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The new design office
The Department of Design shared an office with the Department
of Art for over a year. An unused classroom/office in
the Art & Design building was found that could work
for a department office. The space was cleared and construction
began in the summer of 2002. Jim Watson, Chair of the
Department of Design, sought faculty input, did a needs
assessment, and designed the layout and interior of
the new office. The office and hall gallery for the
Department of Design had its grand opening on Friday,
October 11, 2002. The office was constructed by Warden
Construction of Oklahoma City and paid for by a generous
donation from James W. and Lorraine R. Watson.
Goals and Objectives
• Allow easy traffic flow
from the hall into the waiting area of office
• Exploit the angled columns in the hall as a unique
architectural feature
• Not look ‘academic’
• Be unique from all other offices on campus
• Overcome the lack of windows with unique lights
and light colors
• Exude design, to clearly identify the department
• Serve as an example of good design: appropriate
for the user, attention to detail,
and unique uses of materials
• Highlight toys and puzzles to remind us of childlike
awe, wonder, and curiosity
(senses we lose as adults
but need as designers)
Tour of the office
The entry area is set a 30 degree
angle to the grid of the Art & Design building.
This is a literal example of 'breaking out of the box',
the box being the building. To welcome visitors, the
entryway is double door width and the doors swing into
niches in the walls and practically disappear as doors
and become walls. The walls (and doors) are covered
in white oak veneer to provide organic warmth. The faculty
mailboxes are in undulating light oak shelves. Each
faculty member filled or decorated a 4 inch cube to
serve as the mailbox label. In the Chair's office, there
is a large triangular desk. On the desk is a 50s era
bicycle. The bicycle represents childhood freedom and
independence - it was the bicycle that allowed us to
leave home on our own. The feeling of power and joy.
Conference
Room
There was a need for a professional
environment for MFA candidate presentations, committee
meetings, faculty meetings, student consultations, and
ClockTower Studio client presentations. There was not
enough room in the new space so a former faculty office
across the hall from the department office has been
remodeled to serve as a conference room. This space
carries the themes from the department office across
to create a suite of departmental spaces.
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updated 6/03/04
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