Teaching can be a thankless job, which is why the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) dedicated a special awards program to its members who are serving as instructors of interior design education.

The ASID Educator Design Excellence Competition is an annual, peer reviewed and juried competition that recognizes projects completed by the organization’s design educator members.

Winner—Residential Design | Belying Age by Gayla Jett Shannon, ASID

This aging-in-place project addresses the needs associated with decreasing mobility while creating an environment demonstrative of the client’s emotional aspirations of individual empowerment, outward engagement and social connection, including perceptibly positive and forward-looking surroundings during the aging process. Functional design elements include widened doorways and flush threshold transitions, along with increased lighting levels and a complementary color palette to establish energizing visual cohesion throughout the house.

Honorable Mention—Residential Design | Sutton Place South Residence 
by Cam Lorendo, ASID

This New York City loft combines both sustainable and universal design principals through the extensive use of eco-friendly materials, fixtures and finishes, alongside accessible door hardware and clearances, flush thresholds, plumbing fixtures and fittings, low-flow water closets and blocking for future grab bars.

Honorable Mention—Commercial Design | Dream Home Gift Shop by Ronni Whitman, ASID, IIDA, IDEC, NEWH

Inspired by the ocean, this pop-up sustainable retail environment was created with a budget of only $750 using predominantly recycled, reused and repurposed materials and furnishings. The project was also designed for universal access with access around the sides of the cash wrap and wide aisles. The installation was in place for the month of March 2012 and was dismantled at the end of the Dream Home fundraiser, which raised funds for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.