20 winter 2010 www.iida .org winter 2010 21

Interior design competitionsare far more than mere beautypageants — they involve acomplex system of entry andjudgment and lead to muchmore than an award in namefor all those involved. So why isthis myth so prevalent?BY SARA ROBERTSON

ILLUSTRATION BY JOHN RANDALL NELSON

More ThanMeets the

EYE

0079_CARNEGIE.indd 1 7/13/09 9:21:32 AM

So when it comes to interior

design competitions, the

tendency to equate them

with beauty contests

makes sense. While that

might be an easy — and in

limited cases, accurate —

way to look at it, in reality,

most design competitions

comprise a complex process

of collaboration and provide

meaningful outcomes for

everyone involved.

“Design competitions

involve conscious, logical

and rational decisions,”

says D.B. Kim, an inde-

pendent designer based in

New York who’s judged

several competitions

during his career. “I can’t

imagine people disregard-

ing competitions as beauty

pageants. They’re not

superficial at all — it’s really

an intent to recognize a

great example of design

with an award.”

For entrants in compe-

titions, the feeling is the

same. “Our overall experi-

ence [in design competi-

tions] has been gratifying,”

says Rick Sundberg, FAIA,

LEED AP, and partner at

Olson Sundberg Kundig

Allen Architects, which

won IIDA’s 36th Annual

Interior Design Competition

— an international design

competition created to rec-

ognize and reward out-

standing design and to

encourage new ideas and

techniques in the design

and furnishing of interior

spaces — for the Wing Luke

Asian Museum in Seattle.

“Aesthetics are certainly part

of the judging, but the most

important thing is a good

idea, well presented.”

BEHIND THE SCENES

From the entrants to the

judges to the competition

sponsors, interior design

competitions are valuable

additions to the industry.

“As judges, we look at

what can be exemplified to

inspire the next generation

of interior design profes-

sionals,” Kim says.

22 winter 2010 www.iida .org

THERE’S NO REFUTING THAT INTERIORDESIGN IS A VISUAL PROFESSION.

Far beyond the aesthetics,

Kim thinks of design com-

petitions as a learning

experience for everyone

involved. “I hope that

other competitors see the

results of who won and

hopefully they will walk

away with inspirational

points and lessons from

other design examples.”

For Sundberg, winning

the 36th Annual Interior

Design Competition

brought many bonuses.

“Our project team always

feels a sense of reward

when our work is recog-

nized,” he says. “In this

case, it’s not just the design

team that feels like we’ve

won — it’s the museum

staff, the builders, the

[museum] community and

many others.”

He adds that the recog-

nition from peers is a

humbling experience and

that to be celebrated on

the same stage as other

talented designers is “not

to be taken for granted.”

While winning competi-

tions might not change the

core goals of his firm, it

does reinforce them. “Our

values are deeply rooted in

the culture of our firm,” he

says. “The greatest value

[of winning] comes from

the gratification of the

team and the clients —

SO NOW WHAT?Since Interior Design is constantly evolving, so should design competitions. Rosalyn Cama,

FASID, President of CAMA, Inc., a New Haven, Conn.-based healthcare and interior planning

and design company, thinks the future of competitions is in evidence-based design, which

is the process of basing decisions about the built environment on credible research to

achieve the best possible outcomes.

“The evidence-based process implies that what interior designers do is research, state a

hypothesis and do interim studies to test the hypothesis before committing to a final design,”

says Cama, who is also the author of Evidence-Based Healthcare Design (2009). Right now, this

principle applies largely in healthcare where outcomes can mean life or death.

How would this work in a competition? “The premise of my thinking about competitions, if

you make them outcome based, you can not only judge the aesthetics, but you can begin to

understand whether design interventions have an impact over the long haul of the life of a build-

ing,” Cama says. This way, the competition would go way beyond a pretty picture; it would mark

a far greater and proven long-term accomplishment.

For this to play into mainstream competitions, it would take a lot of work and commit-

ment, especially in the beginning since there isn’t a strong movement right now to do evi-

dence-based design outside of healthcare. Projects would sometimes have to be reviewed

and judged years after completion and firms would have to work much harder and include

more people — including clients and contractors — in the submittal process.

But if this style of competition started to trend, Cama believes the evidence-based process

would ultimately make the job easier for everyone involved and help to better direct future designs.

“Competitions tend to be about how you’ve pushed the envelope,” she says. “But if we could mea-

sure the outcome and you win an award because you’ve pushed something to a better outcome,

then the world is a better place.”

24 winter 2010 www.iida .org

“I HOPE THAT OTHER COMPETI-TORS SEE THERESULTS OFWHO WON ANDHOPEFULLY THEYWILL WALK AWAYWITH INSPIRATIONALPOINTS ANDLESSONS FROMOTHER DESIGNEXAMPLES.”D.B. Kim, an independent designer based in New York who’s judged numerous competitions

there’s an expanded

recognition of the firm.”

At Los Angeles-based

Yazdani Studio of Cannon

Design — also a winner of

IIDA’s 36th Annual Interior

Design Competition for the

Museum of Tolerance in

Los Angeles — the experi-

ence is similar. “When we

complete and submit a

project, it’s really about

confirmation more than

anything else,” says

Principal Mehrdad Yazdani.

He also enjoys the

acknowledgment by his

peers. “It helps with recog-

nition for ourselves and

also for the client and what

they allowed us to build,”

he says. “Subsequently,

that exposes our ideas and

work to a broader audi-

ence. It has a public rela-

tions aspect to it, which

reinforces what the prac-

tice is capable of doing.”

For Suzanne Tick,

Affiliate IIDA, President

of Suzanne Tick, Inc.,

Design Director at Tandus

and a judge for more than

a decade, her experience

judging last year’s IIDA

Annual Interior Design

Competition left a lasting

impression. She was

amazed by the quality

of the submissions from

an array of focus areas,

including retail, health-

care, corporate and

residential design. “I think

all this wonderful varia-

tion in the competition

comes from the spirit of

being part of the design

community.”

Moreover, she too

regards competitions as

learning opportunities.

“They show me the real

shift in direction and

scope of where design is

going in different market-

places — some areas are

becoming much more

sophisticated,” she says.

Skidmore, Owings &

Merrill’s Cathedral of Christ

the Light in Oakland, Calif.,

design entry ultimately

moved her the most. “It

blew me away,” she says.

“This was nice to see in

this competition because

we get so many corporate

interiors, and when you

see a more spiritual space,

you realize the design

committee is hitting all

aspects of the world. That

moment made me proud to

be in this industry.”

PICTURE THIS

But the beauty pageant

stereotype — that design

competitions are judged

only by aesthetics and

beautiful images — is still

there. Most interior

designers would agree

0121_KI_IMPACT_LESS.indd 1 12/3/09 3:29:03 PM

26 winter 2010 www.iida .org

that stunning photogra-

phy in a submittal for a

competition holds a lot of

sway in how judges will

evaluate a project, but

that’s only the beginning.

“As a judge — or if you’ve

been in the profession

long enough — nothing

makes a better presenta-

tion than good photogra-

phy,” says Rosalyn Cama,

FASID, and President of

CAMA, Inc., a New Haven,

Conn.-based healthcare

interior planning and

design company. “A mas-

terful photographer can

win an award for you

even if your design work

isn’t any good.”

But, after all, Interior

Design is strongly rooted

in looks. “As profession-

als, we are such visual

people and beauty is in

the eye of the beholder,”

says Jean Hansen, FIIDA,

CID, LEED AP, AAHID,

Sustainable Interiors

Manager for sustainable

design solutions at HDR

in San Francisco, who

has judged for IIDA

and Metropolis’ Smart

Environments Awards.

“And people who haven’t

been involved in putting

together a competition

might not understand all

of the various compo-

nents that go into it.”

Yazdani agrees. “It’s

believed that to some

extent the jury or judges

are seduced by beautiful

graphics, beautiful pho-

tography, seductive forms,

shapes and spaces,” he says.

The difficulty in judging

a picture only can some-

times come down to time.

“I believe in some compe-

titions, the number of

entries or the jury’s lack

of time or patience to dig

deeply into critical issues

can affect the outcome,”

Yazdani says. “The jury

might not fully understand

or appreciate the complexity

of ideas and judge superfi-

cially on what they see.”

In many competitions,

judges only have a day or

two to pore over hundreds

of entries — and that can

lead to judges simplifying

the process. “A lot of people

just don’t have time to sit

and read through all the

entries, so it becomes a

visual thing and if you

want to take the time to

read about it, you have

to make a major effort as

a judge,” Tick says.

IN THE DETAILS

Since entrants can’t elimi-

nate the external factors

like time or the visual

preferences affecting

judges, they have to work

to make their submissions

as effective as possible.

“[When I enter a com-

petition] I look at it from

a judge’s point of view,”

Yazdani says. “If I were to

judge, what would I want

to know? What is unique

about the design? What is

powerful? And what do I

use to convey that? You

need to be simple, powerful

and concise for a judge who

only has a few minutes to

grasp your project.”

And as a judge, Kim

wants to be inspired. “It’s

not just about mimicries of

the trends. The competition

is all about the details — I’m

looking at the future.”

“PEOPLE WHOHAVEN’T BEENINVOLVED INPUTTING TOGETHERA COMPETITIONMIGHT NOT UNDERSTAND ALL OF THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS THAT GO INTO IT.”Jean Hansen, FIIDA, CID, LEED AP, AAHID,Sustainable Interiors Manager for sustainabledesign solutions at HDR in San Francisco