p o r t f o l i oamber ding

t a b l e o f c o n t e n t s

01 an office for symbiocity

02 an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center

03 a hotel on the island of mauritius

04 an adaptive reuse of a frank lloyd wright building

05 a prosthetic limb retail experience

06 a restaurant downtown

07 an office for the bill & melinda gates foundation

08 an office for the lab: a media arts company

09 a collection of sketches

01

a n o f f i c e f o r s y m b i o c i t y

7WTCNew York City, NY

The client for this group project was SymbioCity, a Swedish think tank for sustainability headquartered in Stockholm, SE. The main goals for their new office in New York were to create a strong identity and narrative journey of the organization’s mission and to implement sustainable principles while maintaining cutting-edge modernity and aesthetics (demonstrating that sustainable equals progressive). They wanted to create a highly efficient space that would enable productivity, flexibility, and inspiration outlets, recruit the brightest and most creative employees, encourage interaction, and enable information flow.

The art of planning a town consists of dividing a whole into an infinite number of beautiful, entirely different details: it’s about variety and contrast. Thoughtful urban planning was the genesis for this design. The office drives people through a series of hybrid spatial episodes which mimic the experiences found within an urban city. The workplace was shaped to generate and stimulate social relations in different layers of socialization: “inner courtyards” were carefully enclosed to provide a sense of locality and place, “parks and streets” would facilitate a vivid and lively atmosphere for social encounters, and “public buildings” were designated for social functions. Hallways mimic meandering streets, evoking the discovery of new structures and places, and staggered facades break up the linearity of the space while adding individuality and personality. A network of buildings punctuated by collaborative courtyards and peppered with teaming spaces was created to encourage a symbiotic work environment.

l o c a t i o n

o b j e c t i v e

c o n c e p t

left: diagrams-- (top left) circulation (top right) landmarks (bottom left) teaming areas (bottom right) offices// right: reception lobby

left: offices and teaming area// right top: break room// right bottom: workstations and break-out area

02

a n a l c o h o l a n d d r u g r e h a b i l i t a t i o n c e n t e r

Mend: An Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation CenterSweet Springs, West Virginia

Mend is a recovery destination. The goal of this facility was to design a treatment center that avoided clinical connotations, and instead would allow individuals to concentrate on overcoming their issues in a relaxed, luxurious atmosphere. Thoughtful design and a variety of public and private spaces were created to address how the spaces would help rebuild connections between the residents with themselves, as well as stimulate healthy relationships between the other patients and staff.

The concept of courtyards shaped the design and space plan of this building. Doctors’ offices and residents’ rooms were placed on the perimeter of the building to provide patients a constant, intimate connection to the panoramic vistas. To allow natural light to flow into the central communal spaces, skylights were employed. By opening these spaces up vertically, courtyard-like atmospheres were created, acting as hybrid social and transition spaces that ground open lounge destinations. There are eight of these interior “courtyards” scattered within the building. Different courtyard typologies were explored and each space is distinctly unique from the other; they each integrate varying connections to nature, circulation and light. By changing these levels, these light-wells provide diverse experiences and foster different levels of social interaction. Although each is designed to integrate nature into the space, the manner in which they do so range. Some bring in nature physically in the form of gardens or water, while others let in pools of light or vistas. The intention behind these courtyards however, is the same: to allow those within the facility to constantly feel connected to the outdoors throughout the building.

l o c a t i o n

o b j e c t i v e

c o n c e p t

01 reception02 office03 staff room 04 medical closet05 break room06 kitchen07 detox room

08 meditation studio09 doctor’s office10 music therapy room11 art therapy room12 education center13 meeting space14 psychiatrist office

010203

05

04

07

08

12 13

15

09

11

10

16

19 2221

20

06

11

23

24

25

06

28

27

17

18

26

06

14

06

11

22 chapel23 fitness studio24 gym25 pool26 phone room27 storage28 restaurant

15 open courtyard16 group meeting room17 living unit18 game room19 library20 quiet study21 laundry room

floor plan and program

reception lobby

location of courtyard typologies

01 vertical garden02 implied border03 raised courtyard04 contained light well05 sunken courtyard06 interior garden07 sky-lit pool08 open lounge

01

02

03

04

05

07

08

06

01 02

05 06 07 08

03 04

left: raised courtyard lounge// top right: small meeting space// top bottom: main hallway

03

l o c a t i o n

a h o t e l o n t h e i s l a n d o f m a u r i t i u s

Republic of MauritiusAn island off of Africa

This project was a reply to the NEWH Sustainable Hospitality Design Competition to create a “Sustainable Guest Experience” for a resort hotel. The challenge was to balance the needs of a five star hotel against those of a net-zero energy use building that exceeds LEED Green building guidelines.

The resort focuses on the experiential qualities of a hideaway: a place to which the guest can retreat for privacy, relaxation, safety, and seclusion. Focusing on connotations of escapism and cocooning, these discreet and intimate areas transgress our ordinary categories of space: they become places of adventure, wonder and reflection. The hideaway offers the simultaneous experience of the interior and the exterior, an in-between realm with uncertain boundaries. It represents at once a cultured space as well as an extension of the local environment.

Creating a dynamic space designed to maximize openness and connectedness to the environment, the hotel relies heavily on the presence of nature and exploitation of the Mauritian vistas. The design feels grounded to its surroundings as it is composed of unfolding sequences of space alternating the dominant presence of either natural or architectural relief. Varying levels of ambiguity create spatial variety where spaces flow from the interiors to the exteriors in an almost seamless manner. The sights, smells, and sounds washed in by the ever-present ocean pervade the hotel in every room. A bright sunny courtyard, terraces, and side gardens offer a rich variety of color, shape, texture, and sound. A deep arcade, built in alcove seating, and nooks offer shady privacy. The space is open and breezy, punctuated with experiences of enclosure and shelter.

o b j e c t i v e

c o n c e p t

01 reception 02 passage lobby 03 courtyard04 restaurant - booth seating 05 restaurant - pool seating 06 guest suite (separate building)

01 reception 04 restaurant - booth seating

02 passage lobby 05 restaurant - pool seating

03 courtyard 06 guest suite (separate building)

0102

03

04

05

top: reception (01)// bottom: passage lobby (02)

01 reception 04 restaurant - booth seating

02 passage lobby 05 restaurant - pool seating

03 courtyard 06 guest suite (separate building)

courtyard (03)

top left: booth seating (04)// bottom left: pool seating (05)// right: guest suite (06)

top left: booth seating (04)// bottom left: pool seating (05)// right: guest suite (06)

04

l o c a t i o n

a n a d a p t i v e r e u s e o f a f r a n k l l o y d w r i g h t b u i l d i n g

A.D. German WarehouseRichland Center, Wisconsin

This building will be used by Taliesin, The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, as well as the Richland Center community. The parameters of the project demanded an integrated design solution for the AD German Warehouse by Frank Lloyd Wright, working within the context of a National Register building designed by a famous architect, while creating an appropriate interior: aesthetically, functionally, and contextually. The project aimed to display how a currently abandoned building can be useful and contribute to the community around it. The program called for a restaurant and museum shop on the first floor, gallery space for student work on the second floor, and condominiums and Taliesin guest house spaces on the third and fourth floors.

This design pulled elements from Frank Lloyd Wright’s characteristic work. The building’s design is based on geometric clarity and organic architecture: of right angles, straight lines, and flat surfaces. Although the existing building is rather boxy, wide doorways and freely circulating rooms were put into play to keep the space open and airy. Walls and roofs define and differentiate space without enclosing it. Emphatic, extended horizontal lines, asymmetrical compositions, overhanging eaves, and interpenetrating forms and volumes create a dynamic interior space that appears to flow uninterruptedly from the inside out. The design plays with levels, the push and pull of both the horizontal and vertical plane, to create movement and direct circulation. Custom-made, built in furnishings function as integrated parts of the whole design, outfitted in native materials in their natural forms that exude authenticity, honesty, and beauty.

o b j e c t i v e

c o n c e p t

first floor second floor

third floor fourth floor

gift shop

atrium center

first floor finish plan

first floor rcp

top left: cafe seating// bottom left: public gallery// right: loft style apartment

05

a p r o s t h e t i c l i m b r e t a i l e x p e r i e n c e

New York City

This one week group project called for the design of a store that would feature the latest in indoor and outdoor prosthetic devices for those who have lost limbs. The store offers a range in prosthetics, from those meant to be used everyday to those specifically designed for a particular activity, giving back the customers a lifestyle equivalent to the one they once knew.

Topography is defined as the arrangement of the natural and artificial physical features of the environment. Our team found this definition suiting for our customers; they’re individuals who require artificial support and are coming to terms with this unique composition. By using abstract ideas of natural and artificial components and incorporating their representations in topographic maps, we created a dynamic floor plan where the exam rooms and support spaces would act as the “artificial” buildings, and organic layered forms would be the “natural” environment. Together these two elements harmoniously coexist and make something new and wonderful, a metaphor for what we ultimately want our customers to experience. We imagined the space to be exciting for people walking in: full of possibility, promise, and freedom.

l o c a t i o n

o b j e c t i v e

c o n c e p t

Fabrication Room

Consultation

Consultation

Assistant’s Office

Manager’s Office

Storage

Support Staff

Exam

Exam

Exam

Exam

Exam

Lunch Room

Rock Climbing

Skiing Simulator

Treadmill Stationary Bike

Fabrication Room

Consultation

Consultation

Assistant’s Office

Manager’s Office

Storage

Support Staff

Exam

Exam

Exam

Exam

Exam

Lunch Room

Rock Climbing

Skiing Simulator

Treadmill Stationary Bike

1

2

301 circulation diagram

02 impact zones

03 level changes

04 topography layer

05 exploded axon

entrance and leisure display

01 02

Fabrication Room

Consultation

Consultation

Assistant’s Office

Manager’s Office

Storage

Support Staff

Exam

Exam

Exam

Exam

Exam

Lunch Room

Rock Climbing

Skiing Simulator

Treadmill Stationary Bike

Consultation

Consultation

Assistant’s Office

Manager’s Office

Fabrication Room

Storage

Support Staff

Exam

Exam

Exam

Exam

Exam

Lunch Room

Rock Climbing

Skiing Simulator

Treadmill Stationary Bike

ramp to recreation display

03 04

05

front entance display

top left: recreation display// top right: extreme display// bottom row: 3d model

top left: recreation display// top right: extreme display// bottom row: 3d model

06

a r e s t a u r a n t d o w n t o w n

D.P. Dough RestaurantBlacksburg, VA

D.P. Dough is a chain restaurant located in downtown Blacksburg that wanted to remodel their dining space. The goal of this design was to increase the restaurant’s in-house dining by creating a more inviting, welcoming space that draws customers in. With a real client and real budget, this one-week project was meant to address the critical problems of the existing layout and propose a new design that would encourage local residents and working professionals, as well as students, to sit down and eat in.

For a radical change, the floor plan needed to feel completely new and refreshed. A change in the circulation path would give the biggest transformation for the lowest cost. Trying to appeal to a broad range of customers, the new dining room offers a variety of seating options: allowing different experiences within the space. Booths, bar seating, and counter seating all occupy this small restaurant, each with their own atmosphere and thus creating their own sense of social interaction and identity.

l o c a t i o n

o b j e c t i v e

c o n c e p t

bar and counter seating

floor plan section

dining room

07

a n o f f i c e f o r t h e b i l l & m e l i n d a g a t e s f o u n d a t i o n

Washington D.C.

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation forms partnerships and makes grants to organizations that it believes can get solutions to the people who need them, bring about systemic change, and achieve lasting results. The goal for this project was to create a new office for this corporation in the DC area.

Inspired by the collection of great minds who will work and learn here, and by the opportunities that lie before all of them to use their creativity and knowledge to continue to change the world for the better, this workplace needed to attract the best talent and impress potential donors. The design concept of the fold and its potential to create continuous forms was explored with planes that wrap around the conference rooms. These envelopes created new internal and external spaces that activate the public areas of the office. With a pop of color underneath, the conference rooms become easy to locate while adding some vibrancy to the workplace.

l o c a t i o n

o b j e c t i v e

c o n c e p t

0 1 3 5 10

TENANT SPACE

STORAGE

FLOOR PLAN

01 reception/ lobby02 board room03 conference room04 directors suite05 teaming area06 administration07 satellite coffee08 training room09 storage10 phone rooms11 computer support12 copy/ mail room13 cafe14 satellite print 01

02

03

03

04

0506

06

05

05

05

07 08

09

10

11 12

13

06

10

14

07 14

top: reception// bottom: lobby seating

board room

open work environment

08

a n o f f i c e f o r t h e l a b : a m e d i a a r t s c o m p a n y

Yaletown Warehouse DistrictVancouver, Canada

The client for this project was thelab: a media arts company that creates and produces content in all media. The project called for revamping thelab branding, creating a dynamic company identity, developing a space that inspires artistic minds and vitalizes teamwork, and providing a flexible environment to accommodate different work types and evolving creative services. Additionally this project was sponsored by Kimball, so the space needed to test innovative applications of the new Priority and Villa furniture lines.

The motive behind creating this work environment was an exploration of how to harness and facilitate creativity and innovation in the workplace. Creativity does not happen exclusively and tacitly in a person’s head but in interaction with a social context wherein it may be codified; you have to inspire it. An enriched physical workplace was created that enhances creativity by providing accessible, casual meeting spots, physical stimuli, a variety of communication tools, contact space for clients, audiences, and partners, and room for individual expression.

This office is a place to learn, a place to create, a place to have fun. It is an urban playground: an arena of activity that fosters imaginative play, creativity, and discovery. It links recreation to learning. The work environment is composed of professionally engaging spaces while remaining fun and playful. The notion of “playscapes” fueled the design. Playgrounds themselves are never complete: they are makeshift and in a state of constant un-development. Here, the employees are the creators, forming interesting and adaptive spaces for themselves to work and play. The experiences for all who enter this office are designed to evoke those associations with childhood and its connotations of unlimited possibilities.

l o c a t i o n

o b j e c t i v e

c o n c e p t

01 reception02 board room03 catering kitchen04 “meet-out” room05 file and project storage06 resource library

01

02 03 04

05 06

09

1817

16

12

15

07

081413

16

10

11

16

16

07 marketing display08 “capsule” office09 supply and print room10 senior leadership office11 project manager office12 break room

13 electrical closet14 IDF room15 copy/ print station16 collaboration area17 brainstorming room18 “meet-in” room

reception desk and marketing display

top: corridor- closed doors// bottom: corridor- open doors

top: elevation of door system- closed and open// bottom: elevation of open office and block seating

top: break room// bottom: bream room lounge// right: open work area

09

a c o l l e c t i o n o f s k e t c h e s

left: boy - replication of michelangelo sketch// right: pea pods - study of form and line work

sea shells - exercise in hatching and value

pinakothek der moderne// munich, germany (both)

fort san pedro// cebu, philippines house interior// manilla, philippines

Amber Ding5507 Olde Hartley WayGlen Allen, VA 23060amberdee@vt.edu(804) 274-0165