Dining Space: parti, sketch model, and final model

With the dining space project, there were so many directions to go with it.  We had a few parameters, but the main ones - location and interior space - were not defined.  From the begining, I choose a path slightly different from other students.  I wanted to make my dining space more intuitive and free flowing, using elements of nature and instruments of dining from all over the world.  For my parti, I used shapes and materials that were cut organically and focused around a color scheme found in earth elements.

The dining space I envisioned was one that was mobile, and created the feeling of a close, intimate interior space while being outdoors.  I wanted to use bamboo, wood, and stone. 

I invisioned large elephant plant leaves as plates and chopsticks as serving utensils.  I wanted to have different chairs from all over the world to celebrate diversity and give the space a certain eclectic feel.



 For my sketch model, I used cardboard to make the table, sections of curved bench seating, bamboo walls, and "wooden" wall panels that would support a trelis type of ceiling overhang.  I envisioned the curved bench seathing to be backed by the living bamboo wall, creating the boundaries of the space.  The actual shape of the space itself would be an 18' diameter circle that could easily be positioned to the edge of a house or cooking area.

 Since the amount of people could vary, I felt that a table that could be utilized as a table for 4 or 10 person party was important.  But I wanted something a little different....so I designed a table that in hindsight utilized the shape of an enlongated ying-yang that can be lifted apart to reveal only half a ying (or yang).  The stability of each individual piece was important, so I put a thick circular post at the widest part of each section and a thinner circular post at the narrow part.

 I did most of a my final model at home, with out seeing what the other students were doing.  During our presentation, I noticed that mine was radically different.  Since it was our choice to create drawings and a model that best represented the overall feeling of our dining space, I choose to focus most of my energies on the model.  I used birch wood for the table top, cherry wood for the leg posts, and cedar for the sideboard.  The wall panels, which created privacy and space definition, were inspired by my need to have supoort system for the trelis ceiling.  Why the trelis ceiling?  I wanted intimate lighting to be able to be hung above the table!  I also wanted the diners to be able to look up and see the stars between the slats above them.  I used a piece of reed fencing to create the look of my space being surrounded by bamboo.  Styrofoam and modeling clay were used to create the rock bench seating, which I thought might be necessary if people wanted to mingle before or after dinner without having to sit at the table.  The actual dining chairs, since they would vary by the location of the dinner party, would be unknown until the location was selected.