Deborah Oluwade_Design Portfolio_2025 by Deborah Oluwade

I N T E R I O R D E S I G N P O R T F O L I O

DEBORAH KIKELOMO OLUWADE

My name is Deborah Kikelomo Oluwade I am an emerging interior designer with a passion for creating thoughtful, human-centered spaces that tell stories and foster connection. Currently completing my Master of Interior Design program at the University of Manitoba, I bring a strong foundation in both technical and conceptual design. My experience spans across construction documentation and research-based design implementations.

My design practice is shaped by a cross-cultural perspective, having grown up in Nigeria and completed my higher education in Canada and Belgium. I’m especially interested in how interior spaces can support multigenerational living and aging in place, which are topics I explore in my practicum and academic research.

Professionally, I’ve interned with Number Ten Architectural Group, where I honed my skills in detailing, client collaboration, and research-based design processes. I also serve as CoPresident of the Interior Design Association of Students, and I regularly engage with industry professionals through events, mentorship, and competitions.

I’m deeply motivated by design’s potential to make life better for individuals, communities, and future generations.

Today’s marketplace is faced with the challenge of integrating technology without diminishing the human element. The NEXT office addresses this challenge by seeking to make the journey towards an AI age a more comfortable, supportive, and empowering experience for employees.

The space will seamlessly integrate human-centered design focused on well-being, flexibility, and innovation to create a design solution that responds to the emergence of technology in reshaping the way we work. This would be achieved through the integration of technology to enhance productivity, creating hybrid office setups to blend in-person and remote work, creating flexible office spaces that accommodate the changing and evolving needs of employees, and rest zones to provide comfort and community.

The design will reflect NEXT’s core values of resilience, comfort, and support while prioritizing human-centeredness. The design will also be rooted in the qualities of resilience expressed as adaptation, collaboration, innovation, and flexibility. The design seeks to celebrate and encourage humans’ resilience in the fast paced changing world.

The design goal is to ensure that technology serves as an ally, not a barrier in the journey of personal and professional growth of the employees. By doing this, the NEXT office space seeks to be a space where innovation and creativity thrive and people feel at ease, supported, and empowered by the tools that surround them.

The character and value of the Next’s office can be categorized into two aspects: Change and Adaptation

The innovative side responds to the drivers of change and progress.

The human side that responds to its environment and leads to evolution and adaption.

change. adaptation. logo. fonts. colours.

Calibri

In entering the Next office, the user is greeted by the reception that features a map of the city highlighting the Western Loop where the Next’s office is located.

The client display, located adjacent to the reception, is an interactive installation featuring stacked, rotatable boxes. It invites users to interact with it and position themselves within the display. This helps fosters a sense of connection and personalization within users.

RECEPTION LOBBY CLIENT DISPLAY

The monumental staircase features a dynamic screen that showcases the campaigns of Next’s clients. As users walk through it reacts and changes to their movement.

The client display, located adjacent to the reception, is an interactive installation featuring stacked, rotatable boxes. The engaging design invites users to interact with it and position themselves within the display.

The think lab is a dynamic, multipurpose area designed with tools that foster creativity and innovation. Clients can use the lab to view campaigns in virtual reality worlds or view projects in 3d with the holographic table. It is also equipped with a conference table for meetings.

Interactive screen display where employees can view life campaigns and industry trends

THINK LAB - VR ROOM

Holographic table for viewing campaigns and projects in 3d.

Snow Sound Acoustic Clasp Divider - To block sound and glare.

Virtual reality stations

WORK CAFE

KITCHENETTE

MEETING ZONE

SOCIAL ZONE

DINING ZONE

NORMADIC ZONE

WORK CAFE

LEVEL 7 FLOOR PLAN

INFORMAL MEETING SPACES

MEETING ROOMS

DYNAMIC AND FLEXIBLE MEETING ROOMS

Client celebration stations are positioned adjacent to the work stations to inspire and foster creativity.

Different work surfaces to fit the different work patterns of employees.

Flexible in- between spaces

OPEN OFFICE SPACE

OFFICE

CAFE PERSPECTIVE

The proposed concept is a supportive housing facility that supports aging in place for individuals age 40 and above who are experiencing homelessness.

The design for Kikinaw embodies the concept of home as a place that fosters connection, autonomy, and well-being. The project priorities and open and interconnected layout that promotes mobility and participation among residents, to create a sense of community. The design language departs from an institutional aesthetic to favor a comfortable and homely atmosphere. Furthermore, the open layout contributes to the physical and mental well-being of seniors by encouraging movement, social interaction, and access to natural light. Communal spaces are positioned in a manner that encourages socialization and provides routine-building opportunities without overwhelming stimulation.

SITE PLAN - 1:500

FIRST FLOOR PLAN - 1:100

RECEPTION

PERSPECTIVE CAFE PERSPECTIVE

SECOND FLOOR PLAN - 1:100

WALKWAY PERSPECTIVE VISITOR AREA PERSPECTIVE

STAFF COUNTER PERSPECTIVE

COMMON ROOM PERSPECTIVE

THIRD FLOOR PLAN - 1:100

TV AREA PERSPECTIVE DINNING AREA PERSPECTIVE

RELAXATION ZONE PERSPECTIVE

CLIENT ROOM PERSPECTIVE

THIRD FLOOR ISOMETRIC

Residential Floor

FLOOR ISOMETRIC

Communal Floor

SECOND

GARDEN WALKWAY PERSPETIVE

T H E S W E E T G R A S S M U S E U M

Similarly to the intertwining of grains in sweetgrass, The Sweetgrass Nature Museum will be an interactive narrative museum that tells the story of the Manitoba natural landscape from the perspective that mankind is an integral part of nature and not a separate entity. The journey through the exhibitions will include moments of pause and rest to express the healing effects of nature. As visitors journey through the Museum, the space will leave guests with a heightened awareness that mankind is inseparably intertwined with the land and with nature.

Activities

The Museum will include exhibitions and installations through projected visuals, physical artifacts, and soundscapes. The Museum will also have activities like gardening classes, nature safety and survival classes for all seasons, nature interpretation classes, and reciprocity with nature workshops.

RECEPTION

PERSPECTIVE RECEPTION ELEVATION

CAFE PERSPECTIVE FIRST EXHIBITION PERSPECTIVE

LOBBY PERSPECTIVE - EAST

LOBBY PERSPECTIVE - WEST

FINAL

REST PERSPECTIVE WORKSHOP PERSPECTIVE

ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION PERSPECTIVE WORKSHOP PERSPECTIVE

ISOMETRIC

OUTDOOR GARDEN PERSPECTIVE

THE LITTLE EXPLORERS FOREST SCHOOL

Our intent is to investigate the new trends in forest school design as it relates to interior design within the changing social context, utilizing the Wallace Building at the University of Manitoba as a medium for our spatial studies.

This project aims to connect interior and exterior spaces to provide a fluid experience for sustainable education. Users will be given an opportunity to experience the relationship between the natural and the built environments and all the spaces in between by utilizing all of their physical senses. (Project brief, EVIE 4010)

RECEPTION PERSPECTIVE

LOCKER AREA PERSPECTIVE

PLAY LOUNGE PERSPECTIVE

LOBBY PERSPECTIVE

OUTDOOR PERSPECTIVE

CAFE AREA PERSPECTIVE

INFANTROOMLAYOUT

PRESCHOOLROOMLAYOUT

SCHOOL-AGEROOMLAYOUT

://qualityclassrooms.ca/to view the website e was carefully designed and developed to needs and target market. 90 percent of the design assets were created by Deborah