Dezeen School Shows: a project utilising hair as a biomaterial to promote sustainability is included Dezeen's latest school show presented by the Interior Educators Awards.

Also included is an exhibition design that encourages recycling and a proposal to combat gentrification in London.

Interior Educators

Awards: Interior Educators National Student Awards 2024

Statement:

"The annual Interior Educators National Student Awards celebrate the creative, thoughtful and exciting work of students from interior design and interior architecture courses from across the UK.

"The winning projects showcase a diversity of approaches for the design and interpretation of interiors across six categories.

"The projects engage with the challenges facing us today and speculate how thoughtful design can create a better, more sustainable future for all.

"Interior Educators (IE) is a powerful network for more than 50 institutional members; a forum in which the exchange of ideas and experience contributes to the evolution of academic practice informing the design of interior space.

"The 2024 Interior Educators National Student Awards are generously sponsored by Brinkworth and the Royal College of Art."

Undergrowth by Laura Finch

"Undergrowth is an innovative urban farming project situated in an abandoned railway station beneath the Glasgow Botanic Gardens, aiming to address food insecurity with cutting-edge growing techniques.

"Utilising bioluminescent plants to facilitate photosynthesis, the project produces fresh, nutritious crops year-round, transforming the space into a desirable educational hub for the community.

"This initiative demonstrates how food can be produced in unconventional spaces, emphasising both agricultural and community growth.

"The project comprises four interconnected elements: growing spaces, public engagement spaces, skill spaces and event spaces.

"Undergrowth redefines public spaces by creating a functional and educational environment where people can gather, learn and connect with their surroundings."

Student: Laura Finch
Course: BDes Interior and Spatial Design
School: Edinburgh Napier University
Award: Interior Futures Award 24 – Winner (Completing Students)

Re: Pair by Elena Crawford

"Re: Pair is a scheme in Oxford that puts people and repair first in a central space in the city primarily focussed on consumerism.

"Located in Westgate shopping centre, spanning the only public square in Oxford, the project acts as a community takeover – offering public repair workshops for bikes and belongings, a tool and object hiring library as well as social spaces.

"Zero Carbon Oxford aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040 and reduce transport emissions by 88 per cent (Oxford City Council, 2024).

"Re: Pair aims to provide cyclists with a community space to encourage agency over repairing their bikes and belongings, as well as providing the physical cycling infrastructure and highlighting responsible consumption in the centre of the city."

Student: Elena Crawford
Course: BA Interior Architecture
School: Oxford Brookes University
Award: Climate Emergency & Sustainability Award 24 – Winner (Completing Students)

Objects of Rhythm by Collaboration Across Five Programmes Combined students (163)

"Objects Of Rhythm is a four-week design and build project focussed almost entirely on making, problem-solving and detailing.

"Working at 1:1 (lifesize), the interiors year one students are tasked with creating objects for their dance student counterparts to choreograph around and work into a live performance, along with original music created by the music students.

"The whole project was being closely followed, tracked and documented by film students who produced a series of individual takes on the project."

Students: Collaboration Across Five Programmes Combined students (163)
Course: BA Interior Design
School: Middlesex University, London
Award: Collaboration & Interdisciplinary Practice Award 24 – Winner

Do People Really Want Authenticity by Helen Perry

"'Authentic' is Merriam-Webster's word of the year for 2023, and in this essay I explore what this concept means for design.

"I choose examples mainly from leisure environments and historical attractions (and their contained objects) as in these places users are particularly mindful of issues concerning authenticity.

"However, the ideas I explore could easily be applied to any field connected to architecture, interior design, product design and curation.

"I identify a close connection between authenticity and storytelling and examine the impact of true and false narratives on visitor experiences."

Student: Helen Perry
Course: BA Interior Design
School: Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London
Award: Writing Award 24 – Winner

Flips by Elissa Lee

"Flips is a spatial concept designed to adapt the function of an interior space from day to night.

"This concept arises from the closure of music venues and independent businesses, revealing an opportunity for a hairdresser and a music venue to coexist and support each other.

"Drawing from terminology in both hairdressing and music, such as mixing, cutting and turning, the design encourages collaboration of functions and radical design ideas.

"Located within the 19th century Forester's Hall in Dundee, the space transforms seamlessly, serving as a hair salon during the day and a vibrant music venue at night, creating a dynamic environment that supports both artistic and commercial activities."

Student: Elissa Lee
Course: BDes Interior and Environmental Design
School: Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, University of Dundee
Award: Interior Futures Award 24 – Winner (Progressing Students)

The Food Education Hub by Olya Serdyukova

"The Food Education Hub is a community-based space, designed to address the issue of insufficient diversity and quality of food places in the area by providing the users with an option to be in charge of what to eat and cook and how to treat food, as well as the ability to take that knowledge home.

"At its core, the proposal is directed at establishing a more environmentally aware space by having green zones and urban farming spaces, by hosting cooking workshops that allow people to learn how to minimise food waste, by partnering with local businesses and Scottish farmers to support a circular economy system and so forth."

Student: Olya Serdyukova
Course: BA Interior Design
School: Glasgow School of Art
Award: Social Justice Award 24 – Winner (Progressing Students)

Peeling Away by Lucia Hencsei

"The aim for this exhibition design proposal is to create a large-scale art piece highlighting plastic pollution and food waste.

"Informative photos of waste often fail to make a significant impact, so people need to see an 'almost' actual amount of waste firsthand.

"To achieve this, the dome in the centre will showcase tons of recycled plastic fruits and vegetables.

"The structure, made from hundreds or even thousands of metres of biodegradable cling film with a wooden frame, mimics the movement of cling film or a peeled potato.

"This serves as a metaphor for peeling away unnecessary waste from the Earth."

Student: Lucia Hencsei
Course: BDes Interior and Spatial Design
School: Edinburgh Napier University
Award: Craft & Making Award 24 – Winner (Progressing Students)

Hair-volution by Ping Sapchartanan

"This project proposes utilising human hair waste from local salons as a biomaterial to activate a sustainable circular process, creating employment and enhancing community life in Chatham, Medway.

"The first experiment applied the technique influenced by Studio Swine, pouring bio resin over strands of human hair – the outcome product is a glossy, translucent brick that exposes the random pattern of hair strands.

"In the second experiment, I combined hair with the bio compound paste made out of agar, glycerol, cornstarch and water.

"The result is a compacted hair brick that can be moulded into different objects.

"In practice, advanced machines and facilities would be needed to produce the real material and for industrial composting."

The Disrupted Town Hall by Abeen Sami

"Coal Drops Yard was redeveloped in 2018, after being abandoned in 2003.

"Since then, Kings Cross has been surrounded by many expensive developments.

"Despite being marketed as affordable and welcoming, the reality is different – the process of gentrification is affecting areas like Somers Town and Camley, slowly encroaching into their residential areas.

"Decisions are made by Camden council without considering the importance and attachment held by the people to these places.

"Neighbourhood forums should have dedicated spaces within a town hall to ensure that their voices, plans and ideas are heard – therefore, my project aims to disrupt the town hall, as well as Coal Drops Yard, to interject the community's voice."

Student: Abeen Sami
Course: BA Interior Architecture
School: Middlesex University, London
Award: Social Justice Award 24 – Winner (Completing Students)

The Neighbourhood by Flora Berki

"The Neighbourhood is a transformative hotel concept that celebrates togetherness and ecological connectedness between people, nature and the site.

"Located in the old savoy cinema in the heart of Sligo town, the design draws upon an ideological approach to a greener and more connected urban environment and the desire for a sustainable shift in the hospitality sector.

"The design approach aims to create a humble background to exchange and share knowledge and an opportunity for tourists and locals to immerse in an everyday cultural experience.

"I believe that place attachment combined with the biophilic approach could transform the empty shed of scattered memories into something great, where the sense of belonging is resurrected and a sense of responsibility for our environment is developed."

Student: Flora Berki
Course: BA Interior Architecture and Design
School: Atlantic Technological University Sligo
Award: Climate Emergency & Sustainability Award 24 – Winner (Progressing Students)

Student: Ping Sapchartanan
Course: BA Interior Design
School: Kingston University, London
Award: Craft & Making Award 24 – Winner (Completing Students)

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Interior Educators. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.