Interior Design Students Earn Second Place in HOK Futures Design Challenge
Autumn Stuart and Daniela Cintrón Lauzurique were inspired by the constant evolution of Philadelphia’s culture.
Interior design juniors Autumn Stuart and Daniela Cintrón Lauzurique took second place in the HOK Futures Design Challenge, earning a $4,250 prize for the team.
For their project, they competed against other Philadelphia-area teams of architecture and interior design undergraduate and graduate students from schools including the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Drexel University and Penn State University.
They designed a transportation hub linking the Navy Yard to other Philadelphia and New Jersey destinations via a new stop on the SEPTA Broad Street Line, as well as a water taxi landing serving Delaware and Schuylkill River destinations. They also used the surrounding landscape to create an indoor/outdoor environment that will remain functional year round.
“We were inspired by the constant evolution of Philadelphia’s culture,” Stuart explained. “Our project was intended to link the history of the city with a new urban aesthetic.”
Stuart and Cintrón were the only undergraduate students to place in the competition by the global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm. The jury included Richard Mark, owner/design principal of Richard Mark Design; Mark Strauss, strategic advisor of IWBI/Well; and Lila Allen, managing editor of Metropolis Magazine.
“Autumn and Daniela are super enthusiastic, can-do students,” said Lauren Baumbach, director of the interior design and interior architecture programs at Jefferson (Philadelphia University + Thomas Jefferson University). “We’re very proud of their unflagging passion, energy and outstanding design work. A big congratulations to them both.”
Stuart and Cintrón expressed their gratitude to all the faculty who helped them along the way with their project, especially Lisa Phillips, assistant professor of interior design. Phillips was recently chosen as one of the 25 most admired educators for 2017-2018 by DesignIntelligence, which also named the University’s B.S. in interior design program 20th in the country.