Dezeen School Shows: a project informed by the structure of ant colony interiors is among the award-winning Interior Educators' projects.

Also included is a project that explores how material choices can create meaningful interior experiences and a proposal to reimagine the former Harbour Mills at Deepwater Quay into a vibrant centre for environmental research.

Interior Educators

Institution: Interior Educators

School statement:

"The Interior Educators (IE) National Student Awards shine a spotlight on the achievements of undergraduate interior courses across the UK and Ireland, showcasing exceptional work produced in 2026.

"The new award titles and criteria reflect shifts in interior design practice and education. However, at the heart of the awards remain our shared values of social cohesion and impact, sustainable and regenerative practice, and design innovation.

"As a new addition celebrating the IE conferences, we have introduced a student award responding to the theme of this academic year's conference, Imagining Interiors.

"Interior Educators (IE) is a powerful network for more than 50 institutional members; a forum in which the exchange of ideas and experience contributes to the evolution of academic practice informing the design of interior space.

"The award winner were announced at the beginning of July at MillerKnoll's Clerkenwell showrooms and all entries will now embark on a year-long tour across various locations hosted by IE members.

"The 2026 Interior Educators National Student Awards are generously sponsored by MillerKnoll and the Royal College of Art."

Unpicking | MEA House by Bernadette Renshaw

"This proposal reimagines MEA House's historic role as a charitable hub by transforming it into a sanctuary for wellbeing and textile reuse.

"The spatial strategy involves stripping the Grade II listed building back to its base structure, revealing these historical layers and creating open, shared volumes, which fosters a deeply convivial atmosphere.

"This 'reset' spatially mirrors the tactile act of textile repair and incorporates elements of textile reuse.

"Ultimately, the scheme prioritises the sensory and lived qualities of interior space, offering a place for the local community where connection is prioritised."

Student: Bernadette Renshaw
Award: IE Spatial Experience and Interior Response Award, Completing Student Winner
University: Northumbria University
Course: Interior Architecture
Tutors: Andrea Couture, Paul Ring and Rachel Currie

The Ark by Flora Berki

"The project reimagines the former Harbour Mills at Deepwater Quay as a vibrant centre for environmental research and artistic collaboration – a flagship building of its own ethos – acting as a catalyst for environmental awareness.

"By integrating Sligo's rich educational heritage and creative spirit, the Ark is designed to encourage meaningful connections among artists, researchers, and the wider public.

"The design approach embraces the site's unique characteristics, reflecting the inherent tensions between maritime and terrestrial landscapes, past and present, and natural and industrial environments.

"The adaptive reuse strategy places sustainability, flexibility, and resilience at its core, reimagining the neglected industrial building into a new social hub with placemaking in mind."

Student: Flora Berki
Award: IE Material and Environmental Resolution Award, Completing Student Winner
University: Atlantic Technological University Sligo
Tutor: Grainne McGarty

The Care Exchange by Rachel Koh

"A community-led social infrastructure for postnatal care, inclusion and collective wellbeing.

"The Care Exchange is shaped by the lived experiences of mothers, caregivers, families and healthcare professionals and local residents.

"By supporting everyday interaction, shared learning and mutual care, the hub strengthens community resilience and creates a more inclusive and connected neighbourhood."

Student: Rachel Koh
Award: IE Social and Cultural Agency Award, Completing Student Winner
University: Middlesex University London
Course: Interior Architecture
Tutor: Jason Scoot

Wade by Lara Aptowitzer

"Wade combines environmental observation, psychological research and experiential design to create a spatial journey that supports healing, agency and reintegration for women recovering from domestic abuse.

"Inspired by the river as both a physical and metaphorical framework, the project explores how movement, flow and gradual progression can be translated into interior space.

"Through iterative sketching, conceptual mapping and light- based experimentation, the design developed a series of carefully sequenced experiences that respond to the non-linear nature of recovery.

"The resulting methodology demonstrates how natural systems can inform innovative, trauma-informed approaches to spatial design."

Student: Lara Aptowitzer
Award: IE Innovation in Practice and Process Award, Completing Student Winner
University: Manchester School of Art
Tutor: Helen Darnell

Drawing in Shelter by Tom Narai Cowles

"This project reimagines an interior for those without a permanent home, by initiating and supporting activities for the 'whole self' within the community.

"Research revealed that those experiencing homelessness often lack any opportunity to participate in art-based activities or connect with and become part of a positive social community.

"Drawing in Shelter imagines an interior environment that responds to this issue, demonstrating practical application of design concepts through the inclusion of designed activities to specifically foster social connections and creative enjoyment for people facing homelessness.

"This project aims to provoke our assumed image of a day centre for the homeless, justifying the need for life beyond basic survival."

Student: Tom Narai Cowles
Award: IE Conference Award, Completing Student Winner
University: University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh College of Art
Tutor: Gillian Treacy

Via the works of Hitchcock, Almodovar and Gerwig, how do film interiors reflect the evolution of the image and agency of women from the patriarchal 1950's to contemporary feminism? By Indigo Hancock

"This dissertation examines the evolution of how women are represented in film and how cinematic interiors reflect the evolving cultural views and attitudes towards femininity.

"Through an architectural lens, this project analyses how interior set design reflects and shapes the changing image of a woman in film.

"From Alfred Hitchcock's sexualised representation influenced by the patriarchal frameworks of the 1950s, to Pedro Almodovar's celebration of female solidarity and sisterhood in the early twenty-first century, reflecting post-Franco Spain, to Greta Gerwig's redefinition of womanhood through contemporary feminist discourse.

"Pictured above is an image that reflects Indigo's wider portfolio at Oxford Books University."

Student: Indigo Hancock
Award: IE Critical Writing in Interior Practice Award, Completing Student Winner
University: Oxford Brookes University
Tutor: Orit Sarfatti

The Living Archive by Aaliyah Benjuya

"This project proposes an intervention within the fast-paced environment of Westgate Shopping Centre, Oxford – a space shaped by movement, consumption and urgency.

"In contrast, the proposal offers a moment of pause. The interior prioritises duration over turnover, slowing the mind and body to encourage meaningful interaction.

"Rooted in Oxford’s documented and personal histories, these narratives become living elements of the spatial experience.

"An engaging history exhibition guides users through the space, while archived books are brought into the foreground. The library becomes a collective interior where knowledge is shared, connections are strengthened, and time is experienced."

Student: Aaliyah Benjuya
Award: IE Spatial Experience and Interior Response, Progressing Student Winner
University: Oxford Brookes University
Tutor: Orit Sarfatti

Grounded by Kitty May Ellis

"Grounded explores how material choices can create meaningful and sustainable interior experiences.

"During the day, the space operates as a florist and educational hub, encouraging direct interaction with the materials themselves and the community.

"In the evening, the space transforms into a workshop space, where visitors can learn about the circular brewing process and how spent hops can be used to create soil for growing flowers, while taking part in bouquet-making and natural flower-dyeing fabric activities.

"A reusable modular bamboo structure forms the core of the design concept, enabling easy assembly, disassembly, and future reuse while minimising environmental impact."

Student: Kitty May Ellis
Award: IE Material and Environmental Resolution Award, Progressing Student Winner
Course: Manchester School of Art, Manchester Metropolitan University
Tutor: Joe Trickett

The Freedom of the [Op] Press by Adiya Orzhanova

"Situated in Oxford's hyper-commercialised city centre, The Freedom of the [OP] Press reclaims the private boundary of the Westgate mall for the public and grassroots movements.

"Responding to the modern 'reading recession' and the spatial isolation of the civic archive, this intervention transforms the hidden library from a passive repository into a kinetic factory for civic protest.

"By piercing the commercial facade with a parasitic steel bridge, the design integrates a screen-printing facility that democratises knowledge.

"It provides vital social agency by replacing consumption with mechanical production, empowering citizens to reclaim their spatial rights and project uncensored voices back onto the streets."

Student: Adiya Orzhanova
Award: IE Social and Cultural Agency Award, Progressing Student Winner
University: Oxford Brookes University
Tutor: Orit Sarfatti

Wonder: Beneath the surface by Marea Tippetts

"Wonder reimagines interior design through an innovative physical – digital methodology that translates biological systems into spatial experience.

"Inspired by the organisational intelligence of ant colonies, the project combines analogue model making, 3D scanning, digital modelling and simulation within an iterative workflow that moves between physical experimentation and digital development.

"Rather than replicating natural forms, Wonder uses biological behaviours as a design generator for circulation, gathering and atmosphere.

"This interdisciplinary process creates new modes of spatial and experiential engagement, demonstrating how hybrid methods can generate immersive communal environments and expand how interiors are conceived, developed and experienced today."

Student: Marea Tippetts
Award: IE Innovation in Practice and Process Award, Progressing Student
University: Falmouth University
Course: Interior Design
Tutor: Dani Jenkin

The Interior in Motion by Nicoleta Mereuta

"Cities are often defined by what is visible — buildings, streets, and infrastructure — yet many ways of living exist quietly alongside them.

"Along London's canals, a different rhythm unfolds, shaped by movement, constraint, and a close relationship with water.

"This project begins by looking at one of these overlooked conditions: a community that lives in between permanence and transience, where space is limited, boundaries are fluid, and daily life is constantly negotiated.

"Rather than imposing a new system, the aim is to observe, understand, and respond — exploring how architecture can engage with these subtle, shifting ways of living."

Student: Nicoleta Mereuta
Award: IE Conference Award, Progressing Student Winner
University: Middlesex University
Course: Interior Architecture
Tutor: Rob Disney

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Interior Educators. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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