Knight School Lobby

In class last week, we learned about Feng Shui, which means wind and water. We decided to evaluate the lobby of our Knight School of Communication. We decided that the room had Feng Shui. It was open to nature and inviting. The lobby has huge windows that overlook the academic quad. The wall that is parallel to the big wall of windows also has glass windows that allow users to look through the mac lab outside other windows. The lobby also had two plants that brought nature physically into the room.

For the most part, the seating faced the entrance, welcoming new ideas. The lobby also has 4 of the 5 different elements present. The TV and magazine rack are both black and made out of metal. One of the tables is made out of wood, while the other has a granite top and brings the earth element into the room. There was water present because the rug and metal were both black, which represents water. There did seem to be a lack of fire, or red in the lobby. We want the lobby to express the school’s personality and emotion through the 5 elements of Feng Shui.

Before we ended class, we decided to move the furniture to see if anyone notices a difference. We switched the chairs and tables from each side of the room and moved the plants. It took a couple of tries, but eventually we all agreed on the new arrangement. The space was usable and created a nice flow. People can enter from three directions and walk through the lobby with no problems. The seats are surrounding the tables and set up a nice area to read, meet, and talk. Lastly, our class decided to move the magazine rack to the opposite side of the room to fill up empty space. It has been a week later and no one has changed or complained about the new layout. It was a success!

Bobcat’s Arena

I enjoy going to the Bobcat’s arena, but I don’t love it. The arena is rather small, which is ok for me. It is easy to navigate and is always clean. The guests have to enter through two main entrances and have the choice of walking left or right to their seat section. There are two levels that can be accessed by guests. The first one is the first floor that everyone is initially on. The second one can be accessed by stairs, elevators and escalators. There are different options to accommodate different people. The arena is also very handicap friendly. There are designated seats for the handicap and signs that help point them to the elevators and seats.

When it comes to food and drink, the arena has plenty of places guests can purchase their meals. They have a few options. Some stations are meant for fast service and others are for VIP, which is slower, more enjoyable service. They even have bars for the guests who are 21+. The arena works with outside vendors to give guests brand specific foods, like Bojangles. They also have employees who walk around selling drinks and finer food. This gives guests a way to never take their eyes off the game, and still eat.

The center of the arena is really cool. There is a large hanging monitor that shows video and picture footage of the game in 4 directions. On top of it is the cityscape, which gives guests a home city feeling. The seats surround the entire court 360 degrees. Guests can pay more for different seat options. The arena provides box seats along with their own personal catering service. They have TV monitors everywhere so the guests do not have to watch the game on the court. Everyone else who doesn’t have that kind of money has to sit up high in the nose bleed seats. Fortunately for us, the Bobcat’s arena is not big so from almost any seat, you have a great view of the game!

The arena can improve in a few areas. 1) Make the experience more memorable. Provide activities on each floor that cater to adults and children. 2) Give the guests a learning opportunity about the team and the city’s sport’s history and finally 3) Provide children with hands on activities.

Fire Pit

The Queens’ fire pit is located in the middle of the residential quad. It makes sense that the public space is in the middle of most of the residence halls. It is where the most traffic is located after dinner, which is about the time people start bonfires. When there is an event, people can easily see what is going on and can join the fun! It is also conveniently located near campus police so they can monitor the fire if it gets out of hand. They run a hose from their building to the fire pit and provide a fire extinguisher.

The fire pit is round and is about 4 bricks high. It is large enough to hold about 20 – 25 people sitting on the surrounding brick wall. In the middle is usually a few logs that can be used to start the fire. The rest of them have to be picked up from campus police. There are about 4 trees that surround the fire pit and create a canopy above it. I feel like the trees help enclose the space along with the brick wall. The space feels very inviting and has no closed walls. It is open to everyone and makes people stand in a big circle.

The fire pit is off of one of the walkways that connects campus police to the middle of the library and Wireman. In order to get to the fire pit, one must venture off the path! There is no entrance and there is path that takes you directly to the brick wall, although the path does come close. It is up for the user’s interpretation of how to use the space. Overall, it is a lively and safe space to use. It is not sustainable nor is it healthy.

 

 

The JELLO Lounge

The Jello Lounge is the nickname my friend gave to his room. I love hanging out in it because it gives off a really nice vibe. When you enter, the room feels really big for a double person room. The tall ceilings help make the room feel big. The floors are carpeted, but aren’t that soft. My friend has his armor on the left side of the room next to his bookcase. A small rug is laying in front of the bookshelf, giving the shelf it’s own space. It feel like you can step on the rug and be in it’s own area because his bed is lofted next to the shelf. I love how he took advantage of the space by going up. The bed raised about 5ft from the floor.

A desk and dresser sit under the bed. It’s raised high enough so that he can use the desk and have another dedicated space. I like how he did that. On the opposite side of the room, his boring roommate has his bed against the wall, but lowered so it is only 3ft off the floor. It sits parallel to my friends bed. Next to the bed (closer to the door) is his desk and armor. He too took advantage of the high ceilings and placed personal items on top of the armor.

In both set ups, feng shui is present. They have nice neutral colors, but include fire and water. They have a few candles and black metal in the room. They even have a plant that sits in the windowsill. The windows bring in light and connects the users with nature. Although the furniture has a lot of corners, their decorations bring curves. A beaded light cord hands under my friends bed. It has different round shapes to it and catches your eye. The beads are the same color as the carpet that sits in front of the bookshelf. Their globed-shaped lamp and round trash can also brings in round shapes. The only critique I have is that their desks do not face the door, which is uninviting.

My friends room is located in South, the new residence hall at Queens University of Charlotte. It is on the 7th floor and is larger than my room, which is down the hall, because it doesn’t have a structural beam that cuts through the room. His room looks so much bigger than mine, even though its the same length and width.

Dana 110

When you want to enter into Dana 110 at The Knight School of Communication, there are two entrances. The first entrance would be considered the main entrance because of its convenience. It’s located in the lobby of the Knight School of Communication and is built into a wall of open windows. The windows create an inviting feeling and allow the users to see the room before entering. A nice feature of the room is that from the outside lobby, you can see through the windows and outside tot he other side of the building. It brings in a lot of light.

The second entrance is located at the rear of the room, which connects users to the back hallway. It’s not as inviting because the door is further away from the entrance of the building. When you walk in the room from the back, you have a choice of walking down the stairs to the middle of the room, or turning left or right to sit at a computer. Form the main entrance, you can either turn left to sit at the computers, or you can walk down two steps and sit in the middle of the room.

I love how Dana 110 always has a different table layout for every event. Right now, the middle tables are set up as a “U shape,” which creates a great discussion environment. Other times, it’s set up in rows, focusing everyone’s attention on the front of the room. I’ve also seen the tables angled so they create an aisle down the middle of the room.

Dana 110 is truly a multipurpose room. Classes can be held on the computers while the professor leads a discussion while projecting media onto the big screen. They can also be closer, creating a discussion based class down in the middle of the room. Dana 110 is also unique because it can host media conferences, where the users can skype other groups outside of the classroom. The functionality of this room is great.

Lastly, I want to comment on the “U-shape” of the room. It is visually appealing and helps create a focus on the podium/ front of the room. The lighting is also important in this room. There are six light switches that can fade and one that turns on the spotlights for the white board. The users can control the mood of the room and the functionality by turning on and off specific lights.

 

Allure of the Seas – Lively, Safe, Sustainable, & Healthy!

What attracts people to cruises? I’d have to say the destinations and the ship itself. Last summer, I went on my 5th cruise and had the greatest cruising experience. It wasn’t the destinations that made it so great, it was the ship. I went on a 7 day Royal Caribbean cruise on the Allure of the Seas. Allure is the world’s largest cruise ship that is lively, safe, sustainable, and healthy.

Like every cruise, Allure had entertainment 24/7. The ship had a one of a kind neighborhood theme that entertained the guest in many ways. There is a boardwalk that is full of performers and food! There is a carousel for families and a zip line that crosses the boardwalk five stories up. Every night, the ship offers a broadway show in the main theater room and a water show at the rear of the ship.

The ship is safe in the sense that it has plenty of life vests and boats. The ship always has an evacuation video showing on one of their TV channels and has a safety broadcast as the ship begins to cruise.  Allure’s staff is also trained in the case of an emergency. On board the ship, they have a full medical center that can treat patients. This is the first advance medical center onboard a ship.

Allure is sustainable. When I was on the cruise, I remember the captain talking about how designers really wanted to be eco-friendly. The ship has over 12,000 plants to promote the environment and the lighting used runs on motion sensors. When the rooms are empty and the door shuts, the lights go out. I do not know the specifics, but the captain was talking about how advance the ship is and how everything was focused on energy saving.

Allure of the Seas also promotes healthy living by providing a huge spa and gym facility. The gym offers classes for all levels of fitness. The gym equipment is new and easy to use. The spa encourages guests to take care of themselves and to relax. On the upper deck, Allure has tennis and basketball courts. The ship even has a track that guests can run on. There are so many options for exercise.

My favorite space on the ship was the Central Park. The park promotes all four qualities. It was lively, safe, sustainable, an healthy. It was wide open to the sky and had thousands of plants. The park created a fresh environment that was relaxing for guests. Every night, small bands would play in the park to entertain guests. Every time I was in the park, I noticed security was was walking around. They didn’t have to be there, but their presence just helped make the space feel even more safe.

If you ever have a chance to go on a cruise, choose Royal Caribbean and experience Allure of the Seas!

 

LABEL Charlotte

The newest and greatest club in Charlotte is open! Last week, I was able to attend the grand opening  at LABEL, located at the NC Music Factory. The club is larger and more upscale than any other club in Charlotte. As soon as you enter the club, guests are greeted and can check in their coat. The entrance is nice, but your eyes are instantly drawn to the bar. The bar is actually built into the entrance of the dance floor and guests have to decide which way to go. The Bar’s wall is all glass so there is a hallway that goes on either side of the bar that allows guests to see the drinks and the amazing light show on the other side. LABEL is all about providing a lively space!

Once guests choose their direction, they enter the dance floor. LABEL is full of energy! The dance floor is unique compared to all the other clubs in the city. The VIP section is located in the middle of the room, making guests dance on the edges of the room. The VIP seating makes the room, which looks huge, feel smaller. Once there are enough people dancing, the floor seems packed, but really it’s not because the space is taken up by VIP. There is a second VIP stage that is located in the front of the club. People have so many options in LABEL.

Another cool feature is LABEL’s lounge. If you enter the back room, you’ll find a very decorative lounge. I think it’s a weird space because it’s not wide enough. The room is also very deep, but nevertheless, there is enough room for people to get to the third bar. LABEL offers so many bars, which increases the accessibility to purchase drinks. <— Smart idea!

Lastly, the club plans on opening an upstairs balcony that overlooks the dance floor and an outdoor lounge. The outside space will be the smoking section, but also a nice getaway from loud music. The amount of options for guests is what makes LABEL a unique club.

 

7th Floor Lounge

Every day I walk past our lounge on the 7th floor of South (new residence hall) and I tell myself that I want to use this space. People can access it from three directions . The two are by walking down the hallway from the two directions. The third is by exiting the elevator. The lounge is its separate room designated by corner pillars. The lounge only has two walls, but is clearly its own space. Where the other two walls should be are hallways.

If you look at the photo closer, you can also see that the carpet helps designate its own space. The center of the room is a solid color. It makes a large rectangle which embodies the room. The hallways also have their own design in the carpet. There are two parallel lines that run the entire length of the hall way. Those lines help direct people to the next space. On the right side of the picture, you can see them turning left. They could have bent and gone through the lounge, but the lines did not and helped highlight the two spaces.

The lounge is centered around a huge television on the wall. There is one couch and four sofa chairs surrounding a nice table. The room is cool because it’s functional without being secluded. Behind the couch is a small seating area for people who want to do homework. I love how the space can be used for a specific purpose, but still be social. Anytime I sit there, I watch TV but also talk to friends walking by.

I see a lot of students using the lounge as a game room. People play cards and bored games all the time. Students also use the are for eating in the morning since the lounge is placed next to the kitchen. I enjoy seeing people using the space and being social instead of staying in their rooms which are right down the hall. It is also a nice way to catch the news when the TV is on that channel.

On the ceiling, there are three main lights that direct people to the TV. They are in a line that is surrounded by sixteen smaller lights built into the ceiling. The users of the space can turn on the three main lights or the other lights. It gives them an option to control the mood of the room with lighting.