Hillier College Student and Dorman Scholar Constance Chu Winner of LICC Best in Decorate (Interior)
Constance Chu, third year Interior Design student and Albert Dorman Honors scholar, has won Best in Decorate (Interior) Non-Professional category at the London International Creative Competition (LICC) for her project The Cocoon Cafe.
“We are always very pleased when our Interior Design students do well in international competitions. Constance Chu's entry is an excellent example of the high quality work that the VR-enabled design studios produce,” said John Cays, associate dean for Academic Affairs and interim director of the School of Art and Design.
The Cocoon Cafe was part of an assignment DESIGNERS CAFÉ that Chu completed in the second-year Interior Design studio with Professor Glenn Goldman. The assignment was to design a college café that would accommodate a specific piece of furniture. Chu’s project was inspired by Jan Waterston’s Velo Chair and required research into ideas behind its design.
“Extensive research was crucial to understanding the core of the chair we chose for the project," said Chu. "It was important to think deeply about the chair’s intentions, how it achieves those intentions, and what gives it its identity. Viewing the space as an extension of the chair, its intent of blurring user-object boundaries is what inspired an exploration in blurring user-object-space boundaries. It was also what sparked the notion of allowing space to embrace its user.”
Chu’s interest in design started in her childhood, and Hillier College has broadened her understanding of interior design.
“I have come to understand interior design as more of a mindset, a way of looking, a network of intentional, purposeful decisions about how we shape space and how space shapes us. I've also gained a certain acceptance with the design process: this amorphous, evolving thing and the dialogue that happens between you and the project,” said Chu.
This is Chu’s first international award. “It's truly an incredible honor to have won this award. It makes me very proud and reassures me of the direction I’m taking in my professional development, and I feel encouraged to strive to do even better in the future,” said Chu.
Previously Chu received an award at Built Design Awards for The Cocoon Café. She also received an IIDA Award for Sprout: Wellness Center – read that story here.
