Drew Mitchell - Design Portfolio

[ AnDrew Mitchell ]

[ AnDrew Mitchell ] Design portfolio - © Feb. 2022

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[ Alson Jewelers ]

Renovation and expansion of an existing jewelry store in Cleveland, Ohio.

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[ Kerber Robotics Museum ]

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[ BC Clark at Classen Curve ]

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[ Fox Pointe at Choctaw ]

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[ The Beauty Underneath ]

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[ The Winds House ]

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[ At the Deep Blue End ]

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[ Iteration of Light ]

Conversion of an existing office building into a cutting edge robotics museum.

Assisting with the design and construction documents for a new state of the art jewelry store.

Conceptual master planning for a large appartment complex in Choctaw, OK.

A Metaphorical Short Story with the Intention of solving a complex design problem.

Rehabilitative Housing and Community Center for the HIV Positive, and Homeless Population of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

An Aquarium, New Pier, and Destination for the Tourists and Locals of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.

A Process of Experimentation with Light Yielding Unexpected Results.

[ Alson Jewelers ] [ Location ] Cleveland, OH. [ Completion Date ] March 2023 (Estimate) [ Function ] Specialty Retail [ Project Info ] Alson Jewelers is a well known, family owned jewelry store in Cleveland, Ohio.

Since 1931. Begining initially as a one man watchmaker operation, Alvin Schreibman risked it all to open his first jewelry shop called Alvin’s Jewelers.

In 1964, Alvin and his family opened a new store at a new location. With his children all grown and now working in the business, they named their new store “Alson” combining his name and the word “son.”

After nearly 40 years at that location, Alvin’s grandson’s moved the store to the east side of Cleveland, a longtime dream of theirs.

They opened their doors in June of 2002 and have been at this location since then.

The business has been growing steadily ever since. Recently Alson has decided it is time to grow and expand their business.

Chad and David, third generation jewelers, approached us to re-design their existing store, and add an additional 6,000 sq. ft. of showroom to the east of their current location. The new store features and expanded watch department, a basement, and a rooftop terrace for entertaining and trunk shows. Throughout the design process, I have worked to create a scheme that not only respects elements of the existing store, but modernizes the store and embraces new trends popularized by the jewelry business.

The following image was part of a competition submittal that secured this project for my firm. I have been deeply invloved in the design and management of this project since it was awarded in August of 2021. I am currently working with all required disciplines to develop the design.

Construction is slated to begin June 2022.

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Concept Sketch By Drew Mitchell

Developed Exterior Design Concept - Design Development Rendering

Watch Display Bay - Design Development Rendering

Alson Showroom / Watch Wall - Design Development Rendering

The images above show an iteration of a watch display and the entire watch department for the store. I have worked to include as much detail as possible in order to confirm the client preferences for each piece of millwork down to the drawer pulls. This is one of the reasons I am so enamored with this project typology, the amount of detail and customs features throughout a jewelry store presents a unique challenge that I enjoy.

Each Individual brand wants to be displayed prominently, adding to the challenge as they jockey for position throughout the store amongst each other.

[ Kerber Robotics Museum ] [ Location ] Oklahoma City, OK. [ Completion Date ] August 2022 (Estimate) - Currently in the Design Development Phase [ Function ] Robotics Museum [ Project Info ] When I joined the HSEarchitects team, I began working on a project for Human Mode’s corporate headquarters. By the time I started, a concept was established and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to work on such a unique project straight out of school.

Human Mode is a technology company which pursues advancements in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality.

They came our firm with the desire to build a state-of-the-art campus and architectural brand that clearly articulates their futuristic mindset.

Unfortunately, at the onset of the COVID pandemic, this project was put on hold and eventually abandoned.

This year, the owner of Human Mode came to us with a new design challenge. We were tasked with re-designing one of the client’s existing commercial office buildings into a Robotics museum. This facility will allow them to share their love for robotics and their pioneering spirit with the public.

The design centers around a central hub which showcases one of their favorite examples of robotics in film, Metropolis.

The ‘False Maria’ stands centered in the main lobby and greets visitors as they enter. This exhibit also works to create a visual connection between the first and second floors. The museum features a snack bar and gift shop, unique exhibits, and an event space for special occasions and robotics ehibitions.

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Second Floor Exhibit Hall - Design Development Rendering

Exhibition Space - Design Development Rendering

Museum Snack Bar - Design Development Rendering

Design Development Rendering - Featuring the Center Display Design

[ BC Clark at Classen Curve ] [ Completion Date ] September, 2020 [ Function ] Retail

The image on the right shows the final design. This display is a customer’s first impression of the store and is accompanied by a custom arboreal chandelier overhead which spans from the second level to the first.

[ Project Role ] Throughout the design of BC Clark’s new store at Classen Curve, I had the opportunity to contribute in every phase of the project’s development. During the schematic design phase, I worked closely with the primary designer to satisfy the owner’s needs and desires in their new space. Between the two of us, we created countless floor plans and layouts to achieve the owners required linear feet of display space while addressing the human experience, and necessary security constraints. I was able to contribute design ideas that would go on to shape some of the most notable spaces in the store. My design concept for the central jewelry display located at the main entry was chosen for its conceptual resemblance to the setting of a diamond engagement ring.

I worked on this project throughout design development and helped produce the construction documents as well. I enjoyed getting to work out the kinks of all the design elements we introduced during schematic design. This involved careful detailing of all the custom displays throughout the store. Very few pieces were identical to one another, which proved challenging at such an early point during my career. I learned a lot about how to put a set of drawings together and chase down revisions as they came. This project continued to evolve and develop throughout construction due to changes requested by the owner. I was able to assist the project manager with the production of supplemental drawings to accommodate changes in the work and clarify our design intent.

©JosephMillsPhotography

[ Location ] Oklahoma City, OK.

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Throughout the design process, we went through several conceptual iterations for certain department areas. Shown is an example of the bridal retail space. To help the Clark family visualize preliminary designs, we chose to use a less specific medium such as three-dimensional sketches. This exercise led to meaningful conversations with our clients as we explored material options and the design evolved. These are a couple of my preliminary sketches and the image on the next page shows the final design of the engagement display area.

Lounge Area Concept Sketch

Bridal Display Area Concept Sketch

Professional Photography by Joseph Mills - ©JosephMillsPhotography

[ Fox Pointe at Choctaw ] [ Location ] Choctaw, OK. [ Completion Date ] Unknown - Conceptual Design Phase [ Function ] Multi-Family Residential [ Project Info ] Conceptual Master-Planning and Design for a 527-Unit Apartment Complex Located in Choctaw, Oklahoma.

The Project is Currently Underway and is In the Schematic Design Phase of Project Development. My role in the project thus far has been to paint the large site with a large brush stroke and establish the concept through master-planning, sketches and renderings.

We have obtained approval from the City of Choctaw’s planning and zoning department and are currently developing more detailed plans for each respective unit type and working closely with the Civil Engineer to navigate this large and complicated site.

The lighthouse depicted to right was developed as part of the masterplan and will serve as the icon for the entire development. It will be the first structure to greet residents after a long day at work, and the first impression for guests visiting the development.

Fox Pointe Development - Conceptual Site Plan

Fox Pointe Lighthouse - Concept Sketch

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Fox Pointe Lighthouse - Conceptual Rendering

Fox Pointe Development Approach - Conceptual Rendering

Fox Pointe Clubhouse - Concept Sketch

Fox Pointe Clubhouse - Conceptual Rendering

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[ The Beauty Underneath ] [ Location ] Los Angeles, California [ Date ] December, 2018 [ Function ] Fictional Narrative with the expressed purpose of bringing relevancy to an Urban Design Problem [ Description ] As part of the urban studio curriculum, our studio traveled to Los Angeles, California. Through research, our team determined that the area of the city in most desperate need of redevelopment was the perimeter of the city; more specifically the area which is dominated by the vast system of freeways. Through analysis, we determined that there was a problem; however, I had no way of knowing how severe the situation was until I found myself standing next to one of the massive walls created by the highways themselves. You can walk for an entire mile before there is a bridge or an underpass for pedestrians to transverse the highway rift. The citizens of Los Angeles who do not own automobiles are effectively trapped within or outside of the concrete ring of the roadways which surrounds downtown LA. For the remainder of the semester, we created a metaphorical scenario which dramatizes the Los Angeles highway predicament and displays it in a creative way. My partner created a narrative and I created five accompanying images to express the magnitude of the situation and bring the story to life.

The stage is set in 2069, the 51st anniversary of the inception of the American Fascist Party.

The power-hungry regime has created a biological weapon to effectively rid the country of ‘outsiders’ or simply anyone who is not a natural born American citizen. ‘The Fold’, a twisted product of state engineering has fragmented the largest cities in the country, preventing people from moving in and out of the city, except through very specific designated checkpoints. The Fold’s wrath has yielded the air sickly and the soil infertile. Simply being near the Fold is detrimental human health.

However, the Fold has a distinct exploitable weakness.

Areas which are left desolate as a result of the Fold’s further encroachment on the city have become empty volumes beneath its menacing façade.

Outsiders have discovered that it is possible to live in these cavernous volumes with only mild discomfort.

In the meantime, a good life is impossible for anyone living outside of the Fold. Tempers flare and chaos runs rampant through the streets. The entire city of Los Angeles is in a state of pure despair. The main theme of the story is that life finds a way. No matter what comes our way, humanity finds a way to survive no matter the circumstances.

An Excerpt From “The Beauty Underneath” “. . . I was to the third house, when everything began to tremble. I froze. The quake fizzled, giving way to the idle clatter of an engine.

The enforcers had arrived. They were looking for outsiders; they were looking for me. I ducked inside a defunct balcony garden, looking out to assess my pursuers.

A sentry monitored the street ahead.

Creeping behind them was their personnel carrier, ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

At the street’s terminus lay a no-man’s-land, between the neighborhood and the Fold.

If I could make it to the Fold, I could flee underground.

The regime had intended the Fold to be a comprehensive solution to the outsider problem. The toxic skin and noxious fumes would smother attempts to climb its imposing form. The deep root system was supposed to undermine tunneling. With these barriers in place, movement within and without the country could be pinched through a number of narrow checkpoints.

However, the project fell far short of its tall ambitions. Its skin and fumes lacked fatal gravity. Rather than deep entrenchment, the Fold carved shallow channels across the country, leaving fissures and crevices undercutting its impermeable mass.

Ironically, these shortcomings coalesced into a habitable network of dark passages in which outsiders could live and travel throughout the city. We lived in the Fold’s shadows, but we were free . . .”

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[ The Winds House ] [ Location ] Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. [ Date ] May 2018 [ Function ] Rehabilitation for Homeless patients with a HIV positive diagnosis. [ Description ] Throughout my design process, the fundamental design challenges were to create a building which satisfies the privacy and security needs of the clientele while welcoming in members of the community.

These two objectives may appear at first to be in opposition to one another, however, this tension leads to a complete solution to the challenges that the residents of the Winds House face each day. One objective simply cannot exist without the other.

The Winds House embraces the corner of Robinson Ave. & NW 11th St. On the ground level, vast expanses of glass invite those who pass to come inside. The transparency of these spaces expresses the importance of community within. In contrast to the accessible community spaces on the lower level, the residential units are more opaque and rely upon the careful manipulation of the available daylight to give life to the spaces. These interventions not only provide the residents with the privacy and

security that they require, but they inform pedestrians on the exterior of the dramatic change in the activities which occur in each.

Materials chosen for the project also reflect the design objectives. The majority of the exterior of the building is clad in light gray, ultra-high performance concrete panels to contrast the warmth of the wood louver system which is used to shield the more public spaces from the intense western solar exposure. The interior of the building utilizes the warming nature of wood paneling, flooring and exposed timber structure to further enforce the sense of home which the residents of the Winds House desire.

Within the gymnasium, I wanted to create a space which checks all of the following boxes: A warm and inviting atmosphere, plenty of natural daylight to facilitate any and all activities which will occur within the space, and a space that expresses the overall character and values of the Winds House. I chose this space as my focus in design development simply because i felt that it was undervalued in our schematic design phase. I also felt that a space such as this one could be rich with public interaction and one of the most utilized spaces throughout the complex.

[ The Deep Blue End ] [ Location ] San Juan, Puerto Rico [ Date ] Dec. 2017 [ Function ] Aquarium [ Description ] Stretching out into the bay of San Juan, the wave like spirit of this new aquarium will create a new experiential destination for tourists and locals alike. This Project is an extension of the design of the

previously designed sunken plaza and metro station designed on an adjacent site. This reclaimed pier is connected to the aforementioned design by a tunnel which runs beneath highway 1 in order to bypass automobile traffic above, creating a much more efficient pedestrian circulation system.

The aquarium invites both locals and tourists to explore and connect to a destination that all people can enjoy.

Currently, the tourist experience needs a step in the right direction. The locals need an attraction to give them a reason to enjoy the water’s edge near thousands of tourists.

Furthermore, the area that encompasses our site has a tremendous circulation

problem, due to the lack of options when it comes to navigating through destinations efficiently.

This proposed design capitalizes on a multitude of elevation changes found with the site’s eye-catching features, while also making resting areas abundant. The improved circulation system will function much more effectively, which will allow vehicular traffic on the roads to remain in a constant state of motion. Our site is accessible to individuals of all physical abilities. Access to shade will protect all people from the common rainstorms and the sweltering Caribbean heat.

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Throughout this phase of the design, I began to detail things such as the surface treatment for the concrete exterior walls, the overall roof structure and other various building structure such as the wall and floor sections. Structural member connections were explored and modeled as well as interior and exterior building finishes.

The design development axonometric sections shown are taken from one particular piece of the building. This particular building segment is cut through major elements in the aquarium such the main gallery and the shark tank exhibit which spans two levels. The viewing area for the shark exhibit is located on the lower level to effectively limit the amount of light that the animals receive.

Certain exhibits do actually have a relationship with the ocean, for example, the manatee exhibit is comprised of water from the adjacent bay. This water is equalized within the building to allow the manatees to enter and exit the building into their exterior enclosure as they wish. The sharks exhibit is located on the lower level to effectively limit the amount of light that the animals receive.

Exterior spaces are coordinated within the circulation system of the aquarium as well.

At the terminus of the aquarium, there is a large exterior area which creates not only seating for a full service restaurant but also provides a terminating point for the entire pier as it gently terraces into the bay.

[ Iterations of Light ] [ Location ] Stillwater, OK. [ Date ] April 2017 [ Function ] Architectural and functional lighting fixture [ Description ] “A process of experimentation yielding unexpected results. An inherently adaptable element that creates the ideal environment for the user. A piece which morphs itself to its surroundings in way that renders itself indispensable. Similar to an essential element of a structure, This composition of light will emerge from the shadows as a permanent installment to its host. Through unique iterations of form, the spatial quality of light will be unrivaled.”

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[ Final Product ] Building this product, and seeing it through all stages of design as well as construction was one of the most satisfying experiences I have ever had. Like any project though, it had its ups and downs. Not everything went perfect or as planned, but I think that is just part our profession. Overall I believe that the final product turned out to be everything that I could have asked for and I am very proud of the result. Over the course of the 3 weeks of building, I have grown tremendously as a designer, as I have gained the ability to work through some unforeseen problems throughout the construction phase, not just the design phase of the project. [ Challenges ] Many of the challenges that I faced along the way were small yet still significant. For example, the stain that I applied to the wood was exactly the color that I was looking for, but when I applied the polyurethane, it dramatically altered the appearance making it appear too shiny which was undesirable. To solve this problem, I sanded the surface to create a lighter, but dull and distressed look while maintaining the sealed properties of the wood. I was worried that the technique would destroy the finish but it actually allowed me to match my current furniture, effectively allowing it to merge well with the other elements in our apartment.

During the design phase I had intended to include lighting on the rotating elements of the lamp. Due to financial, time, and technical constraints, this feature was excluded from the design. Currently, the lighting only occurs on the sedentary portions of the lamp, however, the rotating elements allow the lamp to fulfill its intended purpose of interacting with light and controlling the resultant shadows.

Portfolio Prepared by Drew Mitchell Printed and Bound in The Automobile Alley District Oklahoma City, OK. ©Drew Mitchell - February, 2022