The Florence Hotel

Final Design Project - Pickett Cotton Mill

Light plays a major roll in my vision for Pickett.  In touring Goldenbelt as a precedent study for Pickett, the light was revealed at Blend, the coffee shop - just as it would appear once the historic windows were restored.  

A guide for my design at Pickett was following the teachings of Thomas Berry's "The Great Story", and emphasizing that we are a member of a community.  Making connections to the natural world is demonstrated with the tranquility of the water feature in the lobby area with the backdrop viewing the ripples in the glass partitions for the restaurant. 

I further developed my floor plan in the mercantile spaces that generate revenue, and bring activity to the the mix use community center.  This section of the mix use spaces is where most of the public activity would be concentrated.  It is at the opposite end of the building from the controlled setting of the child care facility.  I provided multiple access points to parking and egress.  I revised my restaurant area by moving the lounge closer to the parking entrance, separating it from the main dining area using the solid brick wall as a buffer.  I provided two access points to the kitchen, one for the lounge and the other for the main dining.  

Avanti glass wall partitions were the model for my edgy glass enclosure around the library, reading room, and business incubator.  In segregating the spaces from high activity to less active spaces, I transitioned the ceiling height of the corridor.  Adding interest, I included a wavy soffit with cove light fixtures, further establishing rhythm throughout Pickett.   

The perspective view in plan is indicated by the cyan triangle.  The adjacencies of the space are supported with a smooth transition between public and private spaces with the artist studio, library with reading room, and business incubator between the childcare and the mercantile. 

The childcare facility is center stage for my vision of Pickett, enabling their parents to pursue career goals while their children are in a protected and enjoyable environment.  My research of childcare facilities aided my design by separating age groups from infant to teens, providing quiet spaces for nap time, kitchen facilities, and cubbies for storage, and organized activities. The wave rhythm was emphasized with a large aquarium connecting children the natural world. 

In understanding how children move freely about the space, I further developed my childcare plan by smoothing the corners of the main corridor, added glass openings to the rooms for ease of supervision, separated the activities from play time to organized activities, and access to the outside playground. 

The 2nd floor plan contains a mixture of 1 and 2 bedroom apartments ranging in sizes from 1000 sf - 1350sf.   The 2-bedroom apartments are mainly at the corner of the building where there was more access to natural light.  To resolve a concern with dead end corners I added a screened-in-porch that could be shared for community gatherings for the residents while providing egress.    

A close up view of a typical 1-bedroom apartment shows ample access to natural light, plenty of closet space and a stackable washer and dryer with separate hot water heater.  Additional storage within the apartment is contained with built-in features of bookcases in the living area, and window seat chests in the bedrooms.  

The final plan for my second floor apartments resolved optimizing the space for the maximum number of apartments with different configurations the would eliminate dead end corridors.  In the center I included a residents gym, but upon reflection I believe this choice was too generous, and I should have buffered it from the surrounding apartments with public storage units that would bring added revenue.  

The Axon of the 3 floor plans outlines the allocation and adjacencies of planned spaces for Pickett.  The design shows a separation of pubic and private spaces with a buffer transition between them.  

Eddy Belk liked the way my plan progressed, saying I used the space effectively, separating the public and private spaces with a smooth transition and supported adjacencies.  The residential gym was too large, and would be more effective cutting it in half and using the rest for public storage.  Tim would like to have seen the exterior staircase on the second floor brought internally, only adding the external staircase for the first and the ground floors.  

The Design matrix includes material choices and conceptual design for Pickett.