MaryKate Reeves ’27 traveled to Chicago for the International Interior Design Association National Student Design Charette.
MaryKate Reeves ’27, an environmental and interior design major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ School of Design, collaborated with a five-person team to take first place at the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) National Student Design Charette.
Reeves traveled to Chicago in June to participate in the charette, an event held during Chicago Design Week. Paired up with students from colleges across the country, Reeves learned how to collaborate with others to solve a design problem in only a few hours.
Zoriana Dunham, assistant teaching professor of environmental and interior design, nominated Reeves, who recently stepped into the role of president of the University’s IIDA student chapter, for the charette.
“I thought it would be a great way for her to grow into that role, and seeing her win first place was the best possible outcome,” Dunham says. “She really stepped up, and we are very proud of her.”
The charette broke 45 students into teams to design a workplace that supported co-working and client engagement. The teams had about five hours to develop a design concept, floor plan, material board, conceptual diagrams and renderings, then lay everything out on a poster, Reeves says.
“To make this office feel like something special, we drew inspiration from a literal ecosystem,” says Reeves, comparing different work relationships to natural elements. “Community is rocks because it grounds you, group is water because ideas flow together and individual is flora because everyone blossoms on their own.”
Reeves worked on the design challenge with students from colleges across the country.
The charette gave Reeves the opportunity to work with unfamiliar designers and hone her communication skills. In the professional world, many designers work on several projects simultaneously with different people, making teamwork critical, Dunham notes.
“You have to find ways to communicate,” Dunham says. “Designers often have their own vision, so working toward one cohesive goal takes real effort and compromise.”
From communicating ideas effectively to time management to incorporating peer feedback into her work, Reeves took the skills she gained from the charette into her senior studio class group project.
“The IIDA National Student Design Charette gave me the tools to succeed this fall semester,” Reeves says. “I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities that being part of VPA and the environmental and interior design program at Syracuse University has given me to meet new people, build meaningful connections within the design industry, and develop relationships that will continue to support my future career.”