The design competition is an opportunity for university designers’ work to be reviewed and critiqued by professional practicing interior designers in the field.

Each year the Association of University Interior Designers gathers for conference at a different higher education institution to tour projects, network with other campus designers, and celebrate the projects completed during the last year. The design competition provides the opportunity for members work to be reviewed and critiqued by professional practicing interior designers in the field.

Qualifying projects are submitted by AUID designers and categorized according to the square footage and space type. Design competition guidelines must be strictly followed to be considered eligible for judging. Award winners will be announced during the annual conference at the Awards Banquet.

2024 competition details
Design competition winners

2024 Design Competition Guidelines & Entry Forms

Deadline for submissions is September 5, 2024 at midnight!
Contact Kara Holland, Design Competition Coordinator, with any questions.

If you would like to review last year’s submissions, you can view them in the Member Resource Library. (You will need to log into your account to view the resources.)

Qualified projects shall include any university project using either “in‐house” design and project coordination or outside architects and designers with university review and project coordination. Entries shall not have won previous AUID design competition awards. Entries must have been completed within two years of competition date.

Entry Format

All entries shall be submitted using the appropriate PowerPoint presentation entry form and sent to the AUID Design Competition email: info@auid.org. Send a separate email for each entry. You will receive a confirmation email within three business days of submitting your entry.

Use the following naming convention of the file “Project Category Abbreviation _Designer Last Name_Project Name”, for example “SLA‐5_Holland_Eig Library”. Use abbreviations below.

  • SLA ‐ Student Life & Academics
    • SLA‐5 Student Life & Academics Under 5,000 sq.ft.
    • SLA5‐20 Student Life & Academics 5,000‐20,000 sq.ft.
    • SLA20+ Student Life & Academics Over 20,000 sq.ft.
  • AHW ‐ Athletics, Health & Wellness
    • AHW‐5 Athletics, Health & Wellness Under 5,000 sq.ft.
    • AHW5‐20 Athletics, Health & Wellness 5,000‐20,000 sq.ft.
    • AHW20+ Athletics, Health & Wellness Over 20,000 sq.ft.
  • MISC‐ Miscellaneous Campus Spaces
    • MISC‐5 Miscellaneous Campus Spaces Under 5,000 sq.ft.
    • MISC5‐20 Miscellaneous Campus Spaces 5,000‐20,000 sq.ft.
    • MISC20+ Miscellaneous Campus Spaces Over 20,000 sq.ft.
  • SPEC‐ Specialty

Please follow instructions as noted on the entry form (these are located at the bottom of each slide). All applicable fields on the form shall be completed. If a field is not applicable, please leave this field blank. Be sure to follow the instructions for compressing the pictures in your presentation before you send it.

Designers may only submit a maximum of FIVE entries total for consideration. Each project can only be entered into one category. In order to preserve anonymity with the judges, the identity of your name and institution should not be in your project description or in photos (where possible).

Project Statement

Describe in 400 words or less. This statement should include your design intent as well as what was included in the budget. It could also include project specific information. Some examples of what you could include are:

  • What was the scope of the project?
  • How did you address any ADA upgrades?
  • How did you incorporate sustainability into the project?
  • How did you incorporate technology?
  • How was diversity and inclusion considered?
  • What influenced your color palette and finishes?
  • Were there any special features of the project?
  • Were there any challenges you faced in the project?
Photos

Each submission is allowed up to eight photos total. The designer can decide how many of those photos are before vs. after, in a way that best showcases your project.

Floor Plans

Each submission is allowed up to four floor plans total. The designer can decide how many of those floor plans are before vs. after, in a way that best showcases their project. Photos cannot take the place of floor plans. Floor plans required for all entries except specialty.

Student Life & Academics
under 5,000 sq. ft. 5,000–20,000 sq. ft. over 20,000 sq. ft.
Athletic, Health, & Wellness
under 5,000 sq. ft. 5,000–20,000 sq. ft. over 20,000 sq. ft.
Miscellaneous campus Space
under 5,000 sq. ft. 5,000–20,000 sq. ft. over 20,000 sq. ft.
Specialty Projects
Any size project
Additional Information
  • “Student Life & Academics” includes residential life, housing, dining, unions, classrooms, labs, libraries, etc.
  • “Athletics, Health & Wellness” includes: all athletic spaces, rec centers, locker rooms, team spaces, wellness rooms, medical facilities, etc.
  • “Miscellaneous Campus Spaces” includes any spaces not covered in the other categories (for example: administrative offices, religious spaces, theaters, exteriors, esports, etc.)
  • “Specialty” entries might include signage, graphics, art installation, custom millwork, etc.

**Note ‐ It is up to the committee’s discretion as to which category they deem appropriate per submission. A minimum of three submissions per category are required for judging, if a category does not receive three submissions, the committee can move it to another category.

Judges are selected by the conference planning committee. The committee will select 3‐5 judges. They shall be professional interior designers, architects, or representatives of the local design community.

First, Second and Third place will be awarded in each category. A “Best of Show” will also be awarded. It is up to the discretion of the judges whether all places will be awarded.