02.25.14

2014 Student Design Charette Event Recap

With classical music playing softly in the background, the morning was off to a very concentrated beginning. 11 student teams from schools across the Southland were in their own little enclaves within the Pivot Interiors showroom, all brainstorming and sketching. Sharing ideas, with a couple teams coming up with, what would be, the winning designs. This was no ordinary Design Charette. These student designers were tasked with creating concepts within a Los Angeles project dubbed the Burlington Family Apartments by Clifford Beers Housing Inc. – affordable family housing units with approximately 50% of these units being set aside for families with special needs. This was, indeed, a project that could leave a lasting effect on all those involved.

As we walked through the enclaves, observing these young talents, the students were asking very thoughtful and insightful questions, many overflowing with ideas and excitement, although, there were a few nerves present! Several hours would pass – it’s never enough time – and SCISSORS DOWN! The students gathered up their storyboards and notes and presented their concepts to an esteemed panel of judges – Aram Arakelian of Environmental Contracting Corporation, Viveca Bissonnette of Hollander Design Group, Scott Johnson of Wolcott Architecture Interiors, Cristian Ahumada, Vanessa Luna, Daniel Findley & Kathy Fitzgerald of Clifford Beers Housing. After deliberating for some time, the winners were chosen.

1st Place Winners; L to R: Ye Rim Park, Deborah Bello and Li Zhang

1st place and the winners of $10K plus an invite to The Calibre Awards were:
Li Zhang – Woodbury University
Ye Rim Park – Art Center College of Design
Deborah Bello – Design Institute of San Diego

2nd Place Winners; L to R: Molly Hubley, Karen Ma and Timothy Truong

The 2nd place winners of $4K were:
Timothy Truong – Interior Designers Institute
Molly Hubley – OTIS College of Art and Design
Karen Ma – California State University Northridge

Although winners HAD to be chosen, Clifford Beers were so impressed with the concepts and talent that they will be using elements of each team’s designs within the project.

Congratulations to everyone involved and thanks to the families, friends and professors that came out to support their students in what was a fun and exciting day. The students all expressed their gratitude at being able to participate in the event and absolutely loved the experience.

Many thanks to Trish Drummy and the folks at Pivot for hosting a great event! Also, thank you to Erica Robles, Sepi Salehirad and all the great volunteers (Crystal Paselk/Tangram Interiors, Debra Haas/Kimball, Laura Colagrande/Wolcott, Bruce Morman, Alexandra Rajec/HBF-Gunlocke & Brandon Petross Oliver/Teknion).

Click here to view all the photos from the February 8th event.

Brandon Petross Oliver, IIDA Industry
Teknion LLC

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