Thaddeus Lee’s winning concept for a community center. Renderings courtesy of CSULB.
A group of Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) interior design students scored top honors in a competition sponsored by International Interior Design Association (IIDA), awarding four senior students a total of $15K.
Thaddeus Lee won the prestigious Stephanie Tarr Scholarship and its $5K prize while fellow senior Sara Nelson also collected $5K for best portfolio. Meanwhile, Kelsey Kaplan and Karlie Kier tied for second place for their respective portfolios, earning $2.5K each.
The IIDA’s Southern California chapter was founded in 1995, with 800members across the Southland. Their competition for scholarships is launched annually with online applications sought from students; this year’s competition garnered 40 applicants from Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Santa Barbara counties as well as the Inland and Desert Empires.
Twelve students, including seven from CSULB alone, were then asked to present their projects in a 10 minute presentation in front of three judges.
Lee, whose thesis was focused on creating a community center for a low-income community in Huntington Beach, described her attachment to community through design.
“Oak View is a low-income community that is full of life but often the residents are shaped by the environment,” Lee said. “The center would allow residents to reach their full purpose and what they have been created for. In researching the community I was told about an opportunity to mentor fifth-graders in the community and inform them about college. After reading what the judges said I had to thank God. He has given me the heart to love people and love the people of Oak View.”
Nelson’s winning concept for an academic hallway.
Nelson was awarded for her work on renovating a hallway in order to entice students to activate the space rather use it as a pass-through.
“The problem was to turn this drab hallway students only used for a shortcut into a destination,” Nelson explained in her project. “The solution: curiosity. Just as curiosity leads to discovery, curious students will discover the flat geometric pattern pattern transforms into 3-dimensional ceiling art. This design element could grab students’ attention and guide them to the south entrance seating areas.”
All four will be honored at the 2014 Calibre Awards reception at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City on May 9.
Read more: