Contact: Ken Morgan, IIDA – IIDA Oregon Chapter PR Chair,
503-952-1535, kenm@ankrommoisan.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
APRIL 6, 2016

IIDA CHAPTERS ANNOUNCE
WESTERN REGIONAL STUDENT DESIGN CHARETTE

Seattle, WA – The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Northern Pacific, Oregon, Northern California, Southern California and Southwest Chapters will hold the 2016 Western Region Student Design Charette in Seattle, WA on April 16th, 2016. Collectively, the five IIDA Western Region Chapters represent over 2,900 members in Alaska, Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington and 112 Interior Design programs.

CREATION OF THE STUDENT DESIGN CHARETTE EVENTS
In June of 2015, the four West Coast IIDA Chapters each hosted a local Student Design Charette and advanced the winning student teams on to Los Angeles, CA for the Inaugural West Coast competition. The winning West Coast Student team members were awarded a trip to Chicago to compete in the International IIDA Student Design Charette during NeoCon 2015. (Read about the 2015 winning student teams.)

This year, the IIDA Southwest Chapter was introduced into the IIDA Western Region chapters, representing over 320 members and 11 Interior Design programs. 2016 will be the first year for IIDA Southwest Chapter Student Members to participate in a Local Student Design Charette, with the opportunity to advance to the Western Region Student Design Charette. (Read about the 2016 winning student teams.)

ABOUT THE EVENTS
The Student Design Charette events are modeled much like the IIDA International Student Design Charette. At each level of competition, teams will be comprised of student members from different schools and grade levels, and of varying IIDA Chapters at the Western Region level.

Teams of student members will be solving a design challenge within 6 hours, using only hand drafting and rendering. The teams will present their design solutions to a panel of judges comprised of Western Region Interior Design Professionals. Following critiques of the solutions, the judges will select a winning team to advance to the next level of Interior Design Charette competition.

Over the weekend of April 16th, 2016 the Western Regional Student Design Charette, hosted in Seattle will consist of a dinner Pecha Kucha (short story), where 6 firms will present in 7 minutes or less. The charette day will occur on Saturday, when students will participate in solving a unique design problem before a jury, and an opportunity to take in the sights on Sunday.

ONGOING INFORMATION
Further coverage and event info will be posted on the Western Region host’s IIDA Northern Pacific Chapter Blog, at iida-northernpacific.org/blog.

NEW THIS YEAR

• The IIDA Southwest Chapter was added to the IIDA Western Region.
• The number of collective IIDA Chapter Members increased from 2,350 to over 2,900.
• The number of Interior Design programs represented increased from 65 to 112

KEY DATES & LOCATIONS

• Nov. 14th, 2015 – The  IIDA Southern California Chapter Local Student Design Charette occurred at LPA in Irvine, CA. (Read about the winning student teams).
• Feb. 20th, 2016 – The IIDA Northern Pacific, Oregon, Northern California and Southwest Chapters will hold their Local Student Design Charettes
• April 16th, 2016 – The IIDA Western Region Student Design Charette will be hosted at in Seattle, WA. Winning Students will be advanced to the International IIDA Student Design Charette in Chicago, IL.
• June 14th, 2016 – International IIDA Student Design Charette occurs during NeoCon 2016 at the IIDA Headquarters in Chicago, IL.

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About International Interior Design Association
IIDA is the Commercial Interior Design Association with a global reach. We support design professionals, industry affiliates, educators, students, firms, and their clients through our network of 13,000+ Members across 50 countries. IIDA advocates for advancements in education, design excellence, legislation, leadership, accreditation, and community outreach to increase the value and understanding of Interior Design as a profession that enhances business value and positively impacts the health and well-being of people’s lives every day. www.iida.org