SL+A Taipei is incredibly proud to recognize and promote the creative talents of exceptional Interior Design students from Taiwan. Since 2009, SL+A Taipei has celebrated and worked alongside young individuals who have achieved outstanding results in the field of design and innovation.

The Design Excellence Award recognizes students from our local partner schools by inviting participants to join in on the annual design competition. This opportunity for upper year students culminates in a bid to directly present design proposals to the SL+A Taipei Office. Without exception, winners of the award have always impressed the judges and go on to receive public recognition on SL+A social media platforms. Winners are offered a formal Summer Internship role at SL+A and this is an important stepping stone for students, since the SLA Group regularly re-hires interior design summer interns into full-time positions to mentor, encourage and launch young talent into our profession.

To reflect the recent boom of development in the hotel industry in recent years within Taiwan, our 2018 competition posed the theme of designing a novel hotel concept for a Taiwanese legacy brand, as chosen by the students. The theme promotes critical thinking and asks participants to dig deeper into the ethos behind how a corporation starts and transforms their enterprise within a dynamic and ever-changing market.

This year, three groups of junior-year Interior Design students from Chung Yuan Christian University joined us in the finalist round. After the extremely rigid initial semifinalist selection process conducted at the University, the top finalists presented proposals for Giant Bicycles, Len Gin Steel Co., Ltd. and Liberty Times Newspaper. The proposals for three vastly different industries shared a common thread: all of these corporations have played an integral role in shaping the history of Taiwan. The proposed location is close to the Shilin Night Market, and currently stands as a ten-floor commercial building with two underground floors. Finalists took on the challenge to transform this building into a design hotel offering more than 52 rooms, and were required to submit proposals complete with interior design plans, CI and signage design.

 

Photo caption 1: “Hotel G” wins the first runner up prize, designed by Yen-Qiao Wang & Zhong-Quen Tang.

 

 

Photo caption 2: “LANGIN YOUTH HOTEL” takes the second runner up prize, designed by Xin Ku & Yonng-Jie Zhang.

 

 

Photo caption 3: The winner of the 2018 SL+A Taipei Student Design Excellence Award goes to “Liberty Square Hotel”, designed by Jing Ko & Yu-En Lin.

The finalists exceeded our expectations, bringing a new perspective and presenting ideas that were truly innovative. The consistent bold approach and excellent, logical proposal for the Liberty Times Newspaper project was refreshing. The team presenting the Giant Bicycle Group project captured the imagination of all in attendance. The proposal created for Len Gin Steel Co., Ltd included impressive 3D renderings and animated presentation slides. All three finalist teams employed the use of technology and their various presentation tools delighted the SL+A Taipei office – we were blown away by their presentation skills and personal determination to succeed.

Furthermore, students were encouraged to interact with SL+A staff members throughout the process, and were uniquely privy to how SL+A marries functionality with aesthetics into one seamless solution. The staff provided coaching and mentorship for improving verbal presentation skills, thoughtful organization of ideas and also gave insight on how to integrate sustainability principles throughout their design proposals.

 

The enthusiasm and interaction of students and SL+A staff really created a sense of excitement and renewal, resulting in rewarding conversations about design excellence and professionalism in the field. Students expressed that these discussions were the highlights of the competition because SL+A taught them to treat clients as Partners in Creative Solutions, and this core value was fundamental to achieving success. The SL+A Design Excellence Award challenges students to bring creativity to the process of design and communicate their process of research, development, and realization of excellence in design proposals. As always, the participants inspired the judges and audience with their passion and commitment. The boundless creativity bolsters our hope for the future of design, and serves as a starting place for breakthrough ideas.

Click here to see more student projects and photos from the 2018 SL+A Student Design Excellence Award Event.