final project- writer's retreat at St. mary's

The idea for St. Mary's was to design an environment which would hearken to the needs of the writer.  If the writer is happy, you're happy.  For my space, I wanted to do something reminiscent of a New York city loft.  This idea was not clear at all, no focus, no direction.  I narrowed this down to specific ideas that I would incorporate into my space.  In the end, I chose exposed brick for some walls, and a loft with a low-hanging railing.  The rest of the space built up around these ideas. 

I wanted to keep the space casual as a whole; rules and boundaries are broken down further than in traditional buildings.  Throughout the house, there are casual beanbags lying around and comfortable seating, even in the office area.  I took this far enough as to incorporate hammocks in my loft.  In all living environments, however, there is a distinct division between public and private.  Given my inviting atmosphere, this seems almost hypocritical having solid boundaries to keep 'outsiders' out.  I whittled away at this idea of division.  In the wall shared by the office and the reading space, I added two windows and I widened the hallway leading to the rear rooms.  Also, I have lamps hanging down about 12 in the very same reading space.  This crosses through the plane of the loft and succeeds in uniting it with the lower level.  I'll admit that these are very subtle attempts at uniting the space as a whole, but it definitely does the job. 

view of the main seating area, along with the loft.

2 point view of the reading space.