Week 5

CIDA Standard 5: Collaboration

I’ve seen a lot of collaboration between the employees of Innerspaice both within the firm and with other disciplines. I’ll start with collaboration within our firm and then expand out. Every Wednesday morning at 9 AM we have a staff meeting to discuss projects that are ongoing as well as the project we’ve completed. Erin and Bonnie tell the staff about their sales and what is shipping when, so that our project managers will all be on the same page. Then, the design team gives a report on what they’re working on and when certain deadlines are. Today I gave my report: Servis1st Bank CAD drawings due Monday, Servis1st finish board due Monday, REEL office drawings due Friday, 911 Call center drawings due ASAP, Morgan Van Lines drawing options due next week, acoustical wall covering estimate for Dr. Trey’s dental clinic, acoustical furniture specs for the dental clinic, and…blogging twice a week on top of a research paper.

We also collaborate in some design projects with architects. I was in contact with the architect for the Servis1st project this week regarding their files for the project. They graciously sent them to me so that I could drop in and specify our furniture.

Our project managers also work with electricians when they are doing install drawings for workstations and movable walls so that we are ensured to have power to each work station.

Okay I need to get back to work now…I’m busy, busy, busy. 

Haworth love and mine,

Emily the Intern 

Week 4

Hi friends!
This week I also worked on Palmer's Hyundai reconfiguration. This is a project where the client already owns the furniture, but they've hired us to reconfigure it for their new space. Now--this may seem like an easy task, but when the reconfiguration includes desking systems, it can be quite challenging. Each piece of the desk is separate and we must also verify the support that will uphold each piece as well as specify new pieces if adequate support is not existing in the project. We gave the client 3 options for the reconfiguration. These are the drawings I did (with help from Bonnie, of course).

These took lots of time and hard work, but in the end the client was very pleased! That's our goal, always. 

Haworth love and mine,
Emily the Intern

Week 4

Hello friends!
This week has been super busy, thus my late posting, but Wednesday was probably my favorite day since I've been here! I got to go with one of our designers, Bonnie, to a pediatric dental clinic in Fairhope, AL. Their concern is that the clinic is really loud. Innerspaice did not design the space, but the designer called on us to help reduce the noise in the space. If you're unfamiliar with how noise reverberation works, it can be kind of daunting. Luckily, Bonnie has dealt with this before and had lots of good ideas to help Dr. Trey. The space has pretty much all hard surfaces, so the noise from the kids playing, receptionists talking on the phone, machines being used in the back, and just the general chatter of the parents, is just bounced from surface to surface creating an all-around noisy environment.
Bonnie and I came in to inspect the space and decide which walls we needed to apply wall covering to. Eykon and MDC manufacture acoustical wall covering, similar to that used on movie theater walls. The wall covering traps the sound in the fibers rather than bouncing them back into the air. We chose the walls that were reflecting the most noise especially in the kids' play area (see photos below). The designer of the project made panels out of canvas and egg crate in attempt to fix the problem, so that's what you'll see in the photos below.
We are also going to specify some BuzziSpace products which specialize in noise reduction. BuzziSpace makes acoustical panels for walls that simulate artwork and can come in various patterns and colors. We are ordering some of those to hang on the walls that don't have the acoustical wall covering. They also make furniture that is made of a felt material and foam, which traps sound that comes into contact with it rather than reverberating it back into the space.
These are the photos from the dental clinic! Enjoy!

Isn't it awesome?! A well-designed space is such a beautiful thing.


Haworth love and mine,
Emily the Intern

Week 3

Global Perspective for Design:

"Innerspaice Architectural Interiors – the size, experience and infrastructure to design and manage any type of workplace project, anywhere on the planet."

That is our motto. Innerpaice is quite diverse in its clientele. We do projects all over the country. Last week I was calling and scheduling shipments for a project in Alaska! This week I've been working on a dental clinic in Missouri and the US Army Research Medical Center in Maryland. Jessica is working on a hospital in Kansas and Erin does mostly local sales. 

Josh and Kelly are over our logistics. They make sure the items get shipped to the correct location and hire an installer to put the spaces together. Since we do a lot of renovations, it takes more time and effort to coordinate moving old furniture and decor out and then coordinating all the new items we specified. One of the designers will also travel to the location in order to insure everything is done correctly. 

Innerspaice uses multiple manufacturers to give clients an array of options in order to fit their individual socioeconomic needs. Culturally, Innerspaice designs their clients' spaces to fit their locations. 

Innerspaice also does a lot of GSA projects that require us getting quotes to bid on a government building or renovation. Government departments get a discount on their services, decor, and furniture, so part of my job since I've been here is to get quotes from manufacturers about different products we need for our project. 

Hope your enjoyed this CIDA day on the blog!

Haworth love and mine, 
Emily the Intern 

Week 3

Hello, hello!
I'll have to do this quickly because I am SWAMPED in work this week! Four-day weeks are nice, but I still have 5 days worth of work to get done, so it's also stressful! Tuesday I worked on submitting a proposal for a government project. I had to create spreadsheets of the products we needed to be sent off to get a quote.
Wednesday I had a meeting at ServisFirst Bank downtown and we met with the president of the bank to go over the furniture and finishes we picked out. The meeting went really well, though we still have a long way to go! The client is trying to stray away from super traditional, but at the same time it's a bank, so it still has to be conservative. It is quite a challenge to incorporate both of those things!
Later Wednesday afternoon I accompanied one of the designers to the Mobile Airport Office building that was newly renovated. We looked at the offices and field-measured so that I can draw them up in AutoCAD and get some ideas for the layouts of the desks.
After that, we went to PMOA to field measure their space for 20 new cubicles and movable walls! It was my first one to field measure for an actual project and it's harder than you think!
I'll give you an update tomorrow.
Haworth love and mine,
Emily the Intern

Week 2

Hello, hello!
Playing catch up for week 2--longggg, busy week. On Wednesday, I attended a CEU seminar with one of the designers here at Innerspaice. I lovingly call CEUs Lunch-n-learns, which is what we call them in college. I walked in and low and behold my dear, sweet, friend was there! Haley Straub! We were so excited to see a familiar face we hugged for a good 2 minutes. Also...as you can see in the photo below, we matched! Even down to the jewelry color.  How cute is that? While we were there we also got to network with the other Interior Designers in the Mobile area. It was awesome to see so many creative people in one place! I even got to see another designer I interviewed with at TAG. Networking is so important in our field. We heard presentations from Steelcase, DesignTex, Tandus-Centiva, and WilsonArt.

As you probably already saw, I was at the Mayor's office at the beginning of the week...then at the end I went to the Mobile Airport Authority with Erin! Which, in its own right, is a little less exciting, but nonetheless important. We brought chairs for them to test out for the new design of their conference rooms.

{Side story, the woman we were corresponding with, and who tested out the chairs was asking me about my internship and where I went to school. When I told her Southern Miss, she told me she was a Southern Miss alum, which was really cool. And then...she asked me if I was in a sorority and when I told her I was a Chi Omega she jumped up and hugged me because she is a Chi Omega alum too! How fun is that!? Making connections all around Mobile...}

Wednesday afternoon I worked on the Palmer Hyundai business office in AutoCAD and drew up the plan that Bonnie had hand-sketched. After lots of trial and error, AutoCAD and I became friends again and an extended breakup. :)

Thursday we had a meeting with our client from the Mayor's office as well as the client for ServisFirst bank and we went over the plans for the bank to decide what furniture she needed as well as the finishes for the flooring, walls, and task chairs. After the meeting Erin and I compiled binders with the furniture brochures and labeled them so that we know what furniture we've chosen for each room and to keep us organized.

Haworth love and mine,
Emily

Week 2

Hi everyone!
This week I'm working on the City of Mobile's conference room! (Yes, I was in the mayor's office on my 4th day of work-- cool, huh?!) Erin and I are working with the designer for the city to specify a 20 ft Haworth table. Here is a photo of the existing conference room:

Very traditional and neutral..And blah.We already have new chairs ordered and the table and credenza are in the process of being ordered! I drew up the conference room in AutoCAD today and learned how to specify the Haworth furniture in CAD and export it to Project Matrix in order to get the pricing for the table, electrical boxes, cable box, credenza, credenza top, and how to specify the different leg types and leg placements.
Just for fun...this is the Mayor's office designed by the talented city designer, Sara McCoy! And check out that view! To die for...

A rather large challenge I faced on Tuesday was AutoCAD. It's been a year and a half since I've used it and I learned on a totally different version, so I have been struggling through it a little bit. However, Josh and Bonnie have been awesome at helping me and teaching me new shortcuts and tools to use. At our staff meeting this morning (Wednesday) I was assigned the ServisFirst project along with Erin, so I will be doing all of the CAD and specifying/pricing of furniture! Eeeeek. I'm nervous, but excited! Keep reading to see how the project is going! I have a big meeting with our ServisFirst client tomorrow, so I'll post about it on Friday!
Haworth love and mine,
Emily the Intern