Not Your Average Army Wife – Designer Heather Harmston

by brendan on January 24th, 2010

After four years of working side by side with undoubtedly some of the best and brightest designers of my generation, I have grown an extreme case of work envy. This is definitely the case when it comes to my good friend Heather Harmston. Her work shows a creative expression of modern design and a very focused point of view. I have had the pleasure of working with Heather on our recent Dining By Design table and look forward to what else she has in store. This is a look at her Senior Thesis…

“In August 2009, during my semester break from college, I flew back to Fort Wainwright, Alaska where I had once lived for a year and a half, to welcome home my husband from Iraq. It was then that I had started to notice the poor living conditions that some of our single soldiers had to come home too. After doing research in the form of surveys, interviews, on site documentation, cold weather and environmental issues, army standards and so on, I realized that I needed to design a change …..

So I put the previous 15 weeks of performing arts center research on hold and focused on constructing a modern Army barracks. My main goal was to increase a single soldiers quality of life, while holding true to the Army’s standards on building. Below is the thesis statement that defines my project.”

Macarthur Barracks takes a standard Army barracks as a point of departure and through a series of repeating shapes and patterns, achieves a new order. This building serves to increase the quality of life for single soldiers while considering low cost solutions to the United States government.

“My concept derived from the honeycomb shape found naturally in bee hives. After research, I felt that the way a bee lives and works within its hive parallels that of the way a soldier lives and works in the military. The actual shape of the hexagon (derived from the honeycomb) also provided me with a unique and visually interesting way to design the individual sleeping and living areas, which I like to call pods.”

“The barracks building is three stories high. Each floor has a central hub of amenities which includes bar/billiards club, swimming pool and gym, library and dining facilities. Each personnel quarters contains two secured bedrooms, a shared kitchen/dining area and a full bath.”

“Other considerations and due diligence for this project consisted of the cold weather conditions of Alaska, staying true to Army standards, low cost building solutions, etc. Although the project is a work in progress, I am proud of not only the work that developed from it, but how much I learned about the United States military, the state of Alaska and the job my husband does day in and day out.”

A little bit about Heather right now:
As a military wife its hard to say or even know how long I’m going to be in one place. Right now I’m in Fairbanks, AK, where it is not only beautiful but it is a great conversation starter in the lower 48 states. Six months from now I might be in Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, the possibilities are endless, so for the time being I have been redeveloping my portfolio and resume and doing research on the available job market. If I could choose my ideal field of work it would be a toss up between Event Design and International Design work.

I have always been inspired and intrigued by third world countries, after going to Latin America a couple of years ago. I fell in love with the idea of cultural design and working on projects that benefit entire communities. Unfortunately there is not much of a design market up here in Alaska so I have begun offering free lance design services. If one day I decide to open my own design business it may be called HNH Design Studios. So keep an eye out for it in the future! But if anyone is in the Fairbanks, Alaska area is in need of a design consultation, feel free to contact me at h.harmston@hotmail.com