UA Design Students Place First in Competition

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Two University of Alabama students placed first in the International Interior Design Association’s Student Day Design Competition.

UA senior Melita Hudson, a biology and interior design major from Andalusia, placed first in the Retail/Restaurant category for her project titled Froth-Coffee Shop, and UA senior Lauren Wallace, an interior design major from Huntsville, placed first in the Mixed-Use/Residential category for her Water Tower Living project.

“What we were looking for was the ability to come up with a concept, a student’s creative thought process, and how well the student executed that concept in the project,” said Dexter Carty, director of student affairs for the IIDA Alabama Chapter and an interior designer at Gresham, Smith and Partners in Birmingham.

“We were looking at the graphics, the layout, the presentation. All of the design principles that they should be learning in school.”

The competition was open to juniors and seniors who were members of IIDA. Categories included Retail/Restaurant, Corporate/Health Care and Mixed-Use/Residential, and students could submit no more than two projects total. Group projects were not allowed.

Competitors were asked to submit a synopsis explaining the project, design goals and concept, as well as digital images. Hudson’s concept was to create a 1,000-square foot upper-end retail/restaurant space that focused on lighting. She chose a coffee shop, and the inspiration for her design was drawn from a warm cup of coffee. Hudson used plush fabrics, velvets of brown and cream on furniture, round shapes and warm perimeter lighting to reiterate the warmth of coffee.

“The design was really based on the actual coffee in a cup,” Carty said.

Wallace’s Water Tower Living took a cylindrical water tower and transformed it into a single family dwelling. The design was inspired by the characteristics of the existing structure, blending the old and the new with “careful and sensitive manipulation of materials and internal space.”

“That’s the kind of thought process we’re looking for,” Carty said. “Taking something from nature and turning it into this new space. It was very impressive.”

There were a total of 12 student entries. The three winners each received $1,000 and had their designs featured on the organization’s website.

“We’re just trying to give them an incentive for good design work and give them an opportunity for some exposure,” Carty said. “If they win, it’s like a validation of all the work they’re putting in. Even if they don’t win, they’re learning about the process of preparing a project like this.”

The students submitted their projects at the organization’s annual Student Day, which brings student designers and design professionals together for a day of learning, interacting and networking.