March 25, 2020
Interior Design Student Rebecca Williamson Basks in "Limelight" Win
By Office of Communications
On November 2, 2019 Mesa College student Rebecca Williamson participated in the 2019
IIDA Southern California Chapter Student Design Charette at the Gensler Office in
Newport Beach. Williamson was one of 28 students1 who competed in the day’s challenge: to design a creative office space for a historic
building site in the Broadway District of Downtown Los Angeles. She worked alongside
a team of four other California college students, and together, they garnered the
first place prize for their interior design concept, “Limelight.”
While the challenge tested the students’ overall design skills, it also assessed their
ability to manage time and work well with others. The students were divided into six
teams and with little time to become acquainted, they quickly pooled their talents
to develop the best innovative design solutions that accommodated their limited resources.
Working against the clock, they created designs for an Arrival Lounge, Creative Office
Space, Conference Room, Private Modular Offices, and a Coffee Shop. After 4.5 hours
of collaboration, the students presented their work to a panel of industry-professional
judges, including Tom Ventura, Design Director for Gensler Newport Beach, Sarah McNally,
Materials Consultant for 3form and IIDA SoCal VP of City Centers, and Saul Acosta,
Principal of DA Lighting.
Williamson and her team were given 5 minutes to explain their design concept and solutions
to the panel. As they spoke, they referenced the floor plans, sketches, renderings,
and materials that they had displayed on a 30”x42” boards. Their presentation skills
were incorporated into their overall challenge critique, along with criteria related
to their concept, creativity, design-clarity, its real-world feasibility, and proportionate
team participation.
After their presentation, Williamson and her team were called back for additional
questions. Their answers, coupled with their lime-green accented display, ultimately
cemented their first-place position at the Charrette. The team will be presented with
a $10,000 award at the IIDA Calibre Design Awards in May 2020, and they will go on
to compete at the Regional Charette Competition in Northern California in April.
Mesa College shares in Williamson’s success and also recognizes her involvement and
contributions to our campus community. As an Interior Design student and the co-president
of Mesa’s Interior Design Club, Williamson actively shares her passion for interior
design and her award-winning skills with others. To learn more about Mesa College’s
Interior Design Certificate or Associate Degree, visit the program page on the Mesa College website, sdmesa.com.
1The 28 students who attended the competition represented 11 California schools, including
OTIS, Woodbury, Art Center, Interior Designers Institute, Mount San Antonia College,
Chaffey College, California State University Long Beach, California State University
Northridge, Design Institute of San Diego, Saddleback College, and San Diego Mesa
College.
Tags: Student Design Charette, IIDA, Interior Design
