CLEARLY

CLEARLY is a health & beauty brand that focuses on female wellness and empowerment by providing a space to learn and explore ways of self-care and to celebrate femininity. Located in the Commons of Downtown Ithaca, NY, users are welcome to try out and purchase beauty products that are sourced from natural ingredients using sustainable processes. Customers have the opportunity to create individualized products that cater to their beauty and wellness needs, and are encouraged to join educational workshops and events that facilitate conversations and experiences of what it means to thrive and flourish as a healthy, beautiful, and unique woman today.

timeline: jan - may 2020
site: downtown ithaca commons, ny
partner: hadar boker
programs: revit, autocad, enscape, adobe cc

prompt to create construction documents for the development of a new retail space for a building located in the Downtown Ithaca Commons street.

research

Prior to the ideation and design phase of this project, my partner and I began with conducting research in Ithaca to understand the demographic trends, market trends, and history of the Downtown Ithaca Commons area. Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York and is a bustling college town home to Cornell University and Ithaca College. Located in the heart of the city, the Commons is a two-block pedestrian-only street in the business improvement district known as Downtown Ithaca. It serves as the city's cultural and economic center, known as a popular regional destination filled with upscale restaurants and shops, public art, and seasonal community festivals.

ithaca commons

Amongst our class, each group was assigned to one of the buildings that currently sits within the Commons. My partner and I chose the corner building as seen on the diagram to the right. It currently houses the American Houses by Robbie Dein store, a retail store known as one of America's finest 'Hand Made in America' specialty stores. They sell pottery, glass, wood, jewelry, and fiber items made by American artisans and it’s a place frequented by locals and visitors. The building was first constructed in 1862 and then renovated in 1986. The building features cast-iron Corinthian columns and cast-iron arches, as part of the original historic structure.

local trends

Ithaca is primarily known for its restaurants and food culture, nature trails and waterfalls, and cultural attractions. Known as one of the best places to live in prior years, it’s a city with progressive programs and communities that encourage healthy living and sustainability.

site images

the idea

Based on the initial research my partner and I conducted, we developed a project that we thought would align with the current and upcoming market trends that focus on health- and wellness-based businesses. We wanted to focus on creating an experiential retail brand that catered to women’s health and beauty that not only offers natural, sustainably sourced, and personalized beauty products, but also offers workshops for educational and community purposes.

programming

Translating our initial idea into the programming of the space, we dedicated the first level to be a retail space for product display and sampling, a product customization lab, and included other essential elements such as a bathroom, staff break room, and vertical circulation (elevator and stairs). For the second level, this was programmed to be used solely as a workshop space to hold various events from creating your own hair serum to education series on womens’ health. To support this main function, we’ve included a lounge space, a storage room, and a bathroom for both patron and staff use.

branding

The brand identity developed for Clearly is derived from a natural color palette that is both calming but rejuvenating. The amorphous, organic shapes seen on the packaging symbolize the ways in which we are all different as human beings and constantly evolving to become our best selves.

construction documents

The intention of this project was to increase our proficiency in Revit through the creation of construction documents after undergoing the schematic design and design development phases. The final deliverable was composed of 15 pages that includes demolition and new construction floor plans, reflected ceiling plans, section and interior elevation drawings, and a finish schedule for floors, walls, doors, and windows.

hedera

the cave