design showdown
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inspired by a universal design class
where she came to realize the challenges
faced by wheelchair users, Nicolette
Gordon entered the Design Showdown
determined to create a solution that
enabled her to implement what she had
learned in class and also tap her passion for food and blending cultures. For
her project (ABOVE), she created three
spaces in one: a teaching kitchen for a
chef who uses a wheelchair; a showroom
for the chef’s partner, who runs an ergonomic kitchen tools business; and a residential studio for the couple.
Her design concept was based on
the Mason jar, which Gordon views as
a metaphor. “Limitless design takes
inspiration from the layering nature of
Mason jar recipes, connecting to the
way the disabled community layers on
their aid in order to uplift who they are
as motivated individuals.” Gordon also
used adjustability as a guiding force,
creating a height-adjustable kitchen
island and walls with adjustable stor-
age units.
Her strong international sense and
passion for blending cultures — not to
mention a love of food — are things she
grew up with in Boston, in a family that
immigrated to the United States from
Jamaica. “I’m the first in the
family to have been born in the
US,” says Gordon. As she enters
the final year of her master’s
degree work at Mount Ida College, she is looking ahead with
a far-ranging mindset: “I hope
to work in hospitality design on
a global scale, to use design to support
blending of cultures.”
RUNNER-UP
Nicolette Gordon
Master of Science
in Management–
Interior Architecture
Mount Ida College,
2017