Dezeen School Shows: an animal hospital that has areas for cats and dogs to play and relax and a "marketplace-botanical garden hybrid" is included in Dezeen's latest school show by students at Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at the George Washington University.

Also included is a hotel that also serves as an art gallery and an educational centre that aims to encourage and teach sustainable eating and living habits.

Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at The George Washington University

School: Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, The George Washington University
Course: Interior Architecture Master of Fine Arts (MFA) – Studio 5
Tutors: Alex Donahue, AIA

School statement:

"The Interior Architecture Master of Fine Arts (MFA) at the George Washington University's Corcoran School of the Arts and Design in Washington DC is the only Council for Interior Design Accreditation-accredited programme in the United States' capital.

"It is designed for students who pursued a bachelor degree in a field other than interior design, interior architecture or architecture and are looking to follow a studio-based curriculum that will teach various aspects of interior design, theories and technicalities.

"We believe in fostering a community that encourages creativity and pushes the boundaries of design with an emphasis on conceptual thinking and the design process. See Corcoran's end-of-year show for more information."

The Local Collective by Taylor Corzine

"This project envisions a marketplace-botanical garden hybrid experience that provides access to local food, retailers, events, education, product diversity and a biophilic environment.

"The Local Collective is a place where the community can support local small businesses and those businesses will, in turn, give back to their community.

"It aims to be a space for the community to create unique connections with one another and to appreciate the beauty and wonders of the plant life around them. There is also an opportunity for shoppers to reduce their carbon footprint and expenditures by providing a 'one-stop-shop' of local makers.

"These community-driven initiatives, paired with the eco-friendly impact, pair well with the botanical garden setting and creates a natural segue to conversations about sustainability within the retail industry."

Student: Taylor Corzine
Programme: Interior Architecture MFA
Course: Studio 5, Graduate
Tutor: Alex Donahue, AIA

Love at First Bite by Bryce Delaney

"Love at First Bite is a sustainable-focused educational project with a goal to educate and mend the gap in the production cycle through providing a platform within an urban environment that will reintroduce, inspire and teach sustainable eating and living habits.

"Inspired by consumers' transformative journey from the unknown to the known, the programme highlights spaces of engagement, contemplation and learning by implementing a sustainable restaurant, teaching kitchen, planted and hydroponic garden, farmer's market and cafe.

"Love at First Bite is designed to provide users with the ability to gradually gain information. Through the unveiling of spaces and the use of locally sourced sustainable materials, users are subconsciously picking up on sustainable practices, teachings and lessons through every stage of their journey."

Student: Bryce Delaney
Programme: Interior Architecture MFA
Course: Studio 5, Graduate
Tutor: Alex Donahue, AIA

Niche Market by Kay Nguyen

"For people who are not familiar with Washington DC besides being the main political hub, the city might come across as unassuming, old and highly revered. However, those who at least have been around for a while know that DC can be very energetic and eccentric once night falls.

"Though DC's cultural scene has been growing a lot in the last few years, it is still a rather underutilised market as there is very little variety of options. Shops and market halls are rather uniform with what they offer as well as aesthetics. This, though it provides options to the many, deprives people of more new and exciting experiences. It would be beneficial to the city to have some spaces to solve this problem.

"Niche refers to an area of the market specialising in one type of product or service. The Niche Market is meant to target this concept in two ways: firstly, the proposed project features an uncommon aesthetic for the city with the combination of eco brutalism style during the day in contrast with 80s inspired cyberpunk aesthetic in the evening.

"Secondly, it is designed to be a marketplace where different functions come together under one roof with the goal of providing a fun, exciting, and different experience from the majority of business offerings in the area."

Student: Kay Nguyen
Programme: Interior Architecture MFA
Course: Studio 5, Graduate
Tutor: Alex Donahue, AIA

The Reset by Natalie Combs

"This holistic wellness centre is a space for veterans looking for alternative methods of healing to supplement allopathic medical practices. Holistic healing can be a method for long-term healing instead of short-term fixes.

"As holistic wellness is becoming more popular among veterans, providing a space that focuses on nonconventional treatments will reinforce the sentiment that the focus is on healing the entire person and not just treating the symptom.

"This wellness centre is meant to focus on healing the body through creativity, introspection, relaxation and community."

Student: Natalie Combs
Programme: Interior Architecture MFA
Course: Studio 5, Graduate
Professor: Alex Donahue, AIA

A Round of A-Paws by Melany McGillvray

"The process of taking a pet to an animal hospital can be extremely stressful and may lead to long-lasting psychological and behavioural problems.

"Many pet owners choose to avoid the stress by delaying or forgoing treatment entirely, even when the animal is sick or injured.

"This project aims to rethink animal hospital design by putting the animals' welfare first. Separate waiting areas for cats and dogs allow non-aggressive pets to be removed from their carriers or unleashed and provide opportunities for play, socialization, and decompression to a relaxed state before entering the examination room.

"The concept of meandering animal circulation dictated the shape and profile of the dividing waiting room wall and animal size, behavior, and preferences were considered when selecting and proportionally scaling furniture, materials and finishes."

Student: Melany McGillvray
Programme: Interior Architecture MFA
Course: Studio 5, Graduate
Professor: Alex Donahue, AIA

The Joy Lab by Melanie Santiago

"The Joy Lab is a wellness and mindfulness centre aimed at creating an environment that is designed for wellbeing and the prevention of illness. This building will help create a community of like-minded people who are working on maintaining or pursuing better physical and mental health.

"The centre will offer activities for the mind and body including group workout classes, a children's room, seminars, group and private therapy, a meditation room, and spa. The building selected for this project is the visitor centre located inside the 50-acre property of Brookside Gardens.

"The location was selected because of the proven positive effect nature has on health and its location within a residential community. This space will help create a community by bringing people together from all different backgrounds with the common goal of health and wellness."

Student: Melanie Santiago
Programme: Interior Architecture MFA
Course: Studio 5, Graduate
Tutor: Alex Donahue, AIA

Monroe Art Hotel by Maria Amosova

"The Monroe Art Hotel is an artistic venue dedicated to offering visitors and guests a new way of experiencing art.

"Rather than a transient experience, as is the case with most galleries and museums, visitors of the Monroe Art Hotel have the option to choose the way and amount of time spent engaging with the art pieces.

"From the restaurants and lounges to the guest rooms and gallery, each space in the hotel features an amalgam of curated work, including but not limited to: sculptures, ceramics, paintings, stained glass, mosaics, furniture and mixed media."

Student: Maria Amosova
Programme: Interior Architecture MFA
Course: Studio 5, Graduate
Tutor: Alex Donahue, AIA

DC Harmony Retirement Centre by Anna Hawkins

"DC Harmony Retirement Centre is based in the U Street Corridor neighbourhood of Washington DC. It's a musician's paradise with tons of performance theatres, concert halls, street music, and musically themed bars and restaurants. While the DC Harmony Retirement Centre is open to all of the outside community that surrounds it, it is specifically home for retired musicians in the Washington DC metro area.

"This retirement centre is what is referred to as a niche retirement centre. The goal of this retirement centre is to break the negative stigma that surrounds these centres in general.

"To show potential residents and those of the retirement age that retirement centre can be a place where dreams can become a reality, passion exploration can be taken a step further, and most importantly, that when one moves into a retirement centre that they are not isolated.

"In fact, this specific retirement centre celebrates and encourages residents to be social with the community and provides many opportunities for the residents and community to do so."

Student: Anna Hawkins
Programme: Interior Architecture MFA
Course: Studio 5, Graduate
Tutor: Alex Donahue, AIA

For The People by Elyse Nguyen

"Washington DC is home to many monuments and landmarks that symbolise priority and importance of the welfare of the people. However, there is a lack of facilities throughout the city, exposing discrepancies in supporting the health and wellbeing of the community.

"Providing an area centrally located in the city as a place for rest and respite will help support the community. The aim is to be a community centre that benefits a wide range of people, whether someone lives in Washington, DC or is just visiting.

"The programming will extend beyond answering basic human needs and provide some other unique amenities that will turn this into an attraction of its own."

Student: Elyse Nguyen
Programme: Interior Architecture MFA
Course: Studio 5, Graduate
Tutor: Alex Donahue, AI

The Point by Magenta Livengood

"The quality and vibrancy of city life is increased when citizens live, work and shop all in the same neighborhood. With the idea of an inside out city in mind, this mixed-use, multi-story, adaptive reuse building in an underutilised neighbourhood of Washington DC would be a sustainable revitalisation of a downtown space.

"The first-floor indoor promenade circulates The Point's indoor park and uses the open atrium's abundant light to make the idea of an inside out city possible. On the upper floors of the atrium luxury apartments have private balconies that open up to this unique indoor/outdoor space for a one of a kind city view."

Student: Magenta Livengood
Programme: Interior Architecture MFA
Course: Studio 5, Graduate
Tutor: Alex Donahue, AIA

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Corcoran School of the Arts and Design. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.