“Imagine that you are an interior designer who works independently as the sole proprietor of a firm which specializes in the design of bed and breakfast inns. Your work is reflective of strong support for universal and sustainable design philosophies. You have been chosen to complete the conceptual and schematic design phases for a bed and breakfast inn that will include common spaces plus six guest bedrooms. The inn is located near the downtown of a moderately-sized city similar to Asheville, North Carolina.” This was the challenge set before students in IDSN 4500 Interior Design IV: Universal Design course in the spring of 2007.

The students were also told that “the building which you design will include three levels: a lower, below-grade level which due to the sloping terrain can have windows on two adjacent sides, can include several guest rooms, and will include utility space for a mechanical room, storage, and laundry facilities; an on-grade level which includes the required common rooms, the main entrance, and an accessible guest room; and an upper room which includes only guest rooms.”

Perhaps most significantly to the IDSN 4500 curriculum, students were instructed that “the design must be developed to comply with the latest versions of the International Building Code and the Federal Guidelines for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility.”

Such was the general design scenario for the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Carolinas Chapter Otto Zenke Student Competition 2007.  The competition is an annual focal point of IDSN 4500 Interior Design IV: Universal Design taught by interior design faculty, W. Hunt McKinnon and N. Yaprak Savut.  This year, McKinnon and Savut submitted fifteen of the class’ twenty-six projects to the competition. Of the forty-five projects submitted by North Carolina universities and community colleges, the projects of ECU interior design students won four of the competition’s five awards as follows:

First Place: Meghan Anders ($750 scholarship)
Second Place: Nicole Dwyer ($500 scholarship)
Third Place: Karin Jadney ($250 scholarship)
Honorable Mention: Angela Stay

Photo: front row left to right, Meghan Anders, Nicole Dwyer, Karin Jadney; back row, W. Hunt McKinnon and N. Yaprak Savut

Congratulations to these students and their teachers!