Ellie Stewart

Ellie Stewart BA (Hons) Interior Design 2020

One of the main aspects that influenced me to study interior design was being able to enhance the quality of people’s lives, through improving and adapting the way spaces are used. I am particularly interested in residential projects, as I believe it is important that the space where people spend the majority of their time, is designed in accordance with their specific needs and requirements.

Improving the quality of people’s lives was a crucial aspect of my final major project ‘Sanctum House & Social’. The key focus was on enriching the lives of people with the hidden disability, Dyspraxia, which is a condition that affects people’s movement and co-ordination. 

The aim was to create a small co-living community for people that have Dyspraxia, who wouldn’t usually have the confidence to co-live due to their hidden disability. It was also important to make the scheme more inclusive to the wider Dyspraxia community through ‘Sanctum Social’, which is a space for people with Dyspraxia to do exercise classes, attend support groups and socialise in a comfortable environment.   

It was essential that the spaces didn’t look like they had been designed for people with a disability, so ‘Hidden Design Techniques’ were applied to help address certain requirements in a subtle and beautiful way. This reveals that when designing for people with a disability it can add to the overall aesthetics of the finished design rather than detracting from it. 

As an interior designer I strongly believe that everyone should have the opportunity to live in a safe and comfortable environment. This requires residential properties to be designed with residents’ specific requirements considered from the start of projects, rather than being adapted as an afterthought at a later date. 

Contact Ellie

ek.stewart@yahoo.co.uk
ekstewart2.wixsite.com/interiors
instagram.com/ellie.stewart2018
This concept image represents the feelings of frustration that people with dyspraxia would feel in their everyday life. The orange people within the crowd represent the people in society that have dyspraxia. Contrasting to this, the image also shows how ‘Sanctum House & Social’ provides a sanctuary from the outside world to people with dyspraxia.
This is a Visual showing the Individual Slumber Hubs in the central part of the building, with the dining table and hanging installation made out of broken crockery and glass in the foreground.
These are some initial concept models used to test the size and location of the Individual Slumber Hubs. The orange lines are used to represent circulation throughout the building.
Storyboard of visuals representing the different shared spaces within Sanctum House. The orange line represents the residents typical journey through the spaces.
Floor plans, ground floor at the bottom going up to the second floor, showing the layout of both Sanctum House and Sanctum Social.
Visual showing Sanctum Social, and the activities that would take place within the space. For example, socialising, exercise classes and attending support groups.
Materiality board showing the main materials used within the spaces. Also shows the colour scheme used with in both Sanctum House and Social.
Detailing of Individual Slumber Hub 5. Also shows how the Individual Slumber Hubs would fit together as individual pieces that slot together.
Visual Section showing materiality and how the Individual Slumber Hubs would fit within the building and the communal spaces around them.
Detail of the staircase and how the hidden handrail would be built into the balustrade to avoid resident’s bags and clothes getting caught. The handrail will also have built in LED lighting to help with way finding around the continuous staircase.
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