DI Student, Nicole Taro, and Team Win $10,000 at IIDA Design Charrette
May 16, 2025 | DI In the News
The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) hosted this year’s annual Design Charrette on Saturday, March 22, 2025. Among the participants was Nicole Taro, a student of DI’s accredited interior design program, who, along with her team, earned the first-place prize.
This year’s challenge was to conceptualize a community center in downtown Los Angeles that tackles food insecurity while offering culinary job training to local chefs. Each team presented their concepts through two handmade boards, showcasing their innovative designs and solutions.
The winning team was composed of students from a variety of institutions, including private colleges, interior design colleges, and large universities. Bringing together people from differing backgrounds and experiences provided a comprehensive perspective for tackling this challenge. When asked about its direction, Nicole explained:
“Our concept revolved around a cornucopia, symbolizing abundance, diversity, and inclusion, which we named ‘The Cornucopia Collective.’ Every design decision, from layout to color choices, was based on this theme. I developed the initial concept and collaborated with my teammates on bubble diagrams, which we combined into the final floor plan. It was an incredibly rewarding collaborative experience, and now we’ll each compete individually for a chance to advance to the national Charrette in Chicago.”
Congratulations to Nicole and all participants of the IIDA Design Charrette for their outstanding efforts and creativity! This event highlights the caliber of students from top interior design colleges and accredited interior design programs, showcasing the bright future of the interior design profession. See the winning team and the image gallery below.
