Bianca Dyke is a Designer who works in our Interiors Studio and works primarily on projects in the Civic and Education markets. She is involved in a unique program at our firm called Emerging Professionals (EP) which provides young professionals with the necessary knowledge, tools and support to excel on their paths to licensure and in their careers.
“Essentially, a big part of what we do is to look at a space holistically and ensure it makes sense. We solve how the interior world works within the architecture of the structure, one piece at a time.”
Bianca graduated in 2015 and joined Lionakis in 2016. Since beginning her career, she’s found that the real working world provides a whole different learning curve when it comes to working with vendors and company and client standards. Some of the additional things she didn’t learn about in school that she has since learned about at Lionakis are:
- Products (which are best to use where and why i.e. lighting, flooring, carpet and tile)
- Construction Documents
- Changing Technology (i.e. Learned more Auto CAD than Revit while in school)
- Phasing – (Most projects in existing spaces must remain operational while major work is being completed)
In a typical day, 90% of Bianca’s time is spent designing in Revit building models and providing documentation. She generally works with two screens, with Revit on one side and Bluebeam on the other. Bluebeam is an important communication tool, but also has features like overlaying colors on plans which can be helpful in communicating changes and features.
Many projects begin with floor plans that are hand drawn, scanned into Bluebeam and then marked up. Bianca prefers to draw on the computer because it goes more quickly and can be more accurate in size and scale, however, she acknowledges that it can be constraining to the design process too. Each designer has their preferred starting point and both methods are used on most projects.
The Emerging Professionals Program of benefits includes:
- Weekly Vendor Product Presentations.
- Training: i.e. Life of the Project Series, Risk Management, Phasing Projects, Site Visits throughout Construction, Lessons Learned and Integrated Project Delivery
- Teamwork: Since people from each studio are part of the EP program it creates a resource-rich team that facilitates a seamless workflow across the firm.
Bianca is involved in projects from Schematic Design, Design Development up to Construction Documentation. Once the project gets to the Construction Administration phase her role is complete. Currently, she is working on a major renovation project that involves a 3D (Virtual Reality) walkthrough with the client this week. Next week, an actual walkthrough of the space with the executive client team will take place where she will be running the Power Point presentation as the leader of the Design Team presents the project status.
The Interiors Team spends a significant amount of time in the firm sample library, home to samples of carpets, tile and paint. This area is firmly supported and managed by G’anna Burke, another Designer in our Interiors Studio. Sometimes, building codes such as Title 24 and Fire Codes impinge on the creative materials selection process due to requirements. On a recent project, a beautifully textured, original, multi-colored concrete wall from a structure under renovation was unable to remain in the design plan due to fire regulations. As much as the history of the building and the design aesthetic was important to the team, sometimes these conflicts challenge you to find an even more creative solution.
“Interior Design work is more than just choosing pretty colors and nice finishes – it’s not always like what they highlight on HGTV. It requires big picture coordination skills, working within a team, meeting tight timelines and being flexible with your focus – every day is very different and yes, it’s a lot of fun too.”
