A collaborative design process between client, architect, and engineer. This fitness center was also one of the first projects I was involved with as part of a great design team.
About HealthRidge Fitness Center
The form and function of this facility go hand in hand. With playful enthusiasm that is found inside and out.
This project represents a true collaborative design process with client, architect, and engineer. It was also one of the first projects I was involved with at Opus A&E. I had the pleasure of working with a great team, Jeff Gleason (Sr Designer) and Michelle Anderson (Interior Designer).
I provided design support for sensing boards, diagraming, and floor plan development, while the whole design team bounced ideas off of each other.
My favorite touch to this building is the way the roof is separated from the precast allowing it to feel like it floats independently of the ends, which is the structural truth in this form and not just a clever illusion.
Role Description:
CAD, Modeling & Rendering, Photoshop, Award Submittal
As a college intern with the Design Group of Opus A&E, the lead designer of HealthRidge, Jeff Gleason, greeted my ideas and energy with enthusiasm and I had the privilege to be a part of his conceptual design work of a 21st century massing for the parti of the Roman Spa.
While I like to think that this was my first foray into professional design, my most significant role was in modeling the site topography and some of the initial massing studies in 3DStudio Max. However, this allowed me to also create alternatives on the fly and present new ideas to the language of the architecture.
Lessons Learned:
The most influential part of this project for me was how the senior designer on the project was invigorating to work with in his process and helped me to understand how the clarity of a concept will help guide all your decisions.
Award:
Additionally when I returned to Opus A&E I participated heavily in the award submittal to the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA), which won the Mid-America chapter’s Best Project.