Published on Fri Jun 10 06:00:00 BST 2011
STUDENT designers from Sheffield Hallam University are celebrating after winning a competition run by property developer Urban Splash, which is overhauling Sheffield’s Park Hill flats.
The interior design students have won the opportunity to turn their designs into reality by installing a show apartment at Park Hill, which will be used by Urban Splash to sell the new homes at Europe’s largest listed building.
The winning design, which the group entitled “Re-Made in Sheffield”, is inspired by fashions from the 1960s, the decade when Park Hill was built and initially hailed as the future of social housing.
Layla Barakat, Helen Wood and Shaniqua Johnson presented their design ideas to Urban Splash in the form of a commercial pitch, competing against other teams.
After winning, they will now get the opportunity to spend a day working through their designs with a creative studio which will help them to install the furniture and dress the apartment.
Miss Barakat said: “We tried to capture the spirit of Park Hill when it was built with our designs, and hopefully that excitement will return when it reopens. We are now busy ordering items and can’t wait to get started on installing and decorating the show apartment.”
The director of Sheffield Institute of Arts at the university, Professor Chris Rust, said: “Urban Splash is one of the UK’s most adventurous property developers so it was great to be approached by them for an opportunity for our interior design students to work on such a high profile project.
“The degree course, which is run by experienced designers, focuses on preparing students for a professional world where both imagination and practicality are vital.
“We were really proud of the way the students developed creative design proposals.”
Nicola Wallis, director of sales at Urban Splash, added: “The winning team delivered an excellent presentation and their design ideas are great.”