Skyloft Austin is a luxury, west-campus high-rise student residence that’s walking distance from the University of Texas. Student housing and multi-family is a big part of our business at Art + Artisans. It gives us the opportunity to work with developers and designers and assist in telling their story to make the property different and stand out.

We worked closely with the designers at STG Design to create a space that engaged students, fostered community, and connected to the spirit of Austin.

+ STG ranks #1 on the Austin Business Journals 2021 List of Commercial Interior Design Firms.

Predominantly led from a female perspective, the Skyloft project is an exceptional example of when talented women in art and design come together to create something truly meaningful.

Women in Design

Meet Wendy Rosamond

Wendy Rosamond - Associate Principal-Led Interior Designer on Skyloft Project

Wendy was the associate principal-lead interior designer on this project. She collaborated with the interiors team and was the main designer on furniture for the FF&E portion of the project. We connected with Wendy to share the influence and impact she had on Skyloft through design.

Wendy shared with us that during the design process, it’s important to understand what the client is looking to achieve within the space. For Skyloft, the client wanted to create a space that people would engage with and utilize.

“As students walk through to get to the elevators or head to class, they experience the dynamic and colorful environment. This was an opportunity to showcase the local artwork and furniture artisans. We leaned on a functional hospitality feel and made it as engaging as we could.”

When it comes to creating meaningful spaces, Wendy emphasizes how important it is to evoke emotion throughout a space. Her philosophy:

“I always think about how people will experience the space.”

She looks at it from a human scale which helps determine where things are going to be placed and what someone would do when they get to experience it within the space.

“You want a surprise every time you turn a corner.”

Wendy says you want to create a happy experience, but emotion isn’t the only thing to keep in mind. You want people to feel comfortable and for the space to be cohesive and functional.

“There’s significance around emotion because we want the client to be happy with the project, rave about it and show it off. But it’s also just as important to have that same response from people that experience it. That’s how we validate that it’s actually going to be a useful environment.”

Wendy says she looks at it from the beginning stage and considers what elements would be needed to create that type of environment/experience. Then, it’s time to get to work!

The Key Elements of the Skyloft Project

When designing the space, Wendy focused on the client’s wish for a vibrant engaging space that had a lot of features and comfort to it, and a tie to the community. Many clients want a local feel to their space which can look different for every client. It’s essential to create that feel while still making a property unique from other projects.

Working with local vendors is always a joyful experience for Wendy. Being able to help local businesses is the biggest takeaway and many of the features of this space are mostly local artisans!

“Skyloft had a lot of local vendors providing custom pieces, like Art + Artisans, as well as fabricators.”

Wendy has worked with Art + Artisans for over 15 years on many different projects. For Skyloft, Wendy brought Art + Artisans in to elect art that would support her design concept and connect to local artists.

“A+A has always been very good to work with and also really interesting. They bring so many different concepts and ideas to enhance our design. We provide a cohesive, overall design to our clients and Art + Artisans is key to one of those extra things that really does help solidify our design.”