Cora Embree - Virginia Tech Interior Design Portfolio 2024

Cora Embree

Interior Design Portfolio 2024

hello!

From a young age I have been fascinated with finding beauty in every day life, and now enjoy exploring this through design. I am passionate about orchestrating interior experiences that are both practical and elegant, and particularly enjoy telling stories through historic preservation and hospitality environments.

This portfolio showcases academic work completed during my education at Virginia Tech, prior to my 2023 graduation. As I enjoy learning about the design industry, I am excited to study for the NCIDQ exams and am interested in pursuing WELL or Fitwell.

When I am not designing I can usually be found exploring with my camera or testing new baking recipes, always searching for beauty in the ordinary.

cora.embree@gmail.com

/coraembree

832-964-5470

Table of Contents

01 Savor

02 NEXT

03 Plateau

04 K’e

05 Kernel

06 Other Works

Restaurant

Workplace

Art Gallery

Live - Work

Meeting Pod

Photography & Watercolors

01. Savor Senior Year Spring 2023 | 16 Weeks | 11, 173 SF | New Orleans, LA Awarded 1st Place in ASID + IIDA Virginia’s Student IDEAs Awards Thesis Project | Restaurant + Culinary School

Located on the doorstep to the French Quarter, this restaurant fosters the growth of communities and individuals by offering a space to savor the moment. Inspired by the front porch culture of New Orleans, the restaurant bridges the gap between public and private settings. The slow living lifestyle of the Big Easy encourages rest and socialization, inviting visitors and locals alike to slow down and enjoy the company and food. Culinary education will allow students to savor their culture by learning how to share recipes with others. Emulating the experience of the front porches found throughout New Orleans, this space will offer a warm welcome, farewell, and in between.

The space is divided by the existing patio on the second level. This patio indicates the original separation between the house and outhouses, where an outdoor courtyard would have provided an inbetween space. This division creates a transition, similar to a front porch, between the dining room and kitchens.

Parti Diagram

Inspiration Images

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Reception Perspective Reception Perspective

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Level 1 Floor Plan NTS

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Level 2 Floor Plan NTS

01. Reception 02. Dining Room 03. Bar 04. Private Dining Room 05. Kitchen 6

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06. Teaching Kitchen 07. Dishwashing Station 08. Cold Storage 09. Walk in Freezer 10. Dry Storage

11. Office 12. Restrooms 13. Waiter’s Station 14. Outdoor Dining

Exterior Views

Branding

ST. PHILLIP STREET

TREMÉ

ENTRANCE

N RAMPART STREET

FRENCH QUARTER SITE

FOOD DELIVERY N Site Diagram - 1000 N Rampart Street, New Orleans

Color Scheme

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NE Section NTS

Level 1 Dining + Bar Perspective

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Level 2 Dining Perspective

Level 2 Dining Axon

Level 2 Private Dining

Level 1 Dining Axon

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Outdoor Dining Axon Balcony Perspective

Outdoor Dining Perspective

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Marble

Bennison Fabrics Upholstery

Cane Webbing

Bolia Upholstery

Brass

Existing Hardwood Floors

Walnut Finishes

Carnegie Velvet Upholstery

Existing Brick

Larkspur Vines Wallcovering

Terrazzo

Marble Checkered Tiles

Level 2 Teaching Kitchen Perspective

L1 Teaching Kitchen Axon

Kitchen Axon

Level 1 Teaching Kitchen Perspective

L2 Teaching Kitchen Axon

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02. NEXT Senior Year Fall 2022 | 7 Weeks | 10, 100 SF | Boston, MA Steelcase Competition | Robotics Company Office NEXT is a home robotics company, developing innovative solutions to establish a system that will improve lives by forming a network of communities.

The NEXT office is situated in Boston, placing the company in the midst of an innovative district with an abundance of opportunities for growth and connections. Boston has grown to be well practiced in facilitating a network between people, enabling the sharing of ideas.

The city pioneered the idea of a subway forming connections within America, enabling innovation, movement, and collaboration. The subway system, known to locals as “The T”, brings different people together and enables the sharing of ideas. The lines connect many stations and bridges the gap between the home and office, enabling revolutionary ideas to break out from a centralized location.

Inspired by the networking nature of The T, the NEXT office implements it’s own network through circulation, allowing employees to experience new ideas at each station and spread them through the office. Curvilinear forms are incorporated throughout the space, echoing the curves of the rail lines and smooth edges of the subway cars. Overall the space is neutral with accents of green, red, blue, and orange. These colors are used for zoning to differentiate separate sections, similar to how The T has Green, Red, Blue, and Orange Lines.

Parti Diagram

Inspiration Images

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Reception Perspective

NEXT reinforces company values through branding, reminding employees and customers of the connections their products enable.

Lines radiating out from the point illustrate the six core values NEXT is centered on: Humanity Centered, Purpose Driven, Foster Connections, Act with Integrity & Excellence, Be Authentic & Be You, Think Big and be the Next.

A central node symbolizes individuals connecting and spreading out from a common point.

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Floor Plan NTS 01. Reception 02. Work Cafe 03. Mother’s Room 04. Wellness Room 14

05. Resource Room 06. Meeting Room 07. Inclusive Design Lab 08. Retail Mockup

09. Storage 10. Home Office Lab 11. Phone Room 12. Team Space

13. Benching 1 14. Benching 2 15. Project Room 16. Private Office

Meeting Room Perspective

Work Cafe Perspective

Color Scheme

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Designtex Madera Wallcovering in Desert

Mannington Spaciastone LVT in Gibson

Custom Scalloped Millwork

Steelcase Matte Brass Powdercoat

Steelcase Acacia Veneer

Designtex Wannabe Rib in Slate

Armstrong Flooring Palazzo in Nero

Shaw Contract In Common Carpet in Include

Designtex Speckle Boucle

Steelcase Black Stained Oak

Northeast Elevation NTS

Team Space Perspective

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Home Office Lab Perspective

Benching Perspective

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03. Plateau Senior Year Fall 2022 | 6 Weeks | 4,200 SF | Rust Belt of New York Art Gallery and Private Residence

Plateau is an art gallery located in the Rust Belt of New York that provides an in-between space, much like a plateau, between a low and high point.

The space offers an opportunity for the Rust Belt community to interact with art in a variety of mediums, gaining inspiration and hope.

The space is influenced by the Allegheny Plateau that the Rust Belt resides on, featuring linear elements echoing sedimentary rock, circulation mimicking the form of the plateau, and transition throughout the user experience.

The sequence of experiences provides a compelling space through the application of movement, organization, and transitions. These elements can be composed to draw visitors in by catching their attention and maintaining their interest.

Parti Diagram

Gallery Section NTS

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Reception Perspective Gallery Perspective

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Level 1 Floor Plan NTS

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06 Level 2 Floor Plan NTS

Floor Plan NTS

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Level 3 Floor Plan NTS

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01. Reception 02. Gallery 03. Office 04. Art Storage 05. Lecture Space 06. Event Kitchen 07. Lecture Storage 08. Restroom 09. Living Room 10. Dining 11. Kitchen 12. 3/4 Bath 13. Guest Room/Office 14. Main Bedroom 15. Main Bathroom 16. Outdoor Space

Movable Wall Axons

Gallery Perspective

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Lecture and Catering Kitchen Elevation NTS

Community Space The second floor provides an area for guest speakers to present or for hosting events. Ribbed glass partitions between the catering kitchen and lecture seating can be moved along tracks, connecting the seating area and kitchen to accommodate different types of events.

Movable Partition Axons

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Lecture Space Perspective

Deckton Stone

Bendheim Fluted EcoGlass

Marble Countertops

Sherwin Williams Zero VOC Paint in Pure White

Light Oak Wood

Black Stained Polished Concrete

Unika Vaev Acoustic Felt Baffles in Isle

Mannington Amtico - Wood in Fumed Oak

Color Scheme

Third Floor Apartment Perspective

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04. K’e - IDEC Competition Junior Year Fall 2021 | 3 Weeks | 1,050 SF | Aurora, CO Awarded 2nd Place in IDEC National Student Design Competition Team project with Abigail Showalter, Erin Regan, and Kelly Galway K’e is a living, work, and gallery space constructed from 3 shipping containers for a Navajo textile artist and her photographer husband.

The showroom serves as a public storefront for the textile business as well as a maker space, providing storage and displays. An office and flex space connect the showroom with the private residence which promotes indoor/outdoor living.

The Navajo word K’e refers to affective action and solidarity, encompassing connections and relationships. The concept of K’e is incorporated into the space through demonstrating connections, intimacy, and incorporating elements of the Navajo culture.

Exterior Perspective

The Site 10455 E Colfax Ave Aurora, Co

Parti Diagram

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Mixed-use environment Cleaned brownfield Transportation Sustainable

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Accessible Infill site Shops Parks

Showroom Perspective

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Floor Plan NTS

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01. Maker’s Space 02. Showroom 03. Cash Wrap

04. Office 05. Flex Space 06. Living Room

07. Dining Room 08. Kitchen 09. Primary Bedroom

10. Primary Bathroom 11. Guest Bedroom 12. Guest Bathroom

Spatial Diagrams

Quartz Countertops

Public

Crackled Ceramic Wall Tile by Tile Bar

Brass

Flex

Makoto Hexagon Umi Terracotta Tile

Private

Intersections Wallpaper

by Tempaper

Color Scheme The color scheme is drawn from four cultural Navajo colors based on the cardinal directions and the desert landscape. Black represents Northern nights, white displays dawn in the East, blue alludes to the day in the South, and yellow illustrates Western dusk. Secondary colors were drawn from elements important to the client and their culture. The directional colors were used in the residence, while the retail space encompasses all of the colors to create a cohesive space.

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Dining Perspective - Day

Dining Perspective - Night

Indoor - Outdoor Living Connection with nature is an integral part of Navajo culture. Folding glass doors form a fluid threshold between the interior and exterior living spaces, allowing for larger gatherings, air flow, and natural light.

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Flex Space The flex space provides a functional transition between private and public spaces. It can be used as a photography room for retail use or a movie room for residential use. French doors allow privacy when closed and a larger living area when open.

North Section - NTS

West Section - NTS

My role in this project included preliminary research, concept and color scheme development, composing and modeling the floor plan, showroom design iterations, rendering the Maker’s Space Perspective, edits on the Dining Perspectives, and arranging the presentation.

Maker’s Space Perspective

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05. Kernel Hybrid Meeting Pod Junior Year Spring 2022 | 5 Weeks + 10 Weeks of Revisions

Awarded 1st Place in Steelcase Sponsored Studio Competition Team project with Anna Johnson and Kelly Galway Revisions completed with Anna Johnson, Kelly Galway, and Ronishka Sabu Nalpathil As hybrid collaboration becomes more common, spaces that facilitate this mode of collaboration are increasingly important. Kernel proposes a solution in the form of a semi-enclosed hybrid collaboration pod, addressing acoustic and visual concerns. Inspired by a popcorn kernel, the hard shell reflects sound, while the soft interior absorbs sound. The pods can be reconfigured according to the needs of each meeting, and the components of each pod can also be altered to fit specific needs. * Originally completed in a Steelcase sponsored studio competition, our team was hired to continue working on Kernel for 10 weeks of revisions.

Axon of Possible Configuration

Designtex Mod in Daisy

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Designtex Mark in Honeycomb

Designtex Felt in Sunny Yellow

Designtex Felt in Mouse

Designtex 3M Wood Grain in WG-1141

Pod Perspective

Single Pod Perspective

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Possible Configurations 32

Hard shell reflects outer sounds

Structure covered in acoustic felt

Soft core absorbs interior sounds

Movable Seat

Components Kernel is constructed of four main components, inspired by a popcorn kernel. The hard exterior shell reflects sound from outside of the pod, blocking unnecessary sounds. The soft interior core, composed of felt ribbing, absorbs sounds within the pod. This minimizes the impact the inside noise has on the rest of the space.

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Interior Perspective

Alternative Interior Perspective

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Exterior Options

Flexibility Components can be customized to the needs of the user Exterior options provide pin up and whiteboard surfaces Interior options include seating, whiteboards, storage, and screens My role in this project included acoustic and ergonomic research, concept development, iterative physical modeling, and modeling the structure in Revit.

Interior Options

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06. Additional Works 2018 - 2023 Photography Architectural photography taken from 2018 - 2023 on DSLR and iPhone cameras with edits completed in Photoshop.

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Watercolors Assignments completed during Spring semester 2022 during my Junior year at Virginia Tech. The course consisted of three main paintings focused on technique and composition, beginning with a monochromatic study and concluding with an analytique.

12” x 18” Watercolor Matrix

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24” x 36” Watercolor Monochromatic Study

24” x 36” Watercolor Analytique

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Thank you. cora.embree@gmail.com

/coraembree

Cora Embree

832-964-5470