03.25.19

2019 Student Expo Recap

On March 7th, the IIDA LA City Center hosted the Student Expo event at AECOM in their DTLA office. This event serves as an opportunity for students to showcase their amazing work as well as providing the local design community with inspiration and a glimpse into the talent of the next generation.

This year we had fourteen students showcase their incredible design projects representing five local schools: FIDM, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Northridge, Mt. SAC, and the ArtCenter. As the evening got underway, there was a bustle of excitement as our student participants prepared to showcase their design concepts, renderings, and models to a crowded room of industry professionals.

We want to thank our judges for this event: David Fridlund, President of IIDA SoCal, and, Miguel Perez, CoVP of Student Affairs for IIDA SoCal. They spent much of the evening deliberating, a testament to the overwhelming talent that was on display.

Best in Show: Brett Su / ArtCenter

People’s Choice: Jincheng Zhangliu / ArtCenter

Well-deserved congratulations to this year’s winners along with all of the participants!

The second half of the evening included a panel discussion from a distinguished group of industry professionals which included:
Pam Light, HOK
Gillian Sutton, Newmark
James Merchant, AECOM
Josie Park, NBC Universal

The theme for this year’s discussion was where design is headed in the next decade. The group provided valuable insight based on their vast experiences and tenure. Students and industry professionals alike were a captive audience during this discussion moderated by Amy Hill of Work Thread Consulting.

A special thank you to our generous sponsors for this event: Pivot, Steelcase, and Humanscale. We also want to recognize the contributions our LA City Center volunteers and our venue sponsor, AECOM, for your continued support of IIDA.

Event Chair: Julie Schettino
Event volunteers: Jillian Potts, Jade Li, Chao Dou, Allison Lim, and Sheila Shenasi
Event Sponsors: Pivot, Steelcase and Humanscale
LA City Center Co-Chairs: Megan Zell and Jason Shepley