The Hatchery: Conceptual Framework Narrative

My decided concept for The Hatchery is fish eggs.  I have chosen to abandon the image of the hatching chicken egg and move to fish eggs because I like the statement it makes about community.  Fish eggs are laid in much greater numbers, hundreds or thousands, where as birds tend to lay eggs only 3 or 4 at a time.  The Hatchery is reaching out to the Greensboro community, and that is a large group of people.

Certain aspects of fish eggs that I would like to pursue are as follows: clustering, translucency, multitude, floating, and a warm glow from within.  To achieve this affect, I like the idea of using translucent plastic tubes of varying heights protruding from the ceiling (and maybe some off the walls as well).  These tubes would cluster around important areas within the store, helping with wayfinding, and then become more sparse in areas of less use.  They would help to mold the space by flowing from higher to lower ceiling heights.  Lower ceiling heights could be used in the retail space, consultation room, bathroom and the studio area to create a more intimate atmosphere.  I'm also considering lighting the tubes from behind to create a warm glow that I found in many images of fish eggs, especially if the tubes were tinted a light shade of orange or yellow.

As far as layout and planning the space, I want to use semi-transparent or frosted glass walls to partition between spaces.  However, it is also important for these walls to be temporary and moveable maybe by incorporating a track system because the space should be moldable so it can transform for different functions.  I am also very attracted to raising certain spaces such as the consultation room or the studio space to further pursue the floating aspect of my concept.

The Hatchery: Programming Cubes

Our group, made up of Denise, Kat, Josie and myself, worked together on the "large" programming cube last week.  We researched important topics within the large scale, namely Elm Street (the location of the proposed Hatchery).  Josie and I worked together on this side of the cube where we depicted a plan view of a block on Elm Street.  The drawing is not to scale because we had to draw it from a google earth image for time reasons, however we thought it was important to illustrate the surrounding area including shops, crosswalks, and parking areas.  The Hatchery location is shown on the plan in white, and there are screen shots we took of the google earth images in the top right corner.

Pumpkins!

I love pumpkins. This past weekend, I carved a pumpkin shown above.  I wanted to try a different technique where you shave away the rind of the pumpkin to reveal an image.  It was difficult, especially because I didn't have the right tools.  I used a spoon and an exacto knife (which i would not recommend) however, I ended up carving an owl and a moon, which is a lot different than the usual triangle-eyed jack o'lantern that I usual create.  Consequently, I also made a pumpkin pie which was also a first for me as I rarely bake.

Ponyo

This may seem silly, but when I was researching fish eggs I remembered a movie I saw this summer called "Ponyo". This animated movie by Miyazaki is about a fish that wants to be a girl and it is full of environmental themes. The animation was beautiful and could be a great inspiration for this space. If you haven't seen Ponyo yet and you like animated movies, it is well worth it!

The Hatchery: Concepts Collage

These were a few inspiring images i found online branching off of the idea of a "hatchery".  I immediately thought of birds when we were presented with this project because of Ashley's logo depicting a bird egg, however, I soon discovered that there are fish hatcheries as well.  I liked the idea of the fish hatchery because when a fish lays eggs there are hundreds or thousands of them, while birds only lay a few.  To me the fish might represent community in a different way with so many of them.

There are also 3 images that I found while searching "nests" and "nesting".  I loved the nesting bowls in the top left and the nesting toy boxes in the bottom right.  I thought those could easily inspire a space, maybe with some layering of walls or surfaces.  The image in the top right shows a unique community of bird nests in Tanzania made by a black-necked weaver that I found fascinating with such an odd shape and color.  I hope to translate this collage of images into a concept and a creative design for The Hatchery.

The Hatchery: Bubble Diagram

This bubble diagram depicts my proposed hatchery space.  I used hierarchy to show the performance space as the most important space. The diagram also helps to show adjacency, or a loose floorplan, with the gallery store at the entrance followed by the performance space, then a long hallway on the right side leading to the studio, consultation room and the bathrooms.  The smaller bubbles stemming off from the main spaces depict the important components that each space requires.

Inventory Investigation

logo by Ashley Boycher

business: help run/operate the store
interior architecture: design space/ contribute work for gallery
art: work for gallery/ work to sell
music: performance/ work to sell (CD's)
dance: performance
creative writing: performance (reading), gallery
drama: performance
media studies: shows (films), gallery (film installation)
consumer apparel and retail studies: performance (fashion shows)/ work to sell

***specifically it would be interesting to see the CARS and music majors work with the drama, media and dance majors on special costumes and musical arrangements used for performances at The Hatchery.

Tranquilities

Tranquilities in Greensboro is a cute gift store very close to campus on Spring Garden Street.  I love the quaint, cottage style of the store front as well as the crowded interiors packed with merchandise.

Dugg Dugg Art Gallery

These images I found online of the Dugg Dugg Art Gallery are by James Willamor on Flickr.  The art gallery is one of many in the NoDa area in Charlotte.  I don't recall having been to the Dugg Dugg Art Gallery in particular, but I've been to similar ones in the same area.  The NoDa area is a great place to go if you love a gallery crawl like I do!  This space looks to be very open and inviting, and I really enjoy the dropped ceiling to make it feel more intimate (this may be an interesting way to designate different spaces in "The Hatchery").

Luna

This clothing store, also located in Phillip's Place Charlotte, NC, has several fun design aspects that I found noteworthy. First of all are the wood floors with a tiled pattern created with stencils and different colored stains that gives the space a one of a kind feel. Next is the re-purposing of old doors for clothing displays and finally are the use of metal pipes and screw bases used to support glass shelving.

The Poole Shop

The Poole Shop is not at all what it sounds to be; it is of course a clothing store.  The layout of the space is a doughnut which I found unique, with the dressing room in the center.  The bottom half of the walls were covered in horizontal wood paneling painted white, while the tops were yellow and the center structure with a funky wallpaper (shown in the last photo along with my mother haha).  Lighting was a strong design aspect of this store with the metallic globe lighting at the front entrance, but there was also a fun red chandelier in the back of the space, and yet another entirely different fixture in the dressing room.

The Usual- Tate Street Coffee

An obvious choice for inspiration, but a good one never the less, is Tate Street Coffee House in Greensboro, NC.  This coffee house makes use of their walls to help sell artwork by local artists and also has art competitions through out the year open to the public to bring in the community.

Paper Source

This store is a fun paper inspired space in Phillip's Place on Sardis Rd. in South Charlotte.  I especially loved their fall window display making use of a paper owl kit that was on sale in the store.  The store was full of little kids playing with the paper kits, but there is a more business side of the store as well displaying their proper stationery.

Imaginon

The Imaginon is a children's library and activities center in downtown Charlotte, NC.  When I was in high school I used to volunteer here for various community events.  The space is very whimsical and colorful, as it should be for children, and successfully integrated the library and community spaces to create the Center.  I love the assymetrical roof design and the bold use of color.

Red Tree Gallery and Coffee Shop

The Red Tree Gallery located in Cincinnati, Ohio was an inspiring store that I found while searching Coffee Shops online.  The store combines a coffee shop, a gallery, a gift shop and a workshop space; very similar to what "The Hatchery" intends to be.  Right now they are offering a print silkscreen workshop and all of the merchandise sold in the shop is handmade by a local artist.

Paper Skyscraper

Paper Skyscraper is my all time favorite gift store in my hometown Charlotte, NC and is located on East Blvd.  The store, as I was told recently on my latest visit to the store this weekend, started out as an architecture book store (hence the name).  Nowadays, there are lots of books, childrens toys, body soaps, and kitchen supplies to satisfy any gifting needs.  The design is playful and unique; I especially liked the rippled sheet metal used behind the gift card display shown in the first image.

Small and Medium Design Displays

Our studio class has developed two ideas for small and medium sized displays in the Salvation Army Select  store. The medium sized displays are within the store with the mannequins displays.  We wanted to continue the theme of the white-painted objects with all the displays, so for the medium display we plan to hang them from the grid panels on the ceiling.  The objects will hang down around the mannequins to create visual interest without obscuring the signage too much.  The smaller displays will be interspersed on shelving and tables throughout the store.  These displays will consist of clear jars or glass containers that will be filled with smaller sized items (also painted white).  Within these jars, we considered putting one red object in each to further emphasize the concept of "select".