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Sofia Alves and Willow Cook Named PAVE Student Design Competition 2022 Winners

interior design students hold PAVE awards

LSU School of Interior Design students Sofia Alves and Willow Cook were selected as winners of the 28th PAVE Student Design Competition, for their interior design project “Nest” addressing homelessness in New York City.

PAVE Global is pleased to announce the winners of the 28th Annual Student Design Competition in collaboration with City Relief, proudly sponsored by edesign group. The top 3 student-designed concepts were awarded $3,000 each. Additionally, the students attended the PAVE Gala in New York City on December 8, 2022, to be recognized for their achievements.

An excellent opportunity to gain “real-life” design experience, this annual international competition is geared toward undergraduate and graduate-level college students involved in retail planning, interior design, architecture, industrial design, visual merchandising, UX/UI design, graphic design, branding, and similar programs, with participating students representing 68 colleges, universities, and technical schools across 40 countries for the 2022 competition.

“Having the opportunity to create a project that has the potential to help the homeless communities across New York in collaboration with City Relief has been one of the most inspiring and enjoyable experiences I have had,” Alves said.

“When my teammate Willow and I visited one of City Relief’s sites in New York, we were able to see firsthand what could be improved and innovated to better provide services to the community through our redesigned ideas for temporary and mobile pop-up stations. Without an organization like PAVE to support students and connect us to organizations like City Relief, we would not be able to contribute as students to the betterment of our society in the way we have. We also would not have had the ability to meet so many professionals across the field were it not for the dedication that PAVE has shown in helping students and young professionals succeed in their fields.”

“It was such an honor for me and Sofia to be named one of the winners of the PAVE 2022 Student Design Award,” Cook said.

“As designers, it is our duty to better the world around us by coming up with new and innovative ideas. In this competition, we reevaluated and redesigned the City Relief pop-up, which provides resources for people experiencing homelessness in New York City.

Sofia and I really enjoyed designing this meaningful project, and we were so surprised and excited when we won. Going to New York City to accept the award was an amazing experience. It was a great networking opportunity with many professionals from many different fields in attendance–from architects and interior designers, to the window display designers at Saks, and even the CEO of L’Oreal. It was so fun socializing with everyone there and meeting our fellow winners.”

This was a remarkable opportunity for LSU interior design students, said Marsha Cuddeback, Director of the LSU School of Interior Design. Students are able travel to New York City and visit design firms for class field trips, and then traveling to the award ceremony in NYC was particularly meaningful.

“This is an experience I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life!” Cook said.