Interior Architecture Students Place Second in 2022 HOK Futures Challenge

HOK, a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm, recently hosted the sixth annual HOK Futures Design Challenge for architecture and interior design students from the Philadelphia region. The competition gives student teams two weeks to create their design solution on a provided site. This year, two masters in interior architecture students – Angela Nekoranik and Elizabeth Kane – took home second place for their “Sip Winery” design in the Manayunk neighborhood.

The competition prompt consisted of a 20,000 sq. ft. parcel located between the Schuylkill River and Manayunk Canal.

The program centered upon a winery, including tasting rooms, winery operations, gallery space, a kitchen, retail, and office management spaces. Emphasis was placed upon creating connections to the innovative textile history of Manayunk and the local art community. It was also important to highlight water management and flooding possibilities in this project. 

“We're so happy to have placed second in this competition!” says Angela Nekoranik. “As a team, we have been awarded $2,500 as well as networking time after the awards ceremony and an amazing piece to add to our portfolios.”

Lauren Baumbach, the interior design and interior architecture department chair, congratulated the students on their honor.

“’Sip Winery’ is a wonderful example of how good design synthesizes the micro and macro into a holistic solution, based on strong guiding principles,” Baumbach shares. “Liz and Ang were guided by the experience of wine tasting, the importance of place, identity, and community, and, at the more global scale, addressing climate change. I congratulate them for taking on this challenge, independent of their graduate studies. It is a testament to their talent, hard work and entrepreneurial spirit.”