LAIAC Student Competition awards $23,000 in Scholarships and assists non-profit Club 21

The AIA Los Angeles Interior Architecture Committee (LAIAC) held their 18th annual 1:2 Student Competition, a one-day, industry juried, design charette. This event is a unique opportunity for undergraduate design students representing 12 local Southern California design schools to have their design ideas critiqued by leading industry professionals and compete for more than $20,000 in scholarship prizes. The esteemed judges this year were Brett Shwery with HOK, Stephen Dalton with Stephen Dalton Architects, Ben Levin with DLR Group WWCOT, as well as honorary judge Nancy Litteken, the executive director of Club 21.

This year, the committee offered a new twist to young designers by selecting a real world, non-profit client to design for, rather than a hypothetical solution (exercise). Even more exciting, the winning student team now has the opportunity to have their design become a reality, with an actual build-out of the client’s space with the help of donations from the Architectural & Design and Construction industries. The LAIAC and our non-profit partner, Club 21 also hopes to draw donations and support from the general public for this wonderful cause.

“We love the winning design,” said Nancy Litteken, executive director of Club 21. “With the public’s help, this build-out will allow us to service more families in need and offer additional programs to children with Down syndrome.”

Click to DONATE to the Design Build for Club 21

The one-day charette is organized months in advance by the LAIAC in affiliation with the AIA Los Angeles chapter. This year’s event was held at the offices of the international design firm, HOK, in Culver City. The students arrived before 8:00 in the morning, unloaded their supplies and settled in for an intense competition. The students are required to produce a presentation board that includes plans, elevations and perspective drawings, all done by hand, as well as a model to help convey their concept. After only seven hours, time was called..."Pencils Down!". The students then got a well-deserved break and toured a newly constructed interiors project at the Herman Miller showroom in Culver City, as judges and the public arrived at HOK. Once the students arrived back at HOK, dinner was served to the students and industry leaders attending the event. The six selected finalists made their verbal presentations to more than 150 people. Before the night was through, the jurors selected the winning teams and their projects and awarded more than $20,000 in scholarship money to all finalists.

Club 21 has selected a winning project that they, and the LAIAC, hope will become a reality for children with Down syndrome in Southern California. We have secured some resources for the build-out, but donations of time, construction materials, and money are still needed to successfully complete the project.

“As an interior designer [architect or industry rep], there are many opportunities to get involved in our community. But, none as rewarding as the 1:2. That’s why many of us have stayed loyal to this committee for a number of years— the potential, the future. It’s absolutely invigorating.” Erica Robles, Klawiter & Associates, 2008-2010 LAIAC 1:2 Student Competition Co-Chair.