FINAL PROJECT

What I learned

Materials 3311 is a class compiled of so many topics, and I've got to say I feel very confident that I learned so many different things. Our swatch kits have proven to be very helpful and the quizzes were very supportive of the material contained in the kit. I learned about various constructions, knits, and yarns, and was able to find examples of so many fabrics that I had previously had no familiarity with. I learned about neutral colors and how they react with different color groups. Throughout the end of the semester I learned that there are so many materials out there to use that I have never seen. From high end to unusual, the projects sure did open up my horizon of material selection. I was able to experience visiting businesses which gave us pretty detailed information of materials such as fabrics, flooring, counter tops  and even visited Jeff Seal homes. I learned so much this semester in materials, which will stick with me for years to come.

Jeff Seal Homes of Distinction

                      

Jeff Seal Homes of Distinction

Jeff Seal Homes of Distinction is an architectural firm located here in Lubbock, Texas.  He is a local architect who is known for his extravagant, over the top homes customized to a client’s exact specifications. Although he participates in large scale projects, he does do basic homes or as he calls them, “starter homes.” Although he is situated here in Lubbock, he does partake in jobs in the surrounding areas.  Jeff Seal is Director of Design and Construction at Jeff Seal Homes of Distinction. He established his company in 2002, after being employed by a high-end custom home builder in Dallas, Texas. Seal has broad “experience in building custom luxury homes from design phase to completion,” which made starting his company quite effortless. He has a team of “creative individuals whose passion and determination thrive on pushing the design process to a higher level.” He and his team are equipped with two interior designers, who are Texas Tech Alumni such as himself. His designers design from the ground up with the “desire to achieve the perfect design.”

Jeff Seal Home of Distinctions specializes in home design, interior design, material selection, construction, landscape design, and installation. His home design is most impressive. By creating extravagant, luxurious homes, he is also producing homes uncommon to people here in Lubbock, along with most people in the world. While visiting two sites of Seal, we were able to observe his more recent projects here in Lubbock. The first we visited was a Gothic Tudor Style home, in the middle of a contemporary neighborhood located here in Lubbock. With a style and such unusual materials compared to present day homes, Seal and his team have created an extraordinary home to accommodate remarkable clients. The home is filled with tons of chimneys, and plenty arches that form groin vaults. The second home we visited was a 12,000 sq ft. home, less than a mile away. It was an Italian style home with enough room to house the client’s family and her parents. With tremendously high ceilings, a massive kitchen, showers with speaker systems, and a home movie theater, Seals custom Italian home is something out of a movie.

These “homes” plus his numerous amounts of other projects have been created because of plenty of research done by him as well as his employees. They study a future project through books, internet, or even by going to a location that may be of use to understand a customer’s wants and needs. This process can take quite awhile, but because of this, Seal along with his clients may come out with a much better product.

Jeff Seal is clever and original from project to project. He takes risk, and isn’t afraid to design such beautiful and diverse homes for people in and around Lubbock. Because of that, he is admired and sought after for the planning, designing, and construction of many people’s homes here in Lubbock. 

Parkhill Smith & Cooper

     We recently visited Parkhill Smith and Cooper, and it was a great experience. I liked the timing of the visit because it introduced us to LEED. We were able to learn about it, while actually visualizing real life examples. We were able to climb up the ladder to the roof and observe the green roof.  We learned about their irrigation system along with different systems inside the building that have actually proven to help the health in the building.  We also sat in on a presentation where we learned about LEED more in detail. The visit was very educational and informative on the subject of LEED and I really enjoyed visiting a great example of a LEED building.  

Collin's Tile and Stone

While visiting, we got to learn some information on materials used not only for filing floors, but also for counter tops. We learned how buying works when dealing with huge sheets of material and how it is assembled. We were shown several types of stones and rocks from traditional to more exotic pieces used in many places throughout a home. Mr.Collins also showed us his warehouse where both man and machinery are hard at work cutting sheets into certain pieces for certain clients. Its very different and interesting going from a place where products are housed for display and then going to a place where materials becomes products throughout a process. It was very informative and I enjoyed looking at the various types of stones and rocks made into sheets.

Leftwich Chapman (Flooring)

While we were at Leftwich Chapman, we met Larry Leftwich who gave us a great lesson on flooring. We were able to look at different types of flooring such as wood, carpeting, various materials for tiles. He also showed us less expensive types of material to take the place of flooring such as laminates and vinyls. We distinguished certain differences between real hardwood vs. wooden laminates and were able to to see and feel tiles made from various types of stone and rocks. Mr. Leftwich also introduced us to certain materials we are unfamiliar with, such as cork and leather. The use of such materials is changing rapidly and becoming more extravagant in design. Over all I had a great experience, and feel like I learned a lot from the visit.

Inspiration, Mood Board, and evaluation of Principle of Elements

Balance: The picture has a very distinctive opposing forces. A deep grey opposed to the light blue color of the ocean 

Proportion: The rock and ocean have similar proportions

Rhythm: Although no object is used repeatedly, both contain vertical lines. grooves in the rock and waves in the ocean.

Emphasis: Although the majority of the picture is covered by a rock, the emphasis is on the ocean. Its beautiful colors catch anyone's eye. 

Unity: Both the Rock and water are both important to the picture, neither overpowers the other.