CAITLYN
VAN DEN BERG
I have recently completed my undergraduate degree in Interior Architecture at the University of Pretoria (2020 graduate).
I strive to expand my horizons as I enter the working world. I am a determined, hard working and punctual person. My goal is to learn more about the design world, as I follow projects from start to finish and learn the necessary steps to reach completion.
Taking particular interest in Modernism and Minimalism, as well as Contemporary African design; this is best described in my normative position project, as well as my retail project, molori. I enjoy human centered design in both retail and residential fields.
Projects I have designed during my academic career include the following:
Commercial
Residential
Retail
Exhibition
Product
Inclusive
NETFLIX
Commercial Office Design | Final third year project.
The brief called for a space which encouraged collaboration and responded to the global pandemic, COVID-19, in an effective and innovative way.
My response focuses on collaborative interactions by contrasting a typical office layout. It responds to Netflix's corporate culture, which functions in dream teams and allows users to easily engage with one another and quickly share ideas. Staged as a home theatre, the heart of Netflix's services, the design aims to make users feel at home and improve user wellbeing.
Shared and continuous desking to encourage collaboration and celebrate the idea of shared space.
Styled to represent a home theatre. The boardroom can also be rearranged in order to create an in-house theatre.
The corten rods at the entrance create a playful environment of concealing and revealing, just as Netflix does on their platform. The continuous desking system, creating the Netflix ribbon, can also be seen running along the floor, wrapping up to create desking and meeting booths.
Shared and continuous desking to encourage collaboration and celebrate the idea of shared space.
UNIT 77, THE BLYDE
Residential | Private Project: NOV 2020
The Blyde is a Balwin Property located in Pretoria East, its major attraction being one of the first ever crystal lagoons in South Africa.
The client was inspired by my molori project and wished to initiate a similar look and feel in his Air BnB unit. We created a modern, African themed apartment. The unit is experienced as a wholesome and well thought out space which ties together through small details which are replicated in each room. For the project I was required to stick to a budget, teaching me valuable skills. This project was more so an interior design project rather than an architectural project.
The client has experienced positive reviews on his unit and was fully booked for the entire holiday season in December.
MOLORI
Retail | Third year project.
Molori, meaning dreamer in Setswana, is a retail store designed for the sales of an upcycled luminaire called the dreamcatcher. The dreamcatcher tells a narrative about its primary material, being tempered windshield glass from the scene of a smash and grab. The luminaire represents people who have high aspirations and wish to overcome the hurt from their past, known as the dreamers; the clientele take difficult circumstances and learn to grow from them, making beauty from ruins.
The retail store supports three goals: Firstly, to display and sell the range of luminaires. Secondly, challenging the Pretoria regional narrative and returning to Setswana roots, designing a store of African contemporary style with forms and materials belonging to the Setswana cultural background. The final function is to provide a place of healing, offered through yoga as well as counselling.
Users should feel empowered, as though they have finally returned home, a place of belonging.
SECONDS BARBER
Retail | Final second year project.
Seconds is a retail store which provides both a service and an experience. The store functions as a barber as well as a brandy brewery which offers tastings to its clients. It is situated in a rundown area which the students then had to reinvigorate; an alleyway between two small centers which used to be old storage units, therefore making it a challenging project due to its spatial limitations.
This design represents a gentlemens club and speak easy style, with sleek and modern touches. One of the primary focuses in this design was inclusivity, one of the requirements being an accessibility audit for which my design was most highly rated.
ARCADIA APARTMENT
Residential | Second year project.
The Arcadia Apartment was a project in which we had to design a living space for international clients who were looking for temporary accommodation while completing business in Pretoria. My clients are a group of performers who are acting at the South African State Theatre. The apartment needed to tend to the clients specific needs; therefore I designed the apartment off the basis of story telling and performance. This lead to the interior having a series of raised platforms and moments of conceal and reveal, a surprise to be discovered around each corner.
Due to the clients commonly being in high energy areas, it was essential that the apartment acted as an oasis, a pause from their fast paced and busy lifestyles, this was made possible through a muted colour palette and the provision of break away spaces such as the greenhouse and the steam room.