most efficient and appealing layouts. There are several copies of the diagrams so I can make specialized layouts for different scenarios, such as large group assemblies versus smaller, divided groups.

Looked something like this...

While working on these diagrams, I truly realized the importance of space. Have you been in a classroom and had a kid sit so close behind you that he was practically breathing in your ear? Well, this could have been avoided had the architect planned more carefully for the intended purposes of the room.

When considering spatial arrangements, the architect must consider not only the purpose of the room, but also the activity of the users (more activity, more space required), the number of users in the space (more users, more space), the "personal space" required for each person to feel comfortable (varies with culture), and the proximity of the furniture and materials to the users (can the users access everything easily). I will dive further into the environmental factor, space, next time! Thank you for reading~