Texas Tech University

Interior Design Students Collaborate with Local Lubbock Design and Architecture Firm

Ashley Brister

February 12, 2021

Interior Design 4606 Collaboration Studio Project with Parkhill

Students in ID 4606 worked alongside Parkhill to create fresh space for community church

Fourth-year students in the Interior Design 4606: Collaboration Studio course were invited to work with Lubbock architecture, engineering, and design firm, Parkhill, to create a real-world design for a local community church. Last semester, the group toured other church facilities to gather inspiration for their design presentations. Final designs were presented at the beginning of December.

"The students have engaged in research related to the psychology of first impressions, accessible design, sustainability, and role of the church in serving the Lubbock community," said assistant professor, Erin Hamilton, Ph.D. "Project teams proposed designs that each addressed a unique need in the Lubbock community including food insecurity, adult continuing education, and safe recreation spaces for families."

The project goals were to design elements of the new addition to Turning Point Church, which included a worship sanctuary, large community gathering space, staff offices, café, baptistry, and a space dedicated to engaging the community. The final student presentations to Parkhill included a fully developed furniture floor plan, reflected ceiling plan, life safety plan, several three-dimensional perspectives, a building section drawing, and interior elevations, plus complete furniture, materials, and lighting specifications.

ID 4604 Class TTU

"Working with Parkhill has been an incredible exercise in professional development for the students," Hamilton said. "They have had the opportunity to present their work and receive feedback at several points in the design process and it is valuable for the students to receive feedback from professionals in the industry."

Hamilton's biggest hope for her students was that they take away an appreciation for the role of design in local communities, noting that they can serve multiple purposes and populations.

"In this project, the main space needs to serve the needs of a church community, the students also had to research the demographics and needs of the larger Lubbock community in order to integrate programs and services that reach beyond the church membership," Hamilton explained. "The most successful presentations seamlessly weave evidence into all of the final deliverables and are able to justify the design decisions they have made."

Interior Design senior, Anna Sepanski, said her final presentation went well. She appreciated the constructive feedback from Parkhill.

"I really enjoyed being able to see the projects my peers designed," Sepanski said. "Every group's project was so different. It was nice to get feedback and advice from working professionals. We met with them every couple of weeks so they could review our progress. I liked working with them because we were able to gain some insight as to what our future careers may look like, how to collaborate well with each other, and understand the steps taken to create a successful project."