Villa’s interior design students spent the last weeks of January hustling to put the final touches on their designs that were displayed in the Paul William Beltz Family Art Gallery throughout February. The exhibit displayed a mix of work created by sophomore, junior and senior students, who spent the first half of the semester conceptualizing and designing before creating the final renderings that showed layouts of restaurants, homes, offices and more.
Sophomores Gabrielle Amato, Katherine Amershadian, Mindy Robins, Bridget Schiltz and Hawo Uksh displayed their Forever Home project, which was assigned during their Studio 2 class. In addition, Grace Doll’s angel wings glass window, which was created as part of her Intro to Fused and Leaded Glass class, was showcased as part of the exhibit.
Juniors Angela Cerroni and Emma Massimi both displayed renderings of their CW Office Designs for their Studio 3 class. Furthermore, Cerroni showcased her design for The Table Restaurant while Massimi exhibited her design for Luz deVeda, a Mexican Infusion Restaurant. Each of these designs were created as part of the Studio 4 class. Junior Chastian Cowans displayed two pieces of work in the gallery as well: a glass bowl and a glass vessel, which were created as assignments for her Intro to Fused Glass class.
The work of seniors Briana Chriss, Karina Ellefson Wells, Sarah Filkorn and Siera Rogers completed the exhibit. Chriss, Wells and Rogers showcased renderings of the Head Start Imaging Center for their Studio 5 class and Mira Imaging for their Studio 6 class. In addition, Rogers created a luminaire featuring a lighthouse for her Lighting and Acoustics class. Filkhord created renderings for a CW Brown Office design and an addition to Shea’s for her Studio 3 class, the Belle Riviere Restaurant design for her Studio 4 class and a free-form vase for her Intro to Fused Glass class.
Before the exhibit opened to the public, 21 external judges reviewed the students’ work and selected the 2019 Distinguished Students of the Year. The winners were selected based on the quality of the work. This year’s winners are as follows:
- First place: Angela Cerroni, ’20
- Second place: Briana Chriss, ’19
- Third place: Sarah Filkhorn, ’20
The 2019 Interior Design Distinguished Students: Angela Cerroni, Briana Chriss and Sarah Filkorn
Freshman interior design students shared some of their first work as Villa students in an exhibit in the Matrix Room. Each first-year student completed a rendering of a chair. All attendees were able to vote for their favorite chair design, and the winner was named Freshman Best in Show.
This year’s Freshman Best of Show was awarded to Karian Melendez-Rivera, ’22. Karian’s original design for the “Hoffman Sitzmachine” can be seen below.
Awards were generously provided by the following sponsors of Villa Maria College’s Interior Design program:
- Buffalo Office Interiors
- Eaton Office Supply
- Mid City Furniture
- Millington Lockwood
- Prentice Office Environments
