Concrete Concept

This Design project begins with the adaptive reuse of the Northern Pacific Railway station in Pullman. As my concept inspiration I chose this crack in the concrete foundation of the station. Elements of design that I derived from this include line, from the crack itself, texture from the concrete and the lichens growing on it, and contrast which includes rough and smooth and the differences in the color of the concrete.

 

 

The next part of the design process was to take the elements and principles that I found in my concept inspiration and create a 2-dimensional drawing . After exploring many options, I decided to move forward with this design. Now you may think this appears to be a flower, but to me it is a path. It is somewhat random, as the crack, but also somewhat predictable, like a topographical map of a steep slope. The lines represent the obstacles along the way, much like the path of life, or even a path of a railroad track.

 

 

 

From This drawing I progressed to my textile design. I took the line drawing and repeated it in a "path" varying the size and color of the design. The colors are derived from the color of the lichen in the concept inspiration, and the color of the sky, which I always think of when I think of hiking along a path.

 

Finally, I took my 2-Dimensional design and created a 3-Dimensional model using the same elements and principles of design from the other parts of this project. This concept process of the design was so difficult for me in the beginning, but now it has to be one of my favorite parts. I feel more at ease with the entire process, and I know how the progression is supposed to evolve.Here is a photo of my 3-D model.

 

 

 

In this model I tried to incorporate the texture, both smooth and rough, line, contrast, and a feeling of a path. I also wanted to show a contrast between the organic aspects from my inspiration, and the structural aspects of the concrete. I enjoy this process very much, and feel more comfortable with it each time I do the conceptual part of a design.