The American Society of Interior Designers announced the winners of the 2015 Ruby Awards. Two students from Houston Community College won three out of four awards: one best residential and two best commercial design.

On Sept 9, the Texas Gulf Coast Chapter of ASID held their annual Ruby Awards celebrating their 40th Anniversary. It is the most prestigious design competition in Houston. Founded in 1975, ASID is the oldest, largest and leading professional organization for interior designers.

The president of ASID, Letecia Ellis noted that, “We had 298 entries this year that’s the most we have ever had in ASID.”

Ellis mentioned that last year, most of ASID vendors had different judges across the USA as far as New Jersey to Colorado. “Everything was judged through the point system, so the participant has to meet a certain amount of points to be considered for an annual reward.”

The coordinator of the interior design department Shasta Swift and Kevin Hamby, RID interior design professor, contributed to the success of the winners. The awards for students comes with a $500 scholarship.

Christina Rougerie won an award for best residential design and best commercial design. Her residential design was inspired by French architecture.

She designed it for a family of four in the city of Bellaire. The functional design, soft color palette and good flow throughout, offers the clients a place to relax after long days of work and school.

Rougerie won best commercial design for a contemporary restaurant that included a two story wine tower, a lounge and an aluminum sun roof bar that allows year round enjoyment of the Houston skyline views.

“Inspiration for my residential project I got it from French architecture and French style embracing the elements of the Provence of France influenced on my residential design later,” explained Rougerie.

“For the commercial, restaurant I drew inspiration from the cuisine. We had an event, ‘Divine Dining’ in Houston Decorative Center. I got inspiration from the ceviche dish made by the chef.”

Rougerie describes her interior design style as, “contemporary French design mixed with a splash of French antiques.”

Yadira Sanches, who is an international student from Ecuador, was awarded by the Ruby ASID for her commercial design.

“I got inspiration for my North Face Corporative offices project from the cloth brand ‘The North Face’. It is an outdoor luxury and practical brand,” explained Sanches.

“In my commercial design, tactile visual, interactive elements and materials are combined with modular furniture and wall systems. Together, they shape the interior space and offer to the executives and associates, the best outdoor‐indoor experience.

Sanches explained her design process, “Ideas come from the motivation of learning more about the clients, the company and the brand itself. I focused all my attention in their eco-friendly lifestyle.”

The main objective was to transform their passion for nature in their work environment. The design process started with lots of research. The collected ideas were applied in different sketches which helped me to move forward to a more refined functional and aesthetical solution which included the space planning, furniture and finishes selection, among other components. All this pieces together are the North Face Corporative Offices Project.”

Sanches spoke about how the Houston Community College interior design department contributed to her achievement. “Professors Shasta [Swift] and Kevin [Hamby] have been my mentors during the entire program. They have contributed to my success in interior design in many ways. Their extensive experience in interior design and leadership have encouraged me as a student to do my best and stay motivated to propose pleasant, creative and functional spaces. I have received from them the right guidance to accomplish cohesive and innovative design projects. I got a good knowledge in new technology that I could apply to my designs. Everything together created great results for me.”