Two interior design students, Delaney Leach and Madelyn Holliday were Honorable Mentions in the 2019 Steelcase Student Design Competition. These projects were completed as a part of Senior Studio Fall 2019 taught by Professor Lisa Tucker.

This is Steelcase’s seventh year conducting this competition. This year there were over 1,000 student submissions from 76 programs. Projects went through an extensive, anonymous review process by a panel of professional judges.

Students had to design a satellite campus for the fictional NEXT University. The site is located in the heart of Washington, D.C. on 1000 F Street. The vision of NEXT University is “to increase their reach into a large urban population to provide an alternative place for students of all ages to gather, connect, explore and engage in lifelong learning experiences.

Delaney Leach

Civic spaces are free, open forums that offer relief and respite in a busy city. The word civic is used rather than “public” because by definition “civic” implies that the space is integral to a city. The NEXT Hub functions as a city because students of all ages come and go to work and the civic space acts as a common gathering place for these students. People gather in civic spaces because they are visible, approachable, and flexible. An analysis of the Lincoln Memorial revealed the integral parts of a civic space. Civic spaces have multiple points of entry, main avenues, and a central landmark.

Madelyn Holliday

The District Wharf was once a prominent trade center with boats constantly coming and going to exchange goods and ideas. Located in Southwest DC, it has recently been revitalized for commercial and social activity. The wharf features a buzzing promenade for pedestrians that divides commercial buildings and the dock of the Washington Channel. Formal activity occurs within the commercial areas while more casual interaction occurs on the docking side. The design of the NEXT Hub takes inspiration from the District Wharf by having a main circulation path that acts as a promenade to divide the spaces for formal exchange and the more open spaces for casual exchange.