Design New England - September/October 2016

design showdown

A FULL SERVICE
ARCHI TECTURAL AND INTERIOR
DESIGN FIRM, SPECIALIZING IN
RENOVATIONS, ADDITIONS AND
NEW CONSTRUCTION.

781.899.1530

472 BOSTON POST ROAD WESTON, MASSACHUSETTS

OAKHILLARCHITECTS.COM

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.”