A Canvas for Creation: Design Strategies for a More Social Home, Katie Bowman

Medium: Digital

I design to facilitate gathering with more meaning, possibility and ease.

So many modern homes are designed to optimize media consumption, leading to isolation and sameness. What if our spaces were optimized for creativity and social experience instead?

This project challenged students to select a client, define their needs, and shape a blank perimeter of a floor plan to suit. I used this as an opportunity to highlight decorative and spatial strategies that can make it easier to host great gatherings - nights of stories unplanned, waiting to unfold. By understanding the guest's journey and the host's own needs for private space, the plan creates the conditions for a life filled with community and art.

Image credits: Candy Bar at the Siren, Detroit (design: Ash Hotels; photo: Christian Harder) · Andy Volet's apartment (design: Mario LoCicero; photo: Dan Wynn for @nymag, 1976) · Amanjena, Marrakech (design: Ed Tuttle; photo: Aman Resorts) · design: Britt van Namen; photo: Thomas De Bruyne · Lath House, Tokyo, 2017 (architecture: Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP; photo: Koji Fujii/Nacasa & Partners) · design & photo: Eva Christina, IG @tantefrida