SamaaVaryani-FinalPortfolio

SAMAA

Varyani

Interior Design

University of Georgia (UGA)

CREATIVE PORTFOLIO

ABOUT Me

My name is Samaa Varyani, and I am a third-year student at University of Georgia (UGA) pursuing a B.F.A. degree in Interior Design and a B.B.A degree in Management. I have loved art and design since I was eight years old and have developed my craft since then. I strive to form creative solutions to complex design problems. I am a thoughtful, detail-oriented designer and hard worker who is always looking to learn and grow. So far, I have had some internship experience in residential design and would love to branch out into commercial work, especially hospitality design.

OnePROJECT

Home and Office/Gallery

University of Georgia

Time Period: Fall 2022 - Spring 2023

Duration: 12 weeks

Type: Individual Project

Software/Skills: Ink and AutoCAD

Description: In my Studio 1 class, I designed a two-story space for a family of three (wife, husband, and child) in an existing building. The space was expected to serve not only as a single-family residence but also as a base for the client’s interior design business. Therefore, it includes a home office and art gallery. The main focus of this project was to craft accurate, architectural base drawings.

Note: The dashes indicate columns and beams.

In terms of space planning, I naturally decided to place the home office, equipment room, and gallery in the first floor so that customers do not have to walk far to reach the client’s interior design office. There is also a handi-capped accessible bathroom downstairs for customers with disabilities. The house contains both stairs and an elevator. The beginning of the staircase is behind a wall so that customers do not assume that they are supposed to go upstairs for any services. The wall also provides privacy for the residing family. On the second floor, there are two bedrooms: one master bedroom for the couple and one for the child. The kitchen and dining area are directly adjacent to each other for convenience, and there is no wall between the living room and dining room to provide ample space and fluidity. Near the stairs, there is a sofa bed for any guests.

First Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan

First Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan

After drafting the floor plans on trace paper, I copied them with pen on vellum paper. This process made the drawings more final and legible. I added details like the section arrows. I also displayed the adjacent buildings and sidewalks at the site. At the beginning of the next semester, I transferred the plans to AutoCAD, which I had just learnt how to use. With the assistance of this software, I also dimensioned the floor plans.

Transverse Section

Longitudinal Section

I drew a transverse section and a longitudinal section of the home and office/gallery. With the transverse section, I illustrated the home office, materials library, kitchen and dining area, and sofa bed area, which are all task or focus-oriented spaces. With the longitudinal section, I cut through the kitchen and dining area, living room, master bedroom, materials library, and gallery, since these rooms are all generally public spaces. Showcasing these specific types of spaces demonstrates space planning and organization intent. I transferred these sections onto vellum paper.

Extended Oblique

To display wall and window positioning in the space, I drafted an extended oblique plan. One can see the bare bones of the space without the furniture or accessories. However, through the one-point perspectives, one can see the opposite: the details and human point-of-view of the space.

Living/Kitchen Perspective

TwoPROJECT

House in Bend, Oregon

University of Georgia

Time Period: Spring 2023

Duration: 10 weeks

Type: Individual Project

Software/Skills: Revit

Description: After being accepted into the interior design program, I designed another single-family residence, located in an existing urban lot. Our professor wanted a general, public space - private space organization for this two-story house. This spec home includes around three bedrooms and two bathrooms and does not take up more than 1800 square feet, as expected.

To assist in brainstorming, I collected and organized my thoughts in this flow chart. I detailed rough ideas on color schemes, lighting, among other concepts. I also specified site restrictions and requirements to keep in mind. This chart served as the brainstorming before beginning to work on Revit.

First Floor Plan

In terms of space planning, I decided to keep the private spaces downstairs and public spaces upstairs after some brainstorming and light drawing. However, I did place the master bedroom upstairs since I wanted a balcony near it. I also imagined it would be extremely convenient for the homeowners to be able to go to kitchen or living room within a couple seconds instead of traveling up and down a staircase. I placed the kitchen and dining room on the east side of the house since the Deschutes River rests in the east direction and is visible from the windows. The staircase is right in the middle of the floor plan to provide easy visibility and accessibility to every space. The halls and corridors are wide and spacious so the house feels open.

Second Floor Plan

Note: The large circles near the floor plans are cherry blossom trees.

The east elevation and transverse section exhibit the exterior and interior of the front of the house. I decided on beige-yellow brick and a dark-brown roof and porch for the exterior formation of the building because I wanted a rustic, wood feel for the house. The cherry blossom trees add a pop of color and nature. Inside, one can see the two guest bedrooms, the kitchen, and dining room exist in a complimentary, symmetrical way. There are various examples of pendant lighting and there are large windows bringing in daylight.

East Elevation

Transverse Section

Note: The section markers shown are for the two longitudinal ones.

Longitudinal Section Kitchen

This longitudinal section displays the outside spaces of the house like the balcony and porch along with the garage, living room, kitchen, and guest rooms. There is a clear, detailed view of the stairs that tie the whole space together and bridge the gap between the public and private zones. The rendered image of the living room illustrates the major use of the primary colors of red and yellow along with the addition of the secondary color in the middle, orange. There is much dark wood within the space from the painting frame, coffee table, and flooring. The rendered image of the kitchen demonstrates the huge focus on light wood. I chose green since it brings a liveliness to the space.

Living Room

Dining Room

This longitudinal section displays the path from the master bedroom or guest bedroom to the main halls and spaces. The rendered image of the master bedroom presents various values of blue within one space. From the beginning, I wanted a canopy bed in the master bedroom since it provides a grandeur and presence to the space. Once again, light wood is utilized throughout and shines underneath the many options for natural light. The rendered image of the dining room shows the next important use of the color green. The plants bring a pop of nature to the space.

Master Bedroom

ThreePROJECT

Pictogram Poster

University of Georgia

Time Period: Spring 2023

Duration: 7 weeks

Type:

Individual Project

Software/Skills: Ink, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator

Description: For a Graphic Design Survey class, I created a poster to promote the Georgia Museum of Natural History. Within the poster, I incorporated a family of original and creative pictograms into it.

One of the animals and bugs from the GA Museum of Natural History that I observed and drew was the spoon-winged lacewing. My sketch started off quite jagged and rough before I made the pictogram completely symmetrical and curved. However, then I leaned into the original drawing more, allowing some asymmetry, linear and sharp lines, and a more vertically oriented figure, which displayed the lacewing’s natural body.

One of the animals and bugs I observed and drew was the mallard. Since the mallard is extremely well-known, there are features that are considered iconic to the animal. Therefore, I made sure to illustrate the webbed feet, wings, collar, and beak clearly. This piece went through noticeable revisions with each drawing and layer created, especially with regards to the torso and body of the duck.

Mallard

One of the animals and bugs I observed and drew was the Northern Bobwhite Quail. Again, my drawing started off with a more rough quality and jagged edges, and I adjusted to make it more curved and clean. Also, I incorporated more line and less shape, to fit with the other pictiograms. With all of these pictograms, I drew an image of the animal or bug on trace paper, added black marker and ink, photographed the drawing, transferred it to Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, and edited after. It was important that the family of pictograms was simplified, streamlined, and unified.

Final Poster (11'’ x 17'’)

The final family of pictograms was incorporated into this poster design promoting the Georgia Museum of Natural History. The general feel of this poster was inspired by the Swiss design and style, where the composition is simple, a modular grid system is present, and minimalism is shown. The poster has a clear pattern and sense of hierarchy with a font that feels both scientific and literary, historical and modern. This poster not only helps to promote the museum, but also supports the important research that is done.

FourPROJECT

NEXT Steelcase Office, Dallas, Texas

University of Georgia

Time Period: Fall 2023

Duration: 12 weeks

Type: Individual Project

Software/Skills: Revit and Adobe

Photoshop

Description: In my Studio 3 class, I designed an office space, of about 15,000 square feet, for the NEXT Steelcase Competition. The client was the NEXT global architecture and interior design firm. This global firm’s new office was located in Dallas, Texas and catered to around 50 employees. The main focus of this project was the space planning, materials, and lighting.

2601 Victory Avenue, Suite 300, Dallas, Texas

75201

3rd floor

Site Analysis

Level 3 = 11,000 square feet

Mezzanine Level = 10004000 square feet

ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT MULTIFAMILY HOTELS/RESTAURANTS PARKS/ GARDENS

Several centers and venues

Art

Dallas Arts

District

Dallas Design

District

Sports

American Airlines Center Music

House of Blues

Almost 10,000 residences within the neighborhood, Victory Commons One

Almost 20,000 residences within the area, like a one-mile radius

Different hotel or luxury style locations with 5star, 4-star, or business-class quality

Hyatt House

Dallas/Uptown

La Quinta Inn & Suites

Over 40 restaurants within the neighborhood, Victory Commons One

Over 100 dining places within a one-mile radius

Klyde Warren Park

Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Gardens

Katy Trail

Concept Research

In 2018, Jim Truitt of Forest City Realty said in The Dallas Morning News that,’”in the last 24 months, the street scene downtown has really changed... we have 2000 new hotel rooms open downtown.”’

In 2021, Dallas Culture Map recorded that in 2020, “ the Dallas area ranked seventh” in the top 15 US cities with worst traffic “with drivers spending 40 hours in traffic.”

In 2022, D Magazine concluded that “the Dallas-Fort WorthArlington metro had the fastest rate of growth of any area in the US last year.”

Recently, Axios Dallas reported one of the reasons for Dallas’ population boom is “a lack of natural barriers like waterways and mountains means plenty of room to expand” and on a separate note, said that “Dallas still doesn’t have enough parks.”

The Harvard Business Review recently conducted studies and a field experiment and found that “incorporating micro-nature into work settings... experiencing even small doses of nature at work improved the ways employees felt in ways that fueled higher task performance, increased helping, and enhanced creativity.”

Concept & Logo

The design of this office has roots in the modern, mid century style. Nature is incorporated in each space with several plants, landscape forms, floral motifs, and various woods. The overall aesthetic of the NEXT workplace is derived from the idea of the office serving as a calm, earthy sanctuary from the surrounding commercial, crowded, buzzy downtown. There is a focus on marble and especially wood in the environment. Shades of white, beige, and brown give a rustic, yet chic feel yet there are also pops of color.

TEThe N is made up of dots or blocks to represent the constructing that architects do. The arrow demonstrates NEXT’s focus on the future with Gen Z joining the workplace significantly more than before.

The X is shown with an abstract symbol that almost looks like 4 leaves extending out. The E and T give a vintage feel that is a huge part of the office design with the midcentury style.

1

Space Planning

3 - Workstations

4

5

6

7

8 - Resource Centers

9

Reception & Workstations

The workstations area follows a beachy color scheme with light brown, sea salt blue, and bright white. The private offices do too. Natural light and plants are present in both spaces. There is a minimalism to the workstations area since employees require a clean, distractionfree workspace.

Workstations (continued)

MEANINGFUL PRIVACY

Design

Opaque doors for client presentation room, wellness room, mothers room, yoga room, training room, and design library while transparent glass walls and doors for private offices, meeting rooms, small phone/meeting rooms, huddle rooms, and work cafe.

Yoga room, mothers room, and wellness room basically visually hidden because in separate hall/corridor from main passages

MICRONATURE

MULTICOLORED

Plants in private offices, meeting rooms, work cafe, and some workstations. Plant chandelier and lighting in the reception. Different types of wood recurring in basically every space. Direct sunlight in most public/group rooms.

Green/military canvas colored chairs in small phone/meeting rooms, huddle rooms, meeting rooms, client presentation room

Beach color scheme/mood to workstation area and private offices.

Scarlet fabric on reception sofas with orange-marble tables. Dark blue color painted walls in private offices with sea salt fabric chairs there and in the workstations area.

Fuchsia color painted walls in work cafe

Green/military canvas colored chairs in small phone/meeting rooms, huddle rooms, meeting rooms, client presentation room.

Beach color scheme/mood to workstation area and private offices.

Mezzanine

Lighting Plans

A - Recessed Downlight

B - Noveau Wall Sconce

C - Adjustable Accent Fixture

D - Lacey Pendant (16")

E - Lacey Pendant (22")

F - Parallax Chandelier

G - Direct Recessed Ceiling Troffer

H - Plant Chandelier

3

I - LED Radial Desktop

All the fixtures in all the lighting plans are dimmer operated, even though only one-way and more than four-way switches have the D in the symbol. The other switch symbols only include the number of ways. There are master switches with more than 4 lights connected to them. So long as it is not too cluttered, there is a circuit shown but some do not have the circuit marked because it is would be hard to view the remaining light fixtures.

J - Trap Pendant

Level

Work Cafe

The work cafe follows a violet-navy-gray color scheme. Light wood is a core material in the cafe and gives a glow and comfort. The space includes various layers of warm lighting with ample access to natural light. The long plant divides the cafe into the more social, dining zone and solitary, studying zone. Not to mention, this plant is a crucial example of micronature within the design.