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Sheridan College, where I learned to draw a room before it exists.

Interior Decorating, Ontario College Diploma. January 2024 to April 2025.

The graduation project
Rendering of the café inside The Boiler House: brick walls, black arched windows, a curved green bar and round wooden tables.
The café in The Boiler House, my graduation project. Rendered in SketchUp.

About this page

I started at Sheridan in January 2024, after twenty years in business. By April 2025 I had a sketchbook full of rooms, a set of construction drawings, and a graduation project that won the Best Graduation Project Award. This page keeps them in one place.

Graduation project · April 2025

Cowork & Wine Union

The Boiler House · 55 Mill Street · Distillery District, Toronto

The Boiler House went up in 1859 to make steam for the Gooderham and Worts distillery. Our brief was to turn it into a co-working space with a café and bar, a gallery, a pop-up shop and a kids' room, for a couple in their thirties: an industrial designer with Indigenous roots, a photographer, and their support dog. I did it with a classmate.

I kept the original walls and made the most of the shell. The big open room on the right became sixteen workstations and meeting rooms. The enclosed room on the far left became the kids' room, safe and easy to reach. The north side, straight across from the entrance, became the shared office and reception.

  • 2wings of one heritage building
  • 16workstations in the co-working room
  • 6rendered elevations
  • 49sources in the thesis book

Before and after

From the empty shell to the plan

Drag the line. On the left, the building as we got it; on the right, the finished plan.

Finished floor plan of the co-working wing: workstations, meeting rooms, lounge, kids' room and kitchen.
The existing co-working wing as an empty CAD shell: outer walls, washrooms, stairs and two vestibules.
ExistingProposed

Process

How the plan came together

Bubble diagram linking entrances, shared office, kids' area, co-op work area, café, gallery, retail, kitchen and washrooms.
Which rooms need to sit next to each other, and how people move between them.
Colored block diagram fitting each zone into the real walls of both wings.
The bubbles squared up inside the real walls: welcome zones, workstations, meeting room, kids' room, café, gallery.
Marker sketch of the reception and main hallway: wood panelling, a blue artwork, grey sofas and a plant.
Reception and main hallway, in marker. Bamboo floor, wood panels, warm light.
Marker sketch of the café: curved wooden ceiling, round skylights and a long counter with stools.
The café, in marker. Organic shapes and natural textures, with room for a wheelchair at every table.
Rendered floor plan of both wings with furniture, finishes and lighting.
Furniture, finishes and lighting, to scale, in both wings.

Renderings

Two rooms I'm proud of

Café looking east, with brick walls, arched windows and a curved green bar. Café, looking east Café looking northwest, with beige chairs, round tables and the bar. Café, looking northwest Kids' room looking south, with pastel shelves, a slide and a ball pit. Kids' room, looking south Kids' room looking north, with a slide, a giraffe sculpture, a reading pod and a piano. Kids' room, looking north

The kids' room, for every kid

I planned it for children with autism too. Sound-absorbing panels on walls, ceiling and floor. Warm, dimmable light instead of harsh white. Clear zones for play, reading and quiet. Soft pastel blues, greens and purples, and no busy patterns.

Elevations

Six walls, drawn flat

The café floor is SILVERSTONE ceramic tile with 40% post-industrial recycled content. The kids' room walls use Concreate panels: light, durable and VOC-free.

Café elevation 1 with brick, arched openings, the bar and a green wall.Café · elevation 1 Café elevation 2: arched windows with framed art between them.Café · elevation 2 Café elevation 3: retail shelving, entrance doors, bar and kitchen.Café · elevation 3 Kids' room elevation 1: arched pastel shelving, a slide and a giraffe.Kids' room · elevation 1 Kids' room elevation 2: arched windows, a play tunnel and a piano.Kids' room · elevation 2 Kids' room elevation 3: brick-filled arches, the tunnel and the ball pit.Kids' room · elevation 3

Design ideas

Four ideas behind every choice

01

Industrial aesthetic

Exposed brick with steel, wood and raw materials, so the building's history stays in view.

02

Human-centered

Ergonomic furniture, flexible layouts, bike storage, and an easy path between the kids' room and the workspace.

03

Third place

Somewhere between home and work: open lounges, shared seating and art on the walls.

04

Inclusive

Wheelchair-friendly paths, a kids' room and a pet zone, so everyone feels welcome.

Construction drawings · 2025

A kitchen and a bathroom, to the inch

A plan, two elevations and a cabinet section in AutoCAD, at 1/2" = 1'-0". Built-in fridge, quartz counters, under-cabinet LED strips, a pull-out basket, a marble feature wall in the bathroom.

Open a sheet and click it to zoom in.

CAD plan of the kitchen and bathroom with dimensions.A1 · Plan CAD kitchen elevation north with labelled cabinets and appliances.A2 · Kitchen, north CAD kitchen and bathroom elevations, south.A2 · Kitchen and bath, south CAD cabinet section and countertop detail.A3 · Section and detail

First term · January 2024

Evolution

From the past to the present and into the future

One of my first drawings at Sheridan, in pencil on paper. The lettering down the middle says what the term was about: a line is made of an infinite number of points, a continuous mark made by movement.

Pencil drawing: two hatched walls narrow toward a rocket-like line rising to a globe of stacked blocks, with hand lettering about lines and points.

Application portfolio · January 2024 intake

Ten pieces to get in

Sheridan asked for a portfolio with a short note on each piece. I sent ten: a logo, a floor plan, two apartment renderings, and five photographs from my travels.

A minimal black X-shaped logo mark.01Business logo · 2021 The X mark beside the word XiShi and four Chinese characters.02Logo with name · 2021 AutoCAD furnished floor plan of a townhouse with a garden.03Townhouse plan · 2022 3ds Max rendering of a living room with a chandelier, grey sofa and glass-front bookcase.04Living room · 2021 3ds Max rendering of a white kitchen with a teal island and dining table.05Kitchen · 2021

Pieces 06 to 10 · Photographs

Five photographs, five words

Tap or hover a photo for the note I wrote for the application.

Looking down the Vatican Museums' double spiral staircase. Life Vatican Museums · 2017Seen from above, life is this staircase: some people climb, some go down, but everyone ends in the same place. A woman in a pink jacket running past the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. Departure Munich · 2016A middle-aged woman runs past the opera on a gray morning, eyes on her goal. It's never too late to start. Black-and-white street scene in Paris: a man playing a wind instrument while another plays a street piano. Enjoy Paris · 2016An old man played the clarinet on a street corner, a passerby sat down at the piano, and the street stopped to listen. The wooden halls of Nishi Hongan-ji in Kyoto after rain, with one person under an umbrella. Faith Kyoto · 2019After heavy rain, one believer in formal dress, holding a gift, still looking for the temple he came to visit. Silhouette of a man carrying a guitar case on Santa Monica Beach at sunset, with the pier behind. Farewell Santa Monica · 2018A musician walks off at sunset. Farewells are short; the sun comes up again tomorrow.