KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As Kansas State celebrates 100 years of teaching interior design, students from the Department of Interior Architecture & Industrial Design showcased their work at the Made In Manhattan exhibition, held April 25 at the Crossroads Hotel. The showcase was part of KC Design Week, held annually as a series of events to bring together designers and students from all areas of the field.
“Really, our agenda is about creating communities, connecting to communities,” Nathan Howe, department head for IAID, said. “… Our alumni come [to Manhattan] for reviews and whatnot, they do great. But, what better way [to connect] than to go to their home and showcase our work there?”
Howe said this year marked the first time every student’s work was considered for a spot in Made In Manhattan. The design categories included interior design, interior architecture, industrial design and furniture design.
“We asked our professional advisory board to jury their groups, and so they essentially selected the top ten [projects] and then my committee that works on community and engagement, they curate it … down to, I think it ended up being six from each program was then shown, but the jurors also picked their top choice. It was pretty cool because there was a lot of built-up energy through that process.”
Howe said the exhibition is a great networking event where students speak directly with professionals and potential employers.
“I heard about conversation between a professional and a student that an internship blossomed out of,” Howe said. “And talking to other professionals, like, ‘Who’s that student? I would love to hire them.’ It’s like, well, it’s right there. There’s their name, there’s a link to them. It’s been a great connector for us. That was day one, a win.”
Howe said showing work at Made in Manhattan is a win for the students chosen as well, and it gives purpose to the work they’ve put in all semester.
“That night we had over a hundred professionals run through the exhibit … and the kind of validation [students] get from feedback from the profession immediately is pretty cool,” Howe said. “… The profession is blown away by the achievements of the students, the quality of work.”
Among the students featured was Jesus Barragan, senior in interior design, who presented his Next project after a semester of work.
“My Next project is an office that tackles disabilities — both visible and invisible disabilities,” Barragan said. “One of the ones that I focused on was achromatopsia, which is basically seeing in black and white.”
Presenting in Kansas City was especially rewarding to Barragan.
“KC’s home,” Barragan said. “It’s really awesome for connecting with people, and then also having my parents come up and see the work that I’ve done.”
Howe said IAID students at K-State consistently produce high-quality work on par with professional designers.
“What all of our degree paths have in common is this idea of empathy, and of caring and of curiosity,” Howe said. “I think when you mix that in with the creativity that the students have, I think it’s that perfect ingredient to build up great, beautiful products or ideas for architectural space that people occupy. You can see us being there in that space, or you see that product resting on your counter at home or whatnot.”
