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Kent State University

Interior Design Senior Viewbook

Preface As a record of the studio projects completed by our 2021 graduating seniors, this viewbook testifies to the breadth and vitality of the Kent State University Interior Design Program. Within these pages are projects that explore both the center and periphery of contemporary interior design practice. Students working with Instructor Dalton Rininger Kline negotiated complex relationships between past and present while developing proposals for the reuse of a vacant industrial facility. Students working with Professor Tina Patel operated as designactivists, using participatory and collaborative processes to address urgent social needs in Northeast Ohio. In my studio, students considered the theoretical paradoxes and spatial implications of the archive as a structure of contemporary cultural memory. Finally, students working with Professor Jill Lahrmer explored typologies at the margins of normative practice, designing theatre sets, video games, mobile pop-up retail spaces, and modular furniture. The student work in these pages is also a testament to adaptability. In the midst of a devastating global pandemic, these young people found within themselves, and with each other and their faculty, improvisational new ways to build community and continued to learn and grow. Their achievements are a testament to what creativity and determination can achieve in the face of disruption and loss. Even more than the excellent work itself, it is their spirit and resiliency that leaves me so optimistic for the future. June 2021 Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Ronn

Ronn Daniel, Associate Professor and Interim Program Director of Interior Design College of Architecture and Environmental Design Kent State University

Table of Contents Installation View of the 2021 Senior Interior Design Exhibit (Akron, OH)

Design as Activism Jocelyn Potter Julia Albanese Denise Peterson Olivia Holt Elizabeth Koenig Brittany Davis Kimberly Floyd Megan Andrassy Haley Spencer Madison Pryzbocki

YWCA Incubator Space Kent Performing Arts Center Citizen Circle Restorative Justice Center Boys and Girls Club: The After-School STEM Program for Youth-At-Risk Aspire Adult Education and Career Development Center Women’s Shelter Extension Kent LGBTQ+ Center Veterans Art Initiative of Portage County: Art + Restorative Center for Military Veterans Kent Day Services Center The Haven Homes for Homeless

Archive Lexi Springer Lena Al-Mahmoud Amanda Steiner Rachel Gesin Syeda Saema Ufaq Madelyn Orcutt Emily Stein Brianna Raynor Jordan Prosser Emma Gaus

The Accounts of Dogs An Archive of Absences: Remembering the Lost Intertwined: Flora & Bestiola Shaping the Seat: Deconstructing how we Sit Omitted: An Archive of Women in Design An Archive of Copying_ Memes: Invisible Webs of Connection To Dismantle the Present: A Hannah Hoch Archive A Tear in Time: Glimpses into History and Memory Carving Away

Industry Ready: On the Fringe of Interior Design Shayna McGary El Walker Morgan Hughes Sarah Contos-Holden Bailey Downin Ashley Schwartz Meg Lawhorn Camryn McCrossan Robbie Sithixay Rebecca Dearth

Scenes for Silence Perceptual Studio Tiny Pines, Private and Public Get-Away Retail + Workplace Crossover: The Connection Between Nature and Humans Convergence of Collaborative Design & Immersive Experience At the Intersection of Retail + Experience Design Portion Space Blue Dawn: Charter Yacht Renovation The New Way to Experience Live Entertainment Modern Shapes: Furniture Collection

Investigation of History & Adaptive Reuse Maria Frissora Eva Hawk Brittany Iadanza Maggie Martin Hannah Helaney Madison Clark Alyssa Vargo Emily Perebzak Kaylyn Millen Katie Gumina

The Kent Mill: Vendor Factory + Visitor Center Creation + Implementation Kent Mill: Mixology Lab Kent Mill Women’s Center Platforms: The Space Between Rest + Entertainment The Baking Institute The Green Commons Farmer’s Exchange & Teaching/Community Kitchen The Mill House: Theatre + Gallery Industrial Playground: Levels of Play

Industry Ready On the Fringe of Interior Design Jill Lahrmer 2021

“I am enthusiastic over humanity’s extraordinary and sometimes very timely ingenuity. If you are in a shipwreck and all the boats are gone, a piano top buoyant enough to keep you afloat that comes along makes a fortuitous life preserver. But this is not to say that the best way to design a life preserver is in the form of a piano top. I think that we are clinging to a great many piano tops in accepting yesterday’s fortuitous contrivings as constituting the only means for solving a given problem.” -Richard Buckminster Fuller This studio encouraged students to develop projects balancing the creative utilization of interior design methods with other aligned professions or interests, imagining projects on the fringe of interior design. Students investigated temporary space design, video game interior environments, film/theater sets, interiors-focused product design, or alternate exploratory areas of interior design. Students were encouraged to use designthinking, research, exploration, and professional networking to develop the theoretical basis for their work. Throughout the studio a strong emphasis was placed on writing, sketching, observation and iteration, allowing advanced students to explore the power of design to address a broad and diverse range of spatial and cultural problems

O U T S T A N D I N G S E N I O R P R O J E C T

Shayna McGary | Scenes for Silence Scenes for Silence is a theatrical set design that was created to be used for a production of the psychological thriller novel, The Silent Patient (2021). This story follows the lives of psychotherapist Theo and his patient Alicia, who shot her husband in the face five times, landing her in a mental hospital. The intertwined doctor/ patient relationships in The Grove Mental Institute, and the crossover in their personal lives prior to Alicia’s psychotic

episode, result in a messy and chaotic spiral as the story unfolds. The notion of “Spiraling out of Control” taken from the plot of the novel gave the inspiration for this two-level carousel stage. The rotation of the stage mimics the heightened chaos of the story, turning faster from scene to scene as the play picks up momentum, and ultimately crashes to the ground when the plans of the main character are foiled.

El Walker | Perceptual Studio This proposal combines my passion for video game design with the creativity and knowledge that comes with studying interior design. With an unsettling twist on what is normally a very familiar space for Kent State design students, the Elliot Center for Architecture and Environmental Design has now been invaded

by a variety of puzzles and misdirections to carry the player through these once studious areas. Even after collecting all the necessary pieces of sun to reset the sky and return to your own world, can you be sure you ever actually left?

Morgan Hughes | Tiny Pines, Private and Public Get-Away A W A R D O F E X C E L L E N C E

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R E S E A R C H

Located in beautiful Twin Lakes, Colorado, this design creates a get-away vacation home for family and friends that focuses on the dramatic outdoor experiences surrounding the site. The design is based on a grouping of three distinct and separated tiny homes, connected through outdoor gathering and communal spaces, that provide a new way to vacation. Shifting from private to public and indoor to outdoor, the collected structure maintains private kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms, while also connecting guests with the experience of the surrounding landscape. Guests can maintain social distance while having a captivating home with plenty of experiences provided to connect the guests with nature and status. This experience allows guests to stay socially distanced, while also providing a non-traditional and delightful new experience.

Structure Precedents

Twin Lakes, Colorado

stries. stries. Th Thee travel travel industry industry has has probably probably taken taken how how that that as as the the world world slowly slowly opens opens back back up up ey ey will will do do so so by by car car and and stay stay in in private private rentals rentals ff the the pandemic, pandemic, national national park park visits visits increased increased as as show show that that transmission transmission of of the the virus virus is is less less he he shift shift with with outdoor outdoor vacation vacation destinations. destinations. stay stay prominent prominent even even aft after er the the cases cases decrease decrease me. me.

Attractions Nearby

Twins Twins Lakes, Lakes, Colorado Colorado was was aa popular popular summer summer resort resort in in the the 1880s. 1880s. Now, Now, it it is is considered considered to to be be aa semi-ghost semi-ghost town. town. To To this this day, day, several several of of the the original original buildings buildings that that were were constructed constructed in in the the late late 1800s 1800s still still stand stand and and are are utilized. utilized. Th Thee once once Red Red Rooster Rooster Tavern Tavern is is now now the the visitor’s visitor’s center center and and the the buildings buildings are are traditional traditional log log construction. construction.

Mt. Mt. Elbert Elbert is is not not only only the the largest largest mountain mountain in in Colorado, Colorado, but but the the highest highest summit summit of of the the entire entire Rocky Rocky Mountains. Mountains. Th Thee elevation elevation is is 14, 14, 439’ 439’.. It It is is estimated estimated that that 260,000 260,000 people people climb climb Mt. Mt. Elbert Elbert every every year. year. Located Located just just four four miles miles away away from from the the small small Twin Twin Lakes Lakes town, town, this this mountain mountain brings brings in in many many tourists tourists who who drive drive through through the the site site location. location.

Nearby, Nearby, there there are are the the Twins Twins Lakes Lakes Inn Inn & & Saloon, Saloon, Perkolated Perkolated Peaks, Peaks, Twin Twin Lakes Lakes Roadhouse Roadhouse Lodge, Lodge, Twin Twin Lakes Lakes Historic Historic District, District, and and Twin Twin Lakes Lakes General General Store. Store. Other Other than than the the few few listed listed places, places, the the Twin Twin Lakes Lakes town town is is quite quite small small and and consists consists of of less less than than 200 200 residents residents but, but, is is also also considered considered aa tourist tourist town. town.

hit. hit. In In an an article article titled titled Camping Camping During During heir travel heir travel experiences experiences early early in in the the pandemic; pandemic; ld ld not not bring bring their their dog. dog. Th Thee other other family family did did o o share share bathrooms bathrooms made made the the other other family family shy shy comfort comfort of of traveling traveling post-pandemic post-pandemic and and one one amenities. amenities.

Twin Twin Lakes Lakes Reservoir Reservoir is is about about six six miles miles east east from from the the Twin Twin Lakes Lakes town. town. Th Thee reservoir reservoir is is known known for for camping, camping, fi fishing, shing, ice ice fi fishing, shing, boating, boating, and and hiking. hiking. Th These ese lakes lakes were were originally originally much much smaller, smaller, but but enlarged enlarged aft after er the the addition addition of of aa dam. dam. Today, Today, the the lakes lakes cover cover about about 2,700 2,700 acres. acres.

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2021 2021

yy means means “meeting “meeting our our own own needs needs without without o o meet meet their their own own needs”. needs”. Th Thee use use of of sustainable sustainable ee carbon carbon footprint. footprint. Solar Solar systems systems are are great great for for ed ed in in many many diff different erent locations. locations. Insulation Insulation can can xample, xample, recycled recycled jeans, jeans, paper, paper, and and cardboard. cardboard. ee inside inside for for décor, décor, but but the the exterior exterior and and actual actual n n many many ways ways such such as as siding, siding, roofi roofing, ng, fl flooring, ooring, g, etc. g, etc.

bamboo, bamboo, sheep’s sheep’s wool, wool, straw straw bales, bales, cork cork and and so so onstruction onstruction on on any any project. project. In In order order to to reduce reduce using using need need to to become become more more popular. popular.

with with aa client client kickoff kickoff meeting. meeting. Th This is is is when when the the ns, ns, pre-planning, pre-planning, and and fi find nd the the exact exact location location have have an an aft afterthought erthought of of choosing choosing sustainable sustainable ore ore popular popular over over the the last last two two years. years. Tomecek Tomecek ustainability. ustainability. Th Thee orientation orientation of of the the structure structure also also for for living living in in aa cold cold climate climate like like Colorado. Colorado. the the sun sun and and the the best best ways ways in in which which they they can can material material for for the the sustainable sustainable side side of of design. design. but but the the design design team team tries tries to to get get any any reclaimed reclaimed rr of of Tomecek Tomecek Studio’s Studio’s home, home, was was completely completely ule ule given given for for the the project. project. Th Thee site site and and structure structure imultaneously. imultaneously.

Th This is cabin cabin named named Bushy Bushy Summers Summers sits sits on on Lettes Lettes Bay Bay in in Tasmania, Tasmania, Australia. Australia. Th This is cabin cabin is is small small and and only only sleeps sleeps two two people. people. Much Much like like aa tiny tiny home, home, there there is is aa kitchen, kitchen, one one bedroom, bedroom, one one bathroom, bathroom, and and aa kitchen. kitchen. Th Thee owner, owner, Clair Clair designed designed and and renovated renovated the the small small cabin cabin to to ensure ensure aa cozy cozy and and lightening lightening weekend weekend stay. stay.

Th This is cabin cabin is is called called the the Wonderinn Wonderinn Mirrored Mirrored Glass Glass Cabin Cabin and and it it is is located located in in Norway. Norway. Th This is small small cabin cabin is is aa two two bedroom bedroom cabin cabin that that sleeps sleeps four four people. people. Th There ere is is aa small small kitchen kitchen and and one one bathroom. bathroom. Off Off of of the the back back deck deck there there is is aa gathering gathering patio patio area area along along with with aa fi fireplace replace that that overlooks overlooks the the water. water.

Site Precedents

Th This is tiny tiny home home is is designed designed by by the the architecture architecture fi firm rm CABN. CABN. It It is is located located in in Adelaide Adelaide Hills Hills Council, Council, Australia. Australia. Th Thee tiny tiny home home is is about about 160 160 sqft sqft and and it it was was constructed constructed in in 2017. 2017. Th This is sustainable sustainable and and eco-friendly eco-friendly tiny tiny home home was was designed designed as as aa get-away get-away vacation vacation spot spot and and the the architects architects intent intent was was to to have have people people disconnect disconnect from from the the busy busy reality. reality.

Th This is group group of of cabins cabins were were designed designed for for the the Colorado Colorado Outward Outward Bound Bound School. School. Th They ey were were

Space Saving Designs Th This is site site plan plan coincides coincides with with the last the last structure structure precedent precedent study study shown shown above. above. Th Thee Colorado Colorado Outward Outward Bound Bound School School is is aa non-profi non-profitt organization organization that that focuses focuses on on the the traditional traditional aspects aspects of learning about of learning about the the environment. environment. Th These ese small small cabins cabins provide provide sleeping sleeping space space as as well well as as desks desks to to ensure ensure that that the the students students are are learning learning about about the the environment environment while while also also exploring exploring it. it. Th Thee communal communal spaces spaces are are the the small small decks decks attached attached to to the the cabins cabins or or the the nature nature in in between between the the cabins. cabins.

Willis Willis Lake Lake Trail Trail is is about about an an eleven eleven mile mile hike hike and and is is considered considered to to be be aa diffi difficult cult trail. trail. Typically, Typically, this this trail trail can can only only be be hiked hiked during during the the months months of of May-October, May-October, due due to to deep deep snow snow in in the the winter winter months. months. Th Thee elevation, elevation, 3,057 3,057 feet, feet, is is quite quite small small compared compared to to many many other other hikes hikes in in Colorado. Colorado.

constructed constructed in in 2015 2015 and and each each one one is is about about 100 100 sqft sqft.. Th There ere are are no no bathrooms bathrooms nor nor kitchens, kitchens, however, however, clever clever sleeping sleeping arrangements arrangements were were designed. designed. Th Thee architects architects were were students students from from the the University University of of Colorado Colorado Denver. Denver.

Climate

In In aa tiny tiny home home or or aa small small residential residential project, project, it it is is important important to to reduce reduce the the amount amount of of space space that that certain certain items items consume. consume. -Having -Having aa pull-out pull-out couch couch that that turns turns into into aa bed bed is is aa simple simple option option for for aa small small living living room. room. Also, Also, aa pull-out pull-out couch couch can can provide provide sleeping sleeping arrangements arrangements for for more more that that one one person person at at aa time. time. -Loft -Loft spaces spaces are are aa great great way way to to utilize utilize the the overall overall height height of of aa structure. Loft s can become an offi ce space, a bedroom, structure. Lofts can become an office space, a bedroom, reading reading nook, nook, etc. etc. -Staircases -Staircases can can take take up up aa lot lot of of space space so so having having aa transformable transformable staircase staircase that that slips slips back back into into the the wall wall when when it it is is not not being being used used is is aa nice nice way way to to add/take-away add/take-away fl floor oor space. space. -Hanging -Hanging plants plants vertically vertically not not only only provides provides decor, decor, but but aa great great way way to to create create more more walking walking space. space. -A -A fold-down fold-down table table creates creates less less clutter clutter and and more more space space to to move move around. around. When When staying staying in in aa tiny tiny home, home, having having aa large large dining dining table table is is not not on on the the top top of of the the list list for for must-haves. must-haves. -Pocket -Pocket doors doors allow allow for for all all fl floor oor space space to to be be utilized utilized because because there there is is no no need need to to have have 2’-3’ 2’-3’ allocated allocated for for aa door door swing. swing. -Skylights -Skylights allow allow natural natural light light to to shine shine through through which which assists assists the the space space in in looking looking larger, larger, lighter lighter and and brighter. brighter. -Stacking -Stacking sleeping sleeping arrangements arrangements help help designate designate the the bedrooms bedrooms to to one one area area of of the the tiny tiny home. home.

Solar Path Th Thee solar solar path path provides provides aa visual visual of of how how the the sun sun will move will move over over the the site. site. Th Thee sun sun rises rises in in the the East East and and sets sets in in the the West. West. With With this this information, information, it it is is important important to to think think about about the the orientation orientation of of the the structures structures on on the the site. site. Passive Passive solar solar design design works works in in three three diff different erent ways. ways. Th There ere is is direct direct solar solar gain gain which which means means that that the the sunlight sunlight enters enters aa structure structure directly through windows, skylights, etc. to directly through windows, skylights, etc. to provide provide heating heating of of the the space. space. Direct Direct solar solar gain gain would would be be designed designed for for the the winter winter time. time. Next, Next, there there is is indirect indirect solar solar gain. gain. Th This is means means that that the the sun sun heats heats aa part part of of the the building building on on the the exterior exterior then then conduction conduction begins begins to to transfer transfer heat heat to to the the interior interior slowly. slowly. Lastly, Lastly, there there is is isolated isolated indirect indirect solar solar gain. gain. Th This is works works by by heating heating an an adjacent adjacent space, space, allowing allowing

Designing for a Cold Climate

Th This is retreat retreat is is located located in China. Landscape in China. Landscape architecture architecture assisted assisted the the overall overall design design and and fl flow ow of of the the individual individual rooms. rooms. Th Thee communal communal spaces spaces are are the the courtyards throughout. courtyards throughout. Th is actually actually aa This is project project is home/retreat. Th home/retreat. Thee main main living living area area is is the the structure structure in in the the top top left left corner, corner, which which is is meant meant for for 2-4 2-4 people. people. While While the the ‘bunk ‘bunk rooms’ rooms’ are are located located at at the the bottom bottom and and right right hand hand side, side, which which can can accommodate accommodate 18-20 18-20 people. people. Information Information from from BestPlaces BestPlaces

A A single/simple single/simple gable gable roof roof is is the the best best roof roof line line option option for for snowy snowy climates. climates.

Metal Metal roofi roofing ng provides provides aa smooth smooth surface surface which which allows allows items items to to slide slide off off..

Provide Provide aa sheltered sheltered space space over over each each entrance. entrance.

To To maximize maximize sunlight sunlight and and warmth within aa building, building, warmth within have south-facing south-facing windows. windows. have

Ensure Ensure that that all all plumbing plumbing is is within within insulated insulated interior interior walls. walls.

Solar Solar panels panels are are great great for for not not only only providing providing energy, energy, but but cutting cutting costs. costs.

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medium + large medium + large conference rooms conference rooms

work cafe work cafe

restrooms restrooms

touchdown spaces touchdown spaces neighborhoodpods pods neighborhood

huddlespaces spaces huddle

private offices private offices

donning + doffing donning + doffing

the home room the home room

level22floor floorplan plan level

Sarah Contos-Holden |

level 2 reflected ceiling plan level 2 reflected ceiling plan

Retail + Workplace Crossover: The Connection Between Nature and Humans

This retail/workplace crossover is designed for LUSH Cosmetics, a natural beauty brand. This two-story building is a proposed East Coast headquarters, located in New York, New York. The concept of reciprocity is used in this project to highlight the relationship of give and take between nature and humans. The first floor includes an experience ‘Lush Lab’, where customers can go and create their own LUSH products. There will also be a mock shop, which will be used as a marketing hub for

future products. The second floor is an office, with open workstations for flexibility and versatility. In addition, there is a unique need for an in-house beehive and garden, as LUSH Cosmetics uses natural products. Throughout the project, there are moments of transparency to emphasize ideas of reciprocity and fluid connection.

Bailey Downin |

Convergence of Collaborative Design & Immersive Experience

Inspired by the Bible verse Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NIV), “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun,” this project is motivated by the notion that everything is created to be inspired by something else. It proposes a conceptual design festival in which new forms of design perceptions (and new forms of interior design) might

arise from collaborations between designers. The working process included extensive research, collaging, repetitive sketching, ideation, and imagined publicity. Every decision made intends to provide a new way of thinking about Interior Design. This project proposes a need for change, to not look at Interior Design as it has been.

Ashley Schwartz | O U T S T A N D I N G S E N I O R P R O J E C T

at the intersection of retail + experience design traveling retail + skate park

This project developed as a mobile pop-up retail space focusing on the collaboration of two brands: Lonely Ghost Co. + Vans. This collaboration highlights the overlapping values of the brands and promotes connection between both markets. As retail evolves with influences of social media and ecommerce, there is an emphasis on designing experience as an extension of brand. This mobile retail design touches on experience in two ways. One being a pop-up skate park that will attract guests to take part in the unique culture that revolves around inclusivity and expression. The second element of experience is based on a study of nostalgia. The nostalgic interior environment is reminiscent of an arcade, where the retail transaction is adjusted to mimic the exchange of tickets awarded from games, now used for merchandise. This disruption of traditional retail practices leaves a nostalgic impact on consumers and builds a connection to the brand that extends beyond the limits of traditional retail.

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Meg Lawhorn | Portion Space In November 2020 I received a surgery called a sleeve gastrectomy, a weight loss surgery that removes a portion of the stomach. I now have been able to regain control over my weight, diet, and overall health. This experience has made me reflect on how America’s diet and portioning can be detrimental to our health. Wanting to help others, I researched the history of diet culture and the psychology of eating. Through many iterations, I created a support line of products named Organize, Portion, Remind as a

collection of support products designed to help with maintaining portions, vitamins and hydration. Organize helps to better your meal prep, portion is a digital food scale, and remind is a three part vitamin organizer that flashes to signal the user to hydrate or take their medication.

Camryn McCrossan | Blue Dawn: Charter Yhat Renovation Blue Dawn is an existing 204 sq.ft. charter yacht that was built in 1959, with its most recent refit being in 2004. Chartering involves the booking of a luxury yacht where guests are fully catered to by on-board staff, while traveling through exotic destinations. Having not been renovated for 15 years, Blue Dawn does not meet the high standards for a current charter yacht and is in need of a renovation. The concept of “journey” was used to represent the evolution of boat design, use, and client experience within.

The proposed redesign addresses the interior dining room, salon(s), main staircase, bar(s), master guest cabin, exterior dining spaces, sundecks, and overall exterior retrofit. The design intent was to evolve from the current interior and exterior to amplify the experience that guests on board will have.

Robbie Sithixay | The New Way to Experience Live Entertainment The COVID-19 pandemic has brought live entertainment to a standstill. There is a need for new designs for mass gatherings like sporting events, music concerts, even business conventions. The solution I’m proposing is a private suite room in the form of a pod. This pod will have access to utilities such as dining, social amenities, and new technology that will create a more immersive experience for the user, while preserving safety through physical distancing.

A W A R D O F E X C E L L E N C E

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Rebecca Dearth | Modern Shapes: Furniture Collection This project is a furniture collection inspired by the philosophy of the late Italian furniture designer Enzo Mari: “A work of essential forms, arranged in a functional manner.” The project was developed with a few goals: minimizing impact on the environment, ease of assembly, and the celebration of a simple yet intriguing shape. The first iteration was formed utilizing the hexagon and triangle forms, made with

reclaimed materials from different partner companies. Forces and ergonomics were studied through sketching. The end result is both easy to assemble and customizable for all users. The final collection includes a chair, sofa, occasional tables, lamps and rug options.

I N N O V A T I O N

Archive Ronn Daniel 2021

Modern memory is, above all, archival. It relies entirely on the materiality of the trace, the immediacy of the recording, the visibility of the image.... No society has ever produced archives as deliberately as our own, not only by volume, not only by new technical means of reproduction and preservation, but also by its superstitious esteem, by its veneration of the trace. Even as traditional memory disappears, we feel obliged assiduously to collect remains, testimonies, documents, images, speeches, any visible signs of what has been. The sacred is invested in the trace that is at the same time its negation. _Pierre Nora, “Between Memory & History: Les Lieux des Mémoire” (Representations, 1989) Art is not a mirror, but a hammer; it does not reflect, it shapes. _Leon Trotsky, Literature and Revolution (1924) In an era overflowing with objects to be stored and data to be indexed, in which the experience of time seems to relentlessly accelerate as the future consumes the past, and in which collective memory and inherited verities erode against the torrents of technological change, this studio asks: What is the spatial and cultural meaning of the archive in the 21st century? Each student developed a distinct archive program. All the projects are located within the Cleveland Arcade (Eisenmann and Smith, 1890).

Lexi Springer | The Accounts of Dogs This proposed archive exhibits the interaction between humans and dogs. The project aims to educate the community about the relationship between the two by defining the numerous roles dogs play in society: dogs hunt truffles, dogs protect art from pests, dogs herd elephants, dogs detect cancer. This space consists of an archive of jobs to complete and a training facility for humans to interact with and train dogs. The facility is structured to bring humans and dogs together in a space that supports professional classes in introductory and specialized canine/human training. Not only will this strategy emphasize the challenges between humans and animals but also the achievements of the training process.

Lena Al-Mahmoud | An Archive of Absences: Remembering The Lost This project consists of four archives designed to document the stories and journeys of lost migrants. Whether fleeing violence or famine or despair, hundreds of thousands of people each year make the heartbreaking decision to abandon family and homeland in a desperate search for safety. Whether they travel on foot, atop trains, trafficked in truck containers, or by inflatable rafts, their journeys are filled with chaos and fueled by both fear and hope. Tragically, many of those who leave never arrive. In the Cleveland Arcade, many visitors have made another tragic journey. For a century people have met this Arcade with malintent, jumping to their deaths from its grand balconies. These tragedies, hiding with the bones of the site, will anchor the archive, connecting across time those who will never return. A memorial will commemorate all who are lost.

Amanda Steiner | Intertwined: Flora & Bestiola

This archive is a conservatory representing the interrelationship between plants and insects. The primary theme of this project is how Victorian women influenced and shaped botany and entomology as we know it today. The Victorian woman has acted as a keeper of knowledge, conservator of life, and the embodiment of the botanical experience. Contrary to the social expectations at the time, women in the Victorian era

Forested Atrium

pursed these forms of natural science because they were accessible, associated with natural Theology, and supposedly innately feminine. Ultimately, this project focuses on the fragility and complexity of both plant and insect life, in coordination with how the Victorian women translated, documented, nurtured, and transformed this essential symbiotic relationship.

A W A R D O F E X C E L L E N C E

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R E P R E S E N T A T I O N

Rachel Gesin | Shaping the Seat: Deconstructing how we Sit This “archive” is designed as a means of studying the relationship between people and the action we call “sitting.” Using the elements of the archive rather than creating an archive itself, it explores the ideas, concepts, and questions revolving around sitting. This an analysis of what we perceive as the normal aspects of the human body in the sitting position, and the objects we have created to support that, while also serving as an assembled representation of designed thought to provoke evolution. The question “Does the seat shape us or do we shape the seat?” was the catalyst for many other subsequent questions, and ultimately many physical and digital responses. This question also poses ideas and thoughts for the future. Is there a right way to take a “seat,” and how might we approach the “archive”?

Syeda Saema Ufaq | Omitted: An Archive of Women in Design Omitted is an archive for all the women designers who worked to break away from societal constraints and create the world as we know it. In the past, women have been omitted from the design world by not being given their credit, or by being belittled because of their gender. History too often fails to acknowledge many of these great designers. This archive will honor women designers from the fields of Architecture, Interior Design, Graphic Design, Textile Design, and Furniture Design. Works from various time periods will be displayed and archived, while also being inclusive of the present and the future. Omitted will take you through an emotional experience to mark the importance of women designers throughout history.

O U T S T A N D I N G S E N I O R

Madelyn Orcutt An Archive of Copying_ The Cleveland Arcade [1890] serves as an active site for an archive and maker space. This project investigates the complex relationship between copy and original. In a technological age, reproductions have become ever more present with the ability to massreproduce. Mechanical reproduction has created destruction of aura from an original and creates new potential of liberation from tradition. As an original gets reproduced, new forms, ideas, and hybrids are produced, warping the context and perception.

P R O J E C T

Reproductions and interpretations grow exponentially over the course of time. This design proposal will serve as a catalyst for the copying of motifs of the Cleveland Arcade and other objects beyond the site that will get copied, reprocessed, and reinserted into the site, overwhelming the space with reproductions.

Emily Stein | Memes: Invisible Webs of Connection

Memes (elements or small units of cultural meaning, passed from one individual to the next) have become an integral part of modern communication. This project proposes to create a physical archive of memes that explore the psychology of human interactions on the internet. The archive will document how memes create their own cultures and subcultures. Constructed within the Cleveland Arcade, intangible data flows and flickering pixels on a screen will be translated into an interactive physical environment, materializing and preserving this new system of digital culture.

Brianna Raynor | To Dismantle the Present: A Hannah Höch Archive

The artworks of Dada artist Hannah Höch were created in a world torn by conflict between socialists, democrats, and fascists in pre-war Berlin. As political factions fought in the streets, Höch joined the battle with her collages and drawings. One hundred years later, the battles rage on — social activists fighting for Black lives, anarchists resisting capitalist domination, fascists trying to topple democratic governments. This project proposes the creation of a Hannah Höch archive in Cleveland Arcade.

Gathering together Höch’s scrapbooks and her collages, the archive will be a place for today’s activists and scholars to find fuel, inspiration, and tactics for the battles of tomorrow. Höch’s radical legacy of rebellion through art will be reborn and accessible to all

Jordan Prosser | A Tear in Time: Glimpses into History and Memory An archive of memories which are unconsciously held, forever, within the minds of humankind. An archive in which the engrams of the brain are triggered, awakened by clues of what was. The seemingly unrelated memories of the past present themselves to those who manage to wander into these fragments of history. The archive becomes a rediscovery of the complexity of the past, an introduction to a seemingly endless number of memories experienced on a single day. It becomes a storyteller of individual experiences of a collective past.

The design is based on the truth that what is a trivial insignificance to one might be of great importance to another. This is an archive that involves a single day, a day like any other, but one that unleashed events that would alter the world: November 17, 2019.

Emma Gaus | Carving Away Carving Away is a collection that presents the ever-changing relationship that humans have with their environment. This collection accounts for human impact since the Miocene Epoch, but has a primary focus in the Anthropocene. Artifacts displayed here will aid curious minds in looking deeper into the complex human-environment relationship.

Divided into three sections, Land, Preservation, and Resource, the exhibits present information about how we change the geography of the earth, what we may lose, and how we change the ecology of the earth.

Design as Activism Tina Patel 2021

“We must use the opportunity to survey our own backyards to see what makes them special, individual and beautiful” _Samuel (Sambo) Mockbee (1944 – 2001), Architect, Artist, and Educator This studio challenged the students to investigate existing social issues embedded in the contemporary regional landscape and to engage in activism through design. Activism is about taking action to effect change. Activism goes by many names, including Socially Responsible Design, Public Interest Design, Human-Centered Design, Social Impact Design, and Social Design, and is generally characterized by attitudes that value justice, equality, participation, sharing, sustainability. Design Activists intentionally engage social issues and recognize the consequences of decisions and actions. Engaging in activism through design is about putting social change in the center of design thinking and practice. It can be a powerful driver to shape citizens’ subjectivities, their socio-spatial and environmental relationships, their relationship to the state and society at large cutting across categories like public and private, work and leisure, nature and culture. In the studio students took up the role of an activist as they researched ongoing social-political, economic, and cultural issues that could be addressed through participatory and self-reflective processes. The project outcomes were incubator spaces (innovation hubs or workplaces to support the community), pipeline spaces (transitional spaces to empower the community), or shelter spaces (a place to rest, restore and reflect) for the local non-profit client. As a studio, our commitment was towards exploring, researching, testing, making, and developing the design proposal, responding imaginatively and ethically to issues and clients. Through their work students challenged accepted economic, social, cultural, environmental, sustainable, and democratic norms, and proposed alternative activist visions to support community and achieve social progress.

Jocelyn Potter | YWCA Incubator Space

YWCA Greater Cleveland seeks to empower women by increasing economic opportunities through leadership development events and financial literacy workshops. In the US, women are responsible for starting over 1,200 businesses per day. Female entrepreneurs have less formal business education, resulting in less funding for their companies (e.g.,companies with female CEOs receive only 3% of the total venture capital dollars). Through business education and training, women in Kent, Ohio will be encouraged to reach their entrepreneurship goals. When the women of a community are empowered, the community benefits. The YWCA Incubator Space for women entrepreneurs incorporates a co-working space, meeting rooms, a makerspace, and rentable pop-up retail areas. Curves and organic shapes bring softness to the design and provides a strong sense of visual connection from one space to another. The concavity in form promotes a sense of interaction with others.

Julia Albanese | Kent Performing Arts Center

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In the United States, 1 of 54 children are born on the Autism Spectrum (ASD). While theatre and the performing arts are not a common holistic therapy approach for youth with ASD, they can play an important role in building self-esteem. The project proposes to create a performing arts center for youth with ASD. Empathy exercises and experiential collages prompted a design with curved geometry on the first level and angular geometry on the second, separating activities to meet the needs of hyper and hypo sensitive children. A high stimulus theatre focuses on music and familiar dramas, while a low stimulus theatre focuses on mentoring, segmentation, and controlled sensory levels. Between the theaters, transitional

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E X C E L L E N C E sensory spaces create zones to recollect and focus, and neutral support areas encourage social interactions and circulation. Together they form a space that creates a strong support facility for youth with ASD.

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Denise Peterson | Citizen Circle Restorative Justice Center

Individuals newly released from prison are often faced with a need for shelter, food, employment, mental health services, and most importantly, hope. Many face high odds of recidivism and return to prison. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction has responded to these needs by implementing county Citizen Circles to promote positive interaction and accountability for offenders upon release. The proposed Citizen Circle Restorative Justice Center is a place for rehabilitative conversation, guided by the concepts of restorative and transformative justice, for technological literacy, clothing support, job application and training, and future transitional housing. By providing these rehabilitative programs for formerly incarcerated Portage and Summit County residents, they will better be able to re-enter society and build healthy, free lives.

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Boys and Girls Club: Olivia Holt | The After-School STEM Program for Youth-At-Risk The Boys and Girls Club of Northeast Ohio is a non-profit organization that supports underprivileged youth and inspires them to reach their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens. With 2,900 children in North East Ohio experiencing homelessness, as well as a 48.7% poverty rate, the need for such a facility is crucial. Through the implementation of a ‘pipeline space’ in Kent, youth-at-risk will have the opportunity to develop enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering, and

math (STEM). STEM programs allow students who are under-represented in these disciplines to work on projects, solve problems, and experiment without risk of failure or low grades. Through design decisions and spatial consideration of visual access, sensory spaces, focus spaces and an urban living room, disadvantaged youth ages 13-18 will be able to take charge of their education.

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Aspire Adult Education and Career Elizabeth Koenig | Development Center

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Aspire is an Ohio-based program that provides free educational services to nearly 30,000 adults across the state. The 29.61% poverty rate in Kent, Ohio and lack of financially accessible career and workplace development opportunities along public transit routes calls for this center. The curriculum will focus on learning spaces for speakers of other languages, general educational development test preparation, computer literacy, and employability skills. The facility will provide opportunities for those who have not completed high school, those looking to advance their careers, and adults wanting to strengthen their technology skills. The design aims to create flexible learning spaces to accommodate diverse learning modes, following Howard Gardner’s “Theory of Multiple Intelligences,” through curved movable custom partitions. The spaces foster interaction, socialization, informal and formal learning, and opportunities to focus through physically and economically accessible education to area residents.

Brittany Davis | Women’s Shelter Extension In 2018, 101 Women’s domestic violence reports were recorded in Kent, Ohio. Battered Women’s Shelter is an existing emergency-to-transitional shelter for domestically abused women located in Summit County, which will open a new facility in Kent. The Battered Women’s Shelter houses survivors in shared rooms creating a sense of community. The goal of this design is to empower survivors using strategies of privacy, purposeful separation, and reconnecting with others experiencing similar trauma. A soft veil shelters them within, while a linear element creates a sense of individual space. Spaces such as community living, dining spaces, meditation/yoga rooms, and childcare facilities assist women in regaining a sense of control in their lifestyle.

Kimberly Floyd | Kent LGBTQ+ Center

The Kent LGBTQ+ Center is an extension of the Kent State University campus-based LGBTQ Center. Nearly half a million people in Ohio identify as LGBTQ+, and yet the only real community centers are in major cities like Cleveland and Columbus. This new center will be a convenient new location for the Kent and surrounding communities, allowing all to be included and welcomed. The center will focus on community, education, mental health, and retail spaces. The design aims to create a

multi-purpose center for the entire community, providing spaces for interaction, socialization, and individuality. The center will be a safe haven for LGBTQ+ people to receive mental health services, gather resources, purchase gender affirming clothing, and simply be among allies, peers, and friends. The new LGBTQ+ center will make Kent a more diverse and inclusive place.

Art Initiative of Portage County: Art + Megan Andrassy | Veterans Restorative Center for Military Veterans

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is common in many veterans struggling with mental health. PTSD directly impacts the brain’s ability to communicate, often necessitating treatment by nonverbal alternatives such as art therapy. Unfortunately, Summit and Portage Counties lack an established program that can support these veterans needs. The Art + Restorative Center in Kent will cater to local veterans by providing an innovative form of art therapy. The space includes individual and group art studio spaces, a multi-functional and physical activity room, a sensory space, along with staff support and gathering spaces. The framework provided by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, “Healing Environment: Design Guidelines,. is utilized to create spaces for positive interactions, emotional and mental healing, and building camaraderie for recovering Veterans.

Haley Spencer | Kent Day Services Center

Portage County doesn’t offer hygiene or day service facilities to its homeless population. With the increase in the homelessness in Kent, there is a dire need for a facility to provide these essential services. The Kent Day Service Center will provide access to everyday needs including hygiene and support, while creating a sense of community. The program includes

an urban living room with community kitchen, play area for children, pet wash stations, salon, donation supply closet, plus family and individual showers and toilets.

Madison Przybocki | The Haven Homes for Homeless O U T S T A N D I N G S E N I O R P R O J E C T

While homelessness is an urgent issue in Northeast Ohio, there is a dearth of adequate and well designed transitional housing. Existing facilities suffer from a lack of the sense of place, depriving residents of feelings of ownership, authority, and dignity. The goal of this project is to provide a “pliable” apartment that is reconfigurable to accommodate a diverse variety of personal needs. Growing families have an opportunity to extend their homes horizontally or vertically, creatively accommodating additional customized spaces. The goal of Haven Homes for the Homeless is to provide customizable living spaces to instill dignity and confidence, so that those without housing can become self-sufficient in the future.

Investigation of History & Adaptive Reuse Dalton Rininger Kline 2021

This studio investigated the history and adaptive reuse of the iconic Kent Mill. Located in Kent, Ohio, The Mill has stood as the epitome of the city’s industrial past, processing flour for almost 150 years. The complex, an agglomeration of many different structures and machines, is as multidimensional as the diverse peoples and histories occupying the region. Students were challenged to research one component of the Mill’s history in great depth and to become advocates for historical continuity, safeguarding the past to inform the future. Like people, historic buildings contain traits and characteristics that create an identity. Also, like people, historic buildings can grow. These lessons challenged students to determine the extents to which the Mill building might grow and flourish, without losing its identity. Beyond these philosophical approaches, students where also exposed to traditional standards set forth by the Secretary of the Interior for Rehabilitation and Adaptive Reuse. The building site is approximately one acre and over 100,000sf of potential interior space. The building is comprised of multiple construction types and additions, all constructed around the massive milling equipment that once filled the space. The oldest portion of the building dates back to 1879 and once harnessed power from the nearby Cuyahoga River. Students were required to provide a masterplan on the entire site and develop one portion of the design through CD level. Cumulatively, the site and its history provide a multitude of complexities that result in numerous solutions seen within.

Maria Frissora | The Kent Mill: Vendor Factory + Visitor Center Rooted in industrial and agricultural growth, Kent, Ohio, is a city of production. Today, the city’s small business owners are in need of a space to brainstorm, pilot, vend, and distribute their products. North Water Street’s Mill District provides a home base for these independent owners to start-up and grow their businesses. A Vendor Factory and a Visitor Center provide a place of production for local artisans and a common destination point for all. Located in Kent’s historic Mill, the landmark stands as a beacon in the city’s skyline. It is a tribute to Kent’s historical success and an anticipation of its future potential.

Eva Hawk | Creation + Implementation

Nicknamed “The Tree City”, Kent is home of the Historic Mill District, named after the iconic flour Mill that dominates the city skyline. The Mill District was once celebrated as a place of creativity and innovation;, therefore, it is only fitting that this project proposes their return to the now abandoned industrial facility. This is achieved by transforming the Mill into a place of creation and implementation. “Create Areas” will house activities such as woodworking, printmaking, painting, weaving, and other art and craft forms. “Implementation Spaces” will be located between the Create Areas and will display and sell the work being made on site. Implementation Spaces will be open to the community. Creators will also have the opportunity to offer small classes.

Brittany Iadanza | Kent Mill - Mixology Lab

This project focuses on the workers of the Kent Flour Mill, the history of the Cuyahoga River, and the timeline of the City of Kent. These areas of exploration were used to determine new programs to be placed into the building as impetus for its redevelopment. The fully developed programs within the complex include the “speakeasy” Mixology Lab and Cigar Lounge. These spaces have been created to pay homage to the blue-collar culture of the Mill’s workmen. By providing a space for the working class to relax, the overall design of the Mixology Bar and Cigar Lounge connect the past with the present, and demonstrate how adaptive reuse can pay homage to uses and purposes from times gone by.

Maggie Martin | Kent Mill Women’s Center

Housing Communal Area

Housing Pods

Women's Health Center

Gallery

Social Club Advocacy Center

The Kent Mill has long been a vital part of the Kent community. There is a community-wide desire to bring this space back to prosperity. Although originally a space created to mill flour, the building can be adaptively reused as a space that focuses on health and healing. While physical health is important, mental, social, and emotional health are also important. The Kent Mill will be a space that accommodates all forms of health and will accommodate all women and non-binary members of Kent, especially domestic violence victims. A domestic violence

shelter will fill the space providing short and long-term housing for women and families of Portage County. An advocacy center and gallery will act as a transition between victims and community members. A social club will provide a safe space for women and non-binary community members to gather in. This space will serve as a connection between domestic violence victims and the larger community.

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Hannah Helaney |

Platforms: The Space Between Rest + Entertainment

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R E P R E S E N T A T I O N

The Kent Flour Mill is of a bygone time, yet it has a story to tell and a history to reveal. The structure is sturdy, its walls, floors, and ceilings still intact. The building has provided for the city for years, but its hard-working employees are now gone and its machinery dated. Some would say that it has done its time, and that it has nothing left to give. But perhaps the Mill wants to continue to give and remain an important part of the skyline of the city—this time with a new purpose. There is a fine balance between rest and entertainment throughout the day, throughout life. The Mill will embrace this new need, and help the user move along and through, providing a start and end through various different levels of rest and entertainment, much like the conveyors it once held and the river that sits behind.

Madison Clark | The Baking Institute

The Kent Flour Mill is a historic building built in 1879, iconic to the downtown Kent skyline. The Kent Mill was most recently home to The Star of the West Milling Co. until 2016. Through vigorous research, a program for a Baking Institute was discovered, bringing back the inspiring, creative energy that once existed in this space. The Baking Institute will include teaching kitchens, classrooms, re-designed food storage in the existing silos, and a student run bakery/ café, all reflecting the hardworking energy of the old mill. There will be a “flour lab” to provide an opportunity to learn hands-on about different flours and how they are milled. Green chrome flour will be an ingredient in the interior glass details. The Baking Institute can become a community-wide innovation hub for local bakers to come together, collaborate, and further their education, becoming an ultimate destination in downtown Kent.

Alyssa Vargo | The Green Commons

The dark industrial building is repurposed as a Green Commons, creating a safe, welcoming sanctuary space where a diverse range of residents, visitors, and students in the city of Kent can gather to eat, play, reflect, relax, socialize, or study. The Green Commons showcases natural elements such as daylighting, vegetation, and water to bring new life to the once bustling building. Several of the spaces are designed for flexibility to allow for the hosting of corporate events, playing of field games, reading, walking, and exercising, among many others.

The vegetation, lighting systems, and irrigation methods create an educational opportunity for the school and community to learn about sustainable design and ecology. Other features within the program include a 100-foot indoor waterfall that can be heard at almost every point in the park, spaces for groups of all sizes to gather, a dining and food stand space, and a public sharing library system.

Emily Perebzak | Farmer’s Exchange & Teaching/Community Kitchen The Historic Kent Mill is the anchor of downtown. Interweaving the history of Kent and the Mill with its community is the driving force of the project. Kent is known for the diversity of its community and the support of the small businesses throughout downtown. Community is important to this area linking The Mill District & the Water Street Better Block initiative. Creating a permanent space for a farmer’s exchange allows for small businesses in the community to flourish, augmenting the Haymaker’s Farmer Market that also happens

downtown. This project also implements a teaching space where students of all ages can learn how to cook. Providing this community kitchen helps with food security, supports local farms, and encourages citizens to learn from one another. The Farmers Exchange & Teaching/ Community Kitchen is designed for the greater good, strengthens the spirit of the community, and brings back the milling roots of downtown Kent.

Kaylyn Millen | The Mill House: Theatre + Gallery

This version of the revitalized Kent Mill allows visitors to travel back in time to the eras when vaudeville acts and ‘grungy’ music venues dominated the city’s entertainment. The renovation is focused on Kent’s history and ongoing love of the arts. It proposes the creation of an exhibition and theater space, lounge, and coffee bar. A performing arts theatre is located in the heart of the old warehouse, in which the stage is mechanized and can transform both vertically and horizontally, depending upon the nature of the performance. The stage can also be used to showcase visual arts as it transforms

into an exhibition display. At the basement level, the famous tall white silos contain the “back of house” functions such as dressing rooms, green room, and a makeup room. On the first floor the silos are retrofitted for public access, with a coffee bar and balcony seating within.

Katie Gumina | Industrial Playground: Levels of Play The Kent Mill is an industrial playground of additions based on utilitarian necessity, not aesthetics. This Mill is a capsule of rich history, making space for unique interactions between time and space. The pathway that you choose to take through the redesigned Mill is dependent on your plotted duration. You may choose to spend your time in public galleries, leasable offices, hotel spaces equipped with communal amenities, or in private galleries and sensory activities.

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This book was designed and edited by Emma Gaus, Katie Gumina, Hannah Helaney, and Jordan Prosser.