Friendly Assessment of Shirley Bircher

Shirley, I enjoyed the energy circulating your design for St. Mary’s. I think you really took a risk in the idea of a room divider made up of metal fins but it was a creative risk that really became the focal point of your presentation, and what is design without a sense of exploration and playfulness? One idea I would challenge you to explore is how a sculptural room divider can also become a functional unit within a space, after all, as designers, we are artists with purpose, to delight but also to fulfill. For example, what if these metal fins could also slide on a system of wheels or wall hinges so that they become, in a way, partition walls. They could create additional, more intimate spaces divided by metal screens or they could slide out as creative, discrete storage units that didn’t impede on the space.

Through your main perspective with the flowing fins hugging the staircase it made me think of my trip to Chicago during spring break. Take a look at the staircase/ramp of the McCormick Tribune Student Center designed by Rem Koolhaas on the campus of IIT in Chicago. I believe it combines function with a sense of dynamic playfulness, which is lost in most design that is concerned solely with the function of the space.

Furthermore, your use of color was quite impressive, especially in the stained glass window but put more emphasis on light and shadow so the images don’t appear flat. Sometimes this means brushing a few more strokes of the gray marker. Personally, I prefer using graphite pencils to add shadow with a white colored pencil for highlights and blend with a tissue. Color pencils are by far your friend when it comes to adding depth to your color range. In my experience, markers usually provide the base coat for a color maybe with a layer or two of a gray marker but then it is all up to color pencils, graphite pencils, and especially a white colored pencil. Also, if you want to go for a sketchy look, freehand pen lines over the more tight pencil lines you have as the outline of your perspective, it helps to layer these lines and provides a loose energy.