Students compete to plan rooms in design challenge
Carol Moniz
Issue date: 10/17/08 Section: News
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"The whole idea was to kind of create the resident home of the future," Christopher Hansen, a pre-junior majoring in interior design, said.
Design firm Perkins Eastman sponsored the event and chose two groups to compete with a $2,500 budget at the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging annual conference.
Lead designers Diana Dougherty and Michelle Prieston, along with teammates Katelyn Goodman and Megan McGregor, were a part of "The Sophisticated Square" team. They chose to design a room for resident Rebecca Griffin.
"She is a really feisty old woman. She likes to wear red lipstick and tell dirty jokes to the other residents and nurses," Prieston, a junior majoring in interior design, said.
Designers Hansen and Amanda Pincin led team "Bingo" with teammates Veronica Lawson and Ravneet Yerran. After interviewing residents, they decided to design for Thorton Marshall.
They drew inspiration from Marshall's personality, designing a room based on marriage, family, faith, and bingo, a few of his favorite things. According to the team, Marshall grew up on a farm in Maryland but spent a large portion of his life in Philadelphia.
The team tried to combine rural roots with a city feel.
"He loves bingo. We created a magnet board for him with a vintage bingo board on it," Hansen said.
Each room is 11 feet by 12 feet, with a 4-by-6-foot window and must contain an extra long twin size medical bed. The design must adhere to the Americans with Disabilities Act and therefore the rooms must have at least four feet of space on every side of the bed so it can be easily accessed by wheelchair.
Both groups had time to build their rooms on display at the conference. Those who attended the conference chose the Sophisticated Square team as the winning team.
The team will receive $1,000, a trophy, and the title "The Last Designer Standing."
Drexel University, Freeman-White Architects, Perkins Eastman and CSD Architects sponsored this event. Furnishing was provided by America of Martinsville and Noa Medical
AAHSA is a national non-profit organization that works with 5,000 nursing homes and retirement communities across the country. This year's annual conference, "One Voice," was held at the Philadelphia Convention Center Oct. 12-15. It featured over 200 educational sessions, 600 vendors and keynote speakers.
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Jake
posted 10/17/08 @ 2:30 PM EST
This is the best article I have ever read in my entire life.
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