The New York School of Interior Design’s (NYSID) Spring line-up of public programs, exhibitions and lectures promises a full season of design inspiration—from Edith Wharton’s Timeless Principles of Design to Designing Healthier Hospitals.

The highlight of the season is Designing the Luxury Hotel: Neal Prince and the Inter-Continental Brand, a retrospective exhibition that will explore the influence and vision of architect and interior designer Neal Prince, who designed the interiors of more than 135 Inter-Continental hotels from the 1960s – 1980s. NYSID will also be presenting a variety of lectures, including one led by noted healthcare designer Mohammed Ayoub; a talk by humanitarian designer and author Emily Pilloton who has appeared on TED Talks and The Colbert Report; and a panel discussion on the current state of hospitality design with hotel historian Stanley Turkel, architect Todd Lee, designer Meghann Day of Hirsch Bedner Associates and Jon Kastl of Champalimaud Design. The full schedule of programming is as follows:

BFA Thesis Projects Exhibition—Jan. 25 – Feb. 22

BFA hotel design

This exhibition features the work of 15 NYSID BFA candidates who completed their thesis projects in December 2012. They include: Valli Aleman, JinSoo An, Nicole Barthelme, Jessica Serrano Capurro,  Weishan Chan, Melissa Christopherson, Stuart Clarke, Zarina Gabaraeva, Dohwe Gu, Na Young Kang, Gyeonghee Kil, Alison Jennison, Nadine Lynch, Zisi Kurzer-Naimark, and Katie Whalen.

Click here to view the students’ work. View in person at the NYSID Gallery, 161 East 69th Street, NYC. Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Lecture: Timeless Principles of Design: Is The Decoration of Houses, the Seminal Design Manual by Edith Wharton and Ogden Codman, Jr., Still Relevant?—Feb. 6 at 6:00 p.m.

Join NYSID as Richard Guy Wilson, noted architectural historian and author of Edith Wharton at Home, leads a discussion exploring the enduring principles of good, livable design through an examination of Edith Wharton’s and Ogden Codman’s 1897 treatise The Decoration of Houses. Panelists include design historian and author Pauline C. Metcalf, interior designer and author Charlotte Moss, and Architectural Digest editor and author Mitchell Owens. The discussion will be followed by a reception and book signing at the NYSID Auditorium, 170 East 70th Street, NYC. Tickets: $20 general public, NYSID students and Mount National Committee members are FREE. To purchase tickets in advance, click here or call (212) 472-1500 x405.

Lecture: Mohammed Ayoub: Designing Healthier Hospitals—Feb. 19 at 6:00 p.m.

Mohammed Ayoub, NYC Studio Lead Design Principal and Associate Vice President at HDR Architecture Inc., will talk about new approaches to healthcare design and how it is being implemented in recent supersize and super modern projects such as the Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi and others in Saudi Arabia as well as hospitals being developed in the US. In 2011, Ayoub received Building Design + Construction Magazine’s prestigious 40 Under 40 award and is well regarded for his dynamic and thought-provoking designs.

The discussion will take place at the NYSID Graduate Center, 401 Park Avenue South at 28th Street, NYC. Tickets: $12 general public, $10 seniors and non-NYSID students, NYSID students are free. To purchase tickets in advance, click here or call (212) 472-1500 x405.

Lecture: Letting it All Hang Out—March 5 at 9:30 a.m.

Limited edition posters will be on view from Lincoln Center’s Vera List Project, while top designers and a frame specialist will discuss decorating with interesting and affordable art. The event is co-hosted by NYSID and the New York Design Center (NYDC), 200 Lexington Avenue at 33rd Street, NYC. Free. RSVP or call (212) 472-1500 x405.

Exhibition: Designing the Luxury Hotel: Neal Prince and the Inter-Continental Brand, open March 8 – April 26

Inter-Continental is one of the most revered brands of luxury hotels—with hundreds of locations in more than 60 countries. Architect and interior designer Neal Prince played an essential role in defining the hotel brand from 1960s – 1980s, designing the interiors of more than 135 Inter-Continental hotels throughout the globe. This exhibition will explore Mr. Prince’s influence and his strong, consistent vision that led to the designs of some of the finest international hotels of the time. The focus will be on eight hotel interiors, starting with the Phoenicia Inter-Continental Hotel in Beirut, Lebanon (1961) and ending with the refurbishment of Washington D.C.’s Willard Inter-Continental Hotel in 1986. Together, they show his holistic approach to design and branding—working with local artisans; graphic, product, lighting and textile designers; as well as architects to create a new type of luxury hotel.

The exhibition is housed at the NYSID Gallery, 161 East 69th Street, NYC. Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Admission is free.

Panel Discussion: Nothing Like Home: Designing the Hotel Experience—April 10 at 6:00 p.m.

From old-world elegant to barefoot casual, hotels have always sought to create a unique experience for guests. Three designers and a hotel historian will bring to life some classic examples and some cutting edge ones. Panelists include hotel historian Stanley Turkel, architect Todd Lee, FAIA, designer Meghann Day of Hirsch Bedner Associates, and senior designer Jon Kastl of Champalimaud Design. The discussion will take place at the NYSID Auditorium. Tickets: $12 general public, $10 seniors and non-NYSID students, NYSID students are free. To purchase tickets in advance, click here or call (212) 472-1500 x405.

The Sally Henderson Memorial Lecture on Green Design, Emily Pilloton: Tell Them I Built This—April 25 at 7:00 p.m.

Emily Pilloton is founder and executive director of Project H, a non-profit charitable organization that supports, inspires, and promotes humanitarian and life-improving product design initiatives for humanity, habitats, health, and happiness. Trained in architecture (at the University of California, Berkeley) and product design (at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago), Pilloton believes in design as an honest process of building and activism for community benefit. She has appeared on the TED stage and on The Colbert Report, and has authored the books Design Revolution and Tell Them I Built This.

BFA Spring Thesis Projects Exhibition—May 22 – Aug. 9

Graduating BFA students will present their final thesis projects: hypothetical designs based on the adaptive reuse of existing buildings, at the NYSID gallery.

MFA & MPS Spring Thesis and Capstone Projects Exhibition—May 23 – Aug. 9

A range of thesis projects will be on view from graduates of the professional-level MFA-1 program, the post-professional MFA-2 program, as well as capstone projects from graduates of the MPS programs in Healthcare Interior Design, Sustainable Interior Design, and Interior Lighting Design.

The exhibition will be on display at the NYSID Graduate Center, 401 Park Avenue South, NYC, 2nd floor. Admission is free by appointment only.

For more information on NYSID and its spring programming, visit the website.