Laura Aykroyd Portfolio 2022

LAportfolio

LAURA AYKROYD

I’m so happy to meet you, and I thank you for taking a look at my work! Since I was little, I remember connecting memories, feelings, and relationships with certain spaces. I tracked my past through the rooms and buildings I’ve walked through on trips and in my city. This is why I chose Interior Architecture and Design; I want to bring memories of beauty, comfort, and wellbeing to every person who enters spaces I design. I’m currently half way through my third year at the University of Kansas, and am growing in creative, functional, and programmatic design, which is displayed through my projects.

Software Education Graduation

Expected IA

Graduation:

May 2024

Expected

Masters of Architecture

Graduation: May 2026

industry experience

Head Graphic Designer

West Coast Catholic | Lincoln, Nebraska

June 2022 - Present

Managed and created at least two emails a week from scratch while contributing to the main design team to plan business and marketing strategies per quarter.

Helped establish the new website and Instagram account with custom illustrations, modeling, and graphic arrangements.

IIDA Student President

August 2022 - Present

International Interior Design Association | University of Kansas

Lead, organize, and support IIDA board of nine officers to develop extensive plans, schedules, and events that provide students professional and social opportunities.

Act as the liaison between professional firms, school faculty, and other student organizations, ensuring access to professional and social opportunities.

additional experience

Community Outreach Committee Chair

Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority | Aug 2022 - Present Co-leading a team of 8 members to compile events from the local community to share in a monthly newsletter for our sorority. Graphically arranging all the information.

Social Events Committee

Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority | Jan 2021 - Present Working with the Social Events Chair to plan decorations, set up venues, run sign ins and outs, and clean up the social events for my sorority.

Recruitment Data Assistant

Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority | Dec 2021 -Dec 2022

Collected, kept track of, and responded to 1,600 alumni concerning recommendation letters. Received and logged the 850 applications to KU’s Fall formal Recruitment.

2nd Year IIDA Rep

August 2021 - May 2022

International Interior Design Association | University of Kansas

Develop extensive plans, schedules, and events with IIDA Student board members to provide students professional opportunities and a supportive community.

Act as a trusted representative for 2nd year students by receiving feedback and representing their thoughts at board meetings and organizing requested events.

Material Librarian

September 2021 - May 2022

School of Architecture and Design | University of Kansas

Maintain and organize multiple materials types from over 10 professional textile, flooring, wall surface, and acoustic material companies.

Provide excellent service to the Architecture Department for the University of Kansas by maintaining appearance and visual displays in the building.

St. Lawrence Center Ad Astra Team

St. Lawrence Center | Aug 2021 - May 2022

Helped with a weekly, faith inspiring event for college students as a member of the 15 person team that set up, greeted newcomers, led small groups, and cleaned up the event.

Membership Development Committee

Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority | May 2020 - Dec 2020

Met weekly with a team of 7, as the representative for my class, to hear, discuss, and justly address financial, social, and emotional problems of chapter members.

Greeter

Furniture Mall of Kansas | June 2020 - Aug 2020

Personally welcomed, and gave directions to each customer at the front doors while simultaneously taking and making coffee and food orders and cleaning the cafe.

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revealed

project description

During this semester, I have been redesigning the interactive living floor of the Dallas , Texas CC Young Living Memory Care facility for Alzheimer’s and Dementia patients. Based on extensive research of design considerations that benefit the mental, physical, and intellectual health of elderly, the spatial planning, furniture, lighting, and material selections all work to soften the devastation of memory loss.

design concept

This space actively lights the darkness caused by Alzheimer’s Disease by lightening resident’s minds with stimulating interactions, life giving activities, and a vibrant energy. Guided by the movement and fluctuations in daylight, residents are lead to engaging experiences revealed by lighted visual markers, ample daylight, and a balance of lighting levels. Surrounded by a bright, gentle aesthetic, residents feel clear, free, and energized to follow the light to new life everyday.

site analysis

Located in Dallas, Texas, the CC Young Living Community welcomes residents into senior living, assisted living, and memory care. Residents have access to nearby parks and restaurants, and multiple dining and recreation locations on-site.

sun analysis

The sun moves diagonally across the site; the morning light hits the front of the building, and the evening reaches the northwest side and garden. This analysis directed my spatial layout.

schematic design

adjacency key

adjacency matrix

Considering our program of 13,000 sq ft, I arranged the spaces’ adjacencies in order to allow more individual, closed space to flow understandably and seamlessly with the public, open areas. This gives residents easy and quick access to whatever experience they are desiring in the moment. This also considers the multiple sensory and personal needs of the users.

zoning diagrams

The movement of the sun guided the placement of the spaces. I considered how the use of each room would change as the lighting shifted through the day.

zoning key

Primary Secondary Tertiary Public Private Parti Wall Elevator Stairs

design development

Non-Slip Flooring

Korlock Select | Kardean 20 mil wear layer

Adjustable Lighting

Bohemia | Marset

Phase Cut Dimming

Accessible Furniture

Aleta Armchair | Vicarbbe

Seat Height 17”

Durable and Tactile Finishes

Milk Hillside | Designtex

100,000 WS Double Rubs

floorplan scale 1” = 20’

NonSlip Wood

NonSlip Tile

Spatial Flooring

Acoustic Flooring

BUTTERFLY

SENSORY GARDEN

Recreation

final spaces

material board

I created a material board for each of the three spaces I focused on. The layout emulates the path of the sun in morning, midday, and evening light, and the windows between the boards highlights the selections that are found in multiple spaces.

material selection plans

For each of the three spaces, I selected, specified, and coded materials for floors, walls, surfaces, ceilings, and furnishings; these all are listed in my project manual.

reflected ceiling plans

Additionally, I selected, specified, and calculated lighting fixtures and lamps for each space to meet IES footcandle recommendations. The RCPs also highlight my ceiling design.

project

description

In this project, I took the bottom level of the Two Light apartments in downtown Kansas City and developed an innovative co-working space.

In this project, I developed the bottom level of the Two Light apartments in downtown Kansas City into an innovative co-working space. With a program of desking, social, and multiuse areas, the space welcomes individuals into community through their work.

Through the processes of programmatic design, schematic design, and design development, I learned how to develop a project with concept development, site and sun analysis, adjacencies, bubble and blocking diagrams, floor plans, vignettes, Revit renderings, and model building.

weave design concept: weave

When deciding on a concept, I wanted to include what makes Kansas iconic. The rolling wheat fields of the east state make up the great plains that are nationally known. These great plains can only be so great because of each strand of wheat within them. This is the same for people; a community is made great because of the individual contributions of the people within. This idea drove my design.

As a singular strand of wheat creates a field, the individual person brings their ideas and hard work to create the collaborative ideas of a community. The simplicity of this idea carries into the minimalist aesthetic of the space, bringing users back to their nature of being an individual in the community.

site analysis

sun studies & vignettes site diagram

Tracking the sun path through the space determined interior room placement. I began experimenting with interior layout and finish ideas though watercolor vignettes.

sun analysis

It was important to analyze traffic and noise pollution to determine room placement and determine outdoor items of interest to arrange certain views through spatial design.

branding design development

Weave: Working Together describes my coworking space because it embodies the blend and intertwining of community, mediation, and individual spaces. The separate areas for these spaces are woven together by the flowing circulation path and the strong community built in the office environment.

schematic design

In schematics, I developed the idea of a layering of spaces, community, mediation, and individual, inspired by the layering of fields seen in a Kansan landscape.

floorplan scale: 5/64” = 1’ 0”

Spaces are layered to accomodate various working identities: users enter into first layer of the lively community spaces of the reception, cafe, makers space, and lounges. This strengthening energy carries lightly to the second layer, the mediation spaces, of the permanent and hot desks, where the slight separation allows for focus. Finally, peace and focus is found in the third layer: the privacy areas of the offices and nooks.

PHONE BOOTHS

Privacy Nooks | Scale: 1/8” = 1’

Front Lounge Seating | Scale: 1/8” = 1’

PHONE BOOTHS

KITCHENETTE

RESTROOM

CONFERENCE 2

LACTATION

PRIVATE DESKS

CONFERENCE 1

HOT DESKS

MAKER SPACE

PRIVACY NOOKS LOUNGE

LOBBY CAFE

bubble diagram blocking diagram

model and renderings

spatial division

The floorplan is layered in public, semi-public, and private spaces, creating a hub of interaction in the entraces spaces, and a place of peace and privacy as users wander towards the perimeter.

Individual Mediation Community

funiture selections

knoll risom lounge chair

muuto tip lamptable

teknion expansion cityline height deskingadjustable

under the bell pendant muuto fiber armchair knoll generation chair

teknion kuskkow stool

1/4” scale physical model

Made from foam core, basswood, bristol, paint, and multiple textiles, the model section cut displays the three levels of space layering. With the coffee bar and multiuse space one can see community, with the desking framing this space one can see the mediation space, and finally, with the phone booths and no tech room, one can see individual space.

revive

project description

Through this project, I worked with a partner to create a smart and sustainable home located in Strawberry Hill of Kansas City, Missouri. This historical and culturally vibrant area welcomes every person and their social battles. In discovering that at least 5% of the population deals with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, we decided to create a haven where residents dealing with this trauma can be healed, empowered, and restored.

design concept: revive

By creating a haven of peace and recovery within the community of Strawberry Hill, the residents have a safe place where they can return to themselves and return to their community. This home provides personal and communal spaces formed by sustainable construction, materials, and planning that respond to the needs of healing in the minds of those with PTSD.

smart home

site analysis and schematic design

spatial division noise source parks churches schools

self community nature

10 min walk restaurants grocery

floorplans

Scale: 1/16” = 1’ 0”

location and transportation

local participation and physical activity by its proximity to near by resources

energy and atmosphere meets ENERGY STAR and HERS Index ratings

water efficiency

water usage is less than the average by at least 20%

materials and resources

environmentally responsive with materials that are sensitive to the environment

sustainable sites minimize excessive heat, rain water waste, pest problems

indoor environment quality by monitoring the IAQ of the home through sensors and HVAC systems, the air remains clean

dimensioned floorplans

These crucial pages of the construction documents taught me the process of measuring: continually more specific with each layer of dimensions. I also learned how ceiling plans are measured from the interior walls.

callout rooms

I learned through this method of viewing smaller rooms of the home how to expand on the individual measurements of each elevation. I also learned how to call out these pages with sheet and number on the floorplans.

detail drawings

Compiling all the detail work from the project onto a page taught me the importance of describing each individual measurement in both elevation and plan. Additionally, I learned the importance of calling out each item of the system for clarity for the contractor.

design development

Scale: 1/4” = 1’ 0”

Scale: 1/4” = 1’ 0”

private and public

The facade is wrapped in vertical and horizontal curtain walls made of smart glass. These dramatic openings symbolize the duality of the home’s role in keeping residents open to community and private for individual rest. The smart glass’ ability to become opac allows for private moments, while its openness allows a healing exposure to nature. The rendering below displays two of the large openings, partially fogged.

yilaninga

project description

Given the Grand Hall of Union Station in downtown Kansas City, I created a patterned cafe inspired by the Aboriginal Australian Tiwi textile designs. Beginning with inspired and driven Tiwi students, the culture’s textiles grew in popularity while still maintaining the religious and cultural importance given through the patterns.

design concept: yilaninga

Just as the Tiwi displayed their culture through their patterns, the cafe experience will allow travelers a space to share their own uniqueness. Inspired by the journey of the Tiwi families in their celebration of pukamani, the circulation, organization, and materiality of the space will set users on a journey of multiple seating options, of experiential food and rest, and of celebration of community.

04 pattern cafe

patterns and dividers

pattern exploration

I explored five of the Tiwi patterns, and, finding inspiration, created ten new patterns. From these, I took the 2-dimensional shapes into 3-dimensional models.

divider exploration

These five models influenced my divider design ideation. The divider is a physical representation of the pattern that creates a multitude of seating spaces for the users of the cafe.

design development

celebrating the natural

project description

Given a store frame of 14’x18,’ I created a micro-retail store for the sustainable, minimalist clothing brand Luciee. Began in 2019 to reverse the toll of fast fashion, owner and designer Lucie Kucharova works with local artisans to deliver kind, lasting, and complimenting clothes to worldwide customers from Bali.

design concept: celebrating the natural

The retail space encompassing Luciee mirrors the brand’s story and products by the celebrating of the natural. The store, through its design of sophisticated natural elements in materials, textiles, and displays, allows both the women and clothing pieces to stand out in their unique, feminine beauty. With the use gentle drapery to guide circulation, customers physically and visually experience the tight knit relationship of designer, artisan, and buyer that brought about the timeless, minimal, and stunning clothes.

layout exploration

In order to convey the journey that leads customers to find their perfect pieces, I wrapped the ceiling in guiding swaths of imitation linen that would guide the customer on the brand and shopping journey: from the entrance, which represents the customer, to the fitting room, which brings to mind the local artisans, and finally to the kiosk, which symbolizes Lucie’s connection with her customers.

process development

floorplans & reflected ceiling plan

sections and elevations

Scale: 1/4” = 1’ 0”

B Store Front Elevation

FLOORPLAN

Floorplan

the times of prayer

project description

In this project, I designed a pavilion of enlightened space that utilized light’s movement through the space to describe a faith tradition. The Islamic faith tradition is built on five pillars: profession of faith, five times of daily prayer, fasting, alms, and pilgrimage. These five pillars allows anyone who gives the profession of faith to become close to Allah. Additionally, each part of the faith is directionally faced towards Mecca.

design concept: the times of prayer

The five times of daily prayer that direct people to Allah inspired me; I desired my space to portray this journey through the day and through life, following the five pillars, five times a day. By emphasizing the Mihrab shape to direct the path of travel, users experience physical steps of prayer towards Allah, all decorated with the sun.

North Section

West Section

Worshippers 5 times of Prayer

Feminine Presence

Allah & the Prophets

Good and Evil

Welcoming Faith

watercolors

This set of watercolors describes important aspects of the Muslim religion.

final design

Each step through the space is a time of prayer in the day. When one enters at the first step at sunrise, they see the eastern sun, giving them hope for a new day. The light changes and shifts across the form through the next steps, symbolizing how one’s relationship with Allah fluctuates through the day. Finally, at sunset, the prayer, one can look back on their journey and see the setting sun filter through the delicate beams, decorating the ceiling in mosaic glory like that of a great mosque.

in my spare time

Since I was little, I loved recreating reality on paper. While sketching is my favorite, I’ve also loved watercolor, oil paints, colored pencil, and marker art. Recently I’ve explored digital illustrations. Art reaches to every aspect of my life; graphic design, piano, flute, singing, photography, clothing design, needlework, crocheting and knitting, and writing.

Drawing has lasted as my greatest passion. I love expressing the beauty I see in real life on the page. As I got older, I was inspired by form and shape, leading me both the drawing architecture and humans.

These pieces to the right are more recent works. They are not the drawings that have taken me the longest, but they are drawings I love because they express structure, movement, detail, and humanity.

watercolors

a new way to render

My second year studio gave me the opportunity to render through water colors, leading to a new artistic love.

This skill has come in handy during multiple projects in quick suggestions of materiality and form, expressing ideas well without finality.

couches

With couches, I enjoyed creating a slight perspective with shading. Also, with a larger single hue area, I learned how to work quickly to maintain seamlessness.

facades and vegetation

I love creating the texture of vegetation and the outdoor shade by layering the medium more or less in various areas.

chairs

With the chair choices, I enjoyed including patterns that curved with the shape of the cushions and suggesting different textiles, such as velvet, with jewel tone colors.

Thank You

your time is appreciated

Thank you for looking through my work! I am so grateful for all the opportunities given through my education so far to grow in new professional and design skills. I am looking forward to diving deeper into my project interests, architectural knowledge, and informed design as I continue this year in studio.