Featuring Our Faculty

Interior Design and Merchandising

Community Outreach Interests

I have been involved in the ECU Outreach Scholars Program for two years and have mentored three faculty members during that time. My projects link students with community needs which generally have inspired them to increase the quality of their design in relationship with the comments that they receive from real client groups. The department's design studios have helped downtown areas that are experiencing urban decline including Greenville and Rocky Mount as well as civic organizations in Bath, Plymouth, Wilson, and Greenville. The projects that have been accomplished so far include renovation of an abandoned school complex for a community center, renovation of the Bath High School for mixed use as a library, community center, health clinic, offices for incubator industry or local businesses, and an annex for the existing state museum.  

Most recently the students have worked on a health care project for Pitt County Memorial Hospital and the design of the wounded warriors' battalion barracks at Camp Le Jeune.  The hospital project focused on two outpatient treatment clinics and included items of furniture designed by the students to supplement their design solutions for the renovations of these clinic buildings.  In every case the students have been asked to apply their knowledge in the service of a group of people who needed help in deciding what was needed in a building they were occupying or planning to occupy in the near future. The orientation of the students to understanding that design is a social art with real client needs and real budgets is a core value of the studios that I teach. In my opinion there is no reason to teach the students that practical limitations can be ignored. In fact, some of the best designs stem from thoughtful responses to design criteria that the students resolve with their client groups. 

Research Interests

My current research interests relate to the special needs of older adults and in extending care to them in their homes in lieu of institutional settings such as assisted living facilities or nursing homes. The focus of this research is to determine a menu of services that can be offered to allow the older adult to live in their own homes for as long as possible. This concept has clear economic as well as sociological and psychological advantages since most elderly adults own their own homes and have reported in multiple surveys they prefer to stay there rather than to be moved to a more institutional setting. This research topic is an outgrowth of my graduate thesis as well as in the close observations of the transitions made by my own elderly parents before their death.  

A second research topic is currently being conducted in association with the Center for Sustainable Tourism. Together, we are working with the Nags Head community and in particular with a group of citizens on the North Carolina Outer Banks who want their community to be a Blue/ Green, sustainable tourist destination. Currently, we have surveyed seven beach houses and a condominium project to determine the types of renovations that would be required to update these rental units. Further, a list of sustainable standards has been envisioned and cost estimates from local building contractors are being sought to determine the payback time on the more expensive improvements. Some of the standards for improving these properties in a responsible way have no real cost implications. Other changes may be more dramatic and can be made in off season construction that will help fund the local economy. When these projects are renovated correctly there will be two advantages to the local community:

• Nags Head will begin to enjoy the reputation of a community where preservation of its natural setting is being preserved and enhanced. This will stimulate additional tourist interest due to the unique character of the community
• Local builders and suppliers will harvest the benefits of the renovation efforts since the area is 90% "built out" and no large scale development is envisioned in the near future. Instead, the renovations will stress quality of renovation rather than the low cost quantity of air conditioned space that has made many beachfront communities ordinary

Notable Publications

Refereed Articles 

Ballard, S., Jenkins, C., Savut, N, McKinnon, W. H. , & Carroll, K. E. (2009).  'Innovative and Complementary Approaches to Enhancing Elders' Ability to Age in Place.   Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences.    

Refereed Proceedings 

Abstract Only--Mckinnon, W. H. (2009).  The First Ladies of Interior Design.   Interior Design Educators Conference.    

Presentation of Refereed Papers 

International --Savut, N. Y. & McKinnon, W. H. (2008). Alternative Delivery Systems. International Federation on Ageing, Montreal, Canada.  

National--Mckinnon, W. H. & Anderson , AIA, LEED, L. (2008, October). Conducting a Post Occupancy Evaluation: Lessons Learned in Continuous Quality Improvement. aahsa Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  

Mckinnon, W. H. & Savut, Y. N. (2008, April). Determining Best Practices in Assisted Living. Aging in America: a joint conference of the National Council on Aging and the American Society on Aging, Washington, District of Columbia.  

Regional--Ballard, S. M., Jenkins, C., Savut, N. Y. , Mckinnon, W. H. , & Carroll, K. E. (2008). Innovative Approaches to Enhancing Elders' Ability to 'Age in Place'. NC Conference on Aging, Greenville, North Carolina.  

Presentation of Non-Refereed Papers 

Local--Mckinnon, W. H. (2007, February). Options for Aging in your own Space. Intercom: College of Design Research Exchange, Raleigh, North Carolina.  

Regional--Mckinnon, W. H. & Savut, Y. N. (2007, April). Best Practices in Design for the Aging- Universal Design. American Society of Interior Design Carolinas Chapter Annual Meeting, Winston Salem, North Carolina.  

Courses

HISTORY OF INTERIORS I – Prehistory to the Victorians

HISTORY OF INTERIORS II- The Victorians to the present

INT DES II: COMMERCIAL DESIGN – Sophomore level

INT DES III: BUILDING SYSTEMS

INT DES INTERNSHIP

INT DES IV: UNIVERSAL  DESIGN

INT DES V: COMMERCIAL  DESIGN – Senior Captstone Studio

PROFESSIONAL  PROCEDURES  IN INTERIOR DESIGN