Bienenstock Furniture Library Announces 2016 Interior Design Competition Winners

Furniture World News Desk on 3/14/2016

Kim Wypasek Young
University of North Carolina - Greensboro
First Place Award for Interior Design


The Bernice Bienenstock Furniture Library Board of Directors announced the winners of design competitions that awarded two $5,000 scholarships to distinguished scholars to continue studies in their respective fields of Interior and Furniture Design. In addition to the $5,000 awards, each has been given memberships in the ASFD and ASID professional associations and their schools will receive $1,000 to use in their academic programs.

The Bienenstock scholarships are open to any junior, senior or graduate student enrolled in an accredited college design program and have awarded more than $400,000 in scholarship money. The winning entry can be downloaded from this winners link.

This is the first of a two part release announcing the winners and finalists of the Interior Design Competition. The second place winner was Corinne Vassallo of Virginia Tech. Second place winners receive a $1,500 scholarship to be applied to continuing education.

Finalists in the Interior Design competition included: Laura Gwyn Clapp, Randolph Community College; Gabrielle Mariotti, Marymount University; Eric Harris, George Washington University; Abbi Johnson, University of Idaho. Honorable Mention was awarded to Hunter Van Bramer, University of Idaho.

"Our founder, Sandy Bienenstock, advanced his long-standing desire to invest in the education and future of the furniture industry by establishing the Library itself and by initiating the Bienenstock Scholarships," said Russell Bienenstock, president of the Library Board. "The intention of these scholarships is to encourage and inspire the best and most creative minds and to help them to develop their talents. To that end, this is the fourth year we added a scholarship for interior design to our long-standing award in furniture design, creating two substantial national scholarships."

These competitions are a collaborative effort among the ASFD, ASID and the Furniture Library. The ASID sponsors the interior design competition by providing actual projects, and is judged by a jury of design professionals in the home furnishings industry. The library hosts the competition and funds the scholarships. This is an annual competition and a new contest will be announced in May of 2016.

INTERIOR DESIGN COMPETITION
Entrants were asked to design a holistic day spa specializing in therapeutic treatment for multiple sclerosis patients. The hypothetical spa is owned and managed by the doctor and physical therapist on staff, which requires living quarters for these staff members. The students were required to design the facility that is sustainable, environmentally friendly and has a healing environment. A logo and name for the spa was also part of this project. There were 40 entries from 14 different colleges.

Kim Wypasek Young, an academic Junior studying Interior Design at UNC-Greensboro, submitted the winning entry. She named her project Prana Spa explaining, "Prana is a Hindu word that means life giving force or healing wind, reinforcing the objective of the day spa: enveloping the patient in a healing force."



Her design strategies for Prana take advantage of two distinct natural elements: the strata and variable striations of rock formations, and the flowing and forming qualities of wind. Utilizing stone, horizontal elements, and varying ceiling planes, the interior spaces impart a sense of eternal physical strength. The influence of wind in the design of the interior spaces can be seen in the circulation and easing of harsh vertical edges.

Upon entry, one is greeted by a sense of prospect and refuge created by the variations of ceiling heights and the use of compression and release, giving private areas a safe comforting feeling and larger areas, for healing exercise, an energizing presence. The spa's central circulation is a sweeping curve, represented by walls and ceiling planes that gently guide clients to healing zones while creating a rich engaging environment much like a peaceful stroll through a mountainous valley.



Having primarily horizontal structural lines for the spa's architecture, there is an emotionally soothing effect with progression through the space. Natural sunlight filtering through custom skylights, delivering energizing and healing ambient light, help to further define spaces and encourage movement within the main corridor. Sunlit passages lead to spaces providing beautiful vistas of the natural setting. The warmth of natural woods, living green walls, replicated sounds of nature, temperature-controlled LED lighting, and textural surfaces allow for a biophilic (an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems) experience and connection to the earth and all of its healing benefits. Prana Spa brings the restorative qualities of nature into forms that foster mental, physical and spiritual healing.



Judges in the interior design category included: Christi Spangle, ASID, Barbour Spangle Design; June Anderson, ASID; Kara Cox, Kara Cox Interiors; Bri Verstat, ASID, Barbour Spangle Design; Marilyn Russell, Marilyn Ashley Interiors, Gwen Emery, Director of Library Environment NCSU; Rose Dostal, ASID, RMD Designs, Jessica Alpert, Gensler. The Administrative Director for Competition was Karla Webb, Library Director

Entries were received from: UNC-G, Virginia Tech, Kendall College of Art & Design, Weber State, University of Idaho, Meredith College, Salem College, University of Bridgeport, Forsyth Technical Community College, Randolph Community College, Marymount University, George Washington University, Boston Architectural College, and Santa Barbara City College.

Christi Spangle one of the judges commented: "This is a very creative floor plan. The atmosphere felt very therapeutic." Judge Kara Cox commented: "Great use of organic elements in the space. Best combination of technical and artistic comprehension."

Young said she had been interested in interior design since she was a child, but took a more indirect route to following her passion. "After spending a few years in a different career field, I decided that I needed to transition into a more creative line of work. UNC-G's Interior Architecture program exposed me to a whole new world of design and possibilities. I envision myself in career focused around adaptive reuse and community revitalization. My inspiration and motivation to create comes from the desire to celebrate the structures of yesteryear, preserving the link to our past, and exploring ways to bring people from different walks of life, within a community, together using the built environment."



According to C. Thomas Lambeth, Associate Professor the Undergraduate Program Coordinator of the Department of Interior Architecture At the University of North Carolina at Greensboro "Kim is an archetype of the successful design student: hard working, insightful, passionate, and detail-oriented. She develops her work with a solid conceptual foundation and sees it through from the general to the specific, using the underlying conceptual foundation to create projects that literally "sing" like a music score. Her proposal for the Bienenstock competition synthesized spatial form, planar articulation, interior materials, light and color, and sensitive functionality into a symphony-like environment, well suited for the therapeutic parameters of the project. We are so pleased that this talented young designer is receiving this recognition of her work, and we greatly appreciate the opportunity that Bienenstock provides for these aspiring designers."

ABOUT THE BIENENSTOCK SCHOLARSHIPS
The annual Bienenstock Scholarship competitions are open to any junior, senior or graduate student enrolled in an accredited college program of furniture design or interior design. Since 1984, the Library has awarded more than $400,000 in scholarships to students in hundreds of colleges and universities. Judging is blind-with no name or college shown with the submission. A distinguished panel of industry experts juried each competition.

The 2016 winners will be awarded their $5,000 scholarships, along with respective one-year student membership in ASFD or ASID, during High Point Market in April. Second place winners each receive a $1,500 scholarship and the colleges representing the first place winners each get $1,000 towards their programs.

About Bernice Bienenstock Furniture Library: The Bernice Bienenstock Furniture Library is a worldwide center for research, design, and collaboration. It holds the world's largest collection of rare and significant books on the history and design of furniture, with more than 5,000 volumes.

The Library is located in High Point, NC and is open to members of the home furnishings industry, students and the general public. The Library was founded in 1970 with an endowment from Furniture World Magazine and the Bienenstock family. It is supported by a board of directors from nearly every facet of the home furnishings industry. It is devoted the advancement of knowledge about design, furniture, interiors, architecture, textiles, finishes, and constructions.

The Library's rare book collection contains volumes published since 1543. A special climate controlled room houses these rare volumes. It is a treasure trove of inspiration for anyone interested in home furnishings and interior design.

The Library's facilities include the Vuncannon Seminar Room, the high tech Hadley Court Center For Design Collaboration and the Pat Plaxico Sculpture Gardens. These areas are available for seminars, classes, events, meetings, design collaborations, networking and design retreats for a small honorarium.

In addition, the Library operates a specialty bookstore selling significant contemporary works, out-of-print, and hard-to-find volumes. For more information visit www.furniturelibrary.com or contact Karla Webb, Library Director at info@furniturelibrary.comor 336-883-4011. The easiest way to stay up to date on the developments of the library is to "LIKE" its Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/BienenstockFurnitureLibrary.

About the ASID: ASID is a community of people driven by a common love for design and committed to the belief that interior design, as a service to people, is a powerful, multi-faceted profession that can positively change people's lives. Through education, knowledge sharing, advocacy, community building and outreach, the Society strives to advance the interior design profession and, in the process, to demonstrate and celebrate the power of design to positively change people's lives. Its more than 30,000 members engage in a variety of professional programs and activities through a network of 48 chapters throughout the United States and Canada. Founded in 1975, the American Society of Interior Designers is the oldest, largest and leading professional organization for interior designers. The Society's membership also includes more than 10,500 students of interior design. http://www.asid.org