A few of the JDL team members attended the 2022 IIDA NE Design Awards at the Boston Park Plaza. JDL was thrilled to be able to attend the event in person this year after the past few years had been virtual. It was great to be able to re-connect and mingle with friends, colleagues and the best creatives in the AEC industry.

The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) works to advance the value of interior design and to cultivate leadership within the industry. The International Interior Design Association New England Chapter (IIDA NE) was incorporated in 1972 and serves the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. There are more than 12,000 IIDA members in nine specialty forums in 30 Chapters around the world. The IIDA is committed to enhancing the quality of life through excellence in interior design and advancing interior design through knowledge. IIDA NE is a network that supports the continued advancement of professional, industry and student members throughout their entire careers.

Each year, design firms with offices in New England are invited to submit their projects based on specific categories. The projects that are submitted are judged anonymously – the judges are celebrity designers and industry professionals that live outside of New England. Specific information, such as firm name, client name and other project details are omitted. This keeps the judging process unbiased and anonymous. Scores are tallied within a variety of subcategories with the total score based on 50% project narrative/floor plans and the other 50% is project photography. There is one winner per category, and the winning entries are announced live at the event. Some examples of categories are: Workspace small (under 30,000 SF), Workspace medium (30,000 – 80,000 SF), Workspace large (Over 80,000 SF), Science & Research small (under 50,000 SF), Science & Research large (over 50,000 SF), etc.

JDL works alongside many of the design firms that submit their projects. JDL attends the event to connect and conversate with colleagues within our industry and also to support all of the design firms and their remarkable projects. There have been times when JDL has worked on projects that are submitted – which is always very exciting to be part of the team that worked on a submitted project. We are so happy for everyone that took home awards!