Gintare Povilaityte
Title: Refresh, a refurbishment of a sailors Home

Housed in the protected Sailors House building located in Limerick City and well known currently to the arts community as a gallery space, the original structure was built in 1853 as a Sailors Home but unfortunately never had the opportunity to realise its full potential.

Rooted in the ethos of wellness, ‘Refresh’ is an interior design proposal that respectively enhances the buildings' historic architectural features. Prioritising the buildings’ original beauty, such as the brick walls & moulded ceilings, was at the forefront of the design. Adaptations have been made only where necessary to enable functionality and executed in a way as not to draw attention from the existing building fabric.

The design takes great inspiration from the original homes of wellness, the Roman Baths, which is visible in the materiality of the spaces, as well as the high ceilings and arched doorways. Alongside this, inspiration was also taken from the Sant Francesc Church in Spain where features were repaired only where necessary to let the original building shine. This ideology is the epitome of wellness, letting the originality of oneself thrive, not conforming to a style it was never intended for."

Rayane De Paula
Pieces produced for FYP project

Work by Rayane De Paula, interior design student

Drawing from a personal hobby, I chose to design a space specified to the gaming community, an area of art that is often forgotten and does not have a physical space to retreat to. The Phantom X centre creates a space for people to come and enjoy video games, meet new people and for some, reminisce on old gaming habits. Housed in what is currently the Glór building the centre has a Gaming Area, Merchandise Shop, a fan art Gallery, a recreational area and other functional spaces.

The initial inspiration for this design was a historic sword, drawing upon the two opposing materials of leather and metal, a materials pallet and clear separation of light and dark spaces grew. The blade becomes the dark spaces, creating a sharp and harsh environment while the natural feel of the leather gives way to a recreational green space. The objective is to create a facility that can bring together the gaming community, for some a place of dedication to dedicate their skill, while for other a recreational space to meet other of similar interests.

In my eyes, the gaming remote is the epitome of the modern-day sword, it is your weapon of choice for the online fights you charge into with your battlemates. As technology for gaming has progressed so has the modern-day sword, often being known as the lightsaber, the shape this created inspired many of the bespoke elements of my design.