AUS student wins nation-wide interior design competition

Student winner of the UAE Interiors 2010 Competition, Neha Lalwani landed herself a six-month internship with RPW design in London for her design of a luxury penthouse inspired by high fashion.The final year interior design student from the American University of Sharjah used the paisley motif, a droplet-shaped pattern of Indian and Persian origin, and etched glass to incorporate the required fashion element into her creation. "I tried to create a visual connection between the circulation of movement and living spaces," says Lalwani about her winning entry.

Learning from the professionals

Super excited about her UK internship, Lalwani says she wants to absorb the way revered professionals work, their styles and how they deal with clients."I want to experience the reality of the business. It's different when you are at university because you design without a budget. When you work with a real client under constraints it's a challenge and I can't wait to see how it works".She describes her own style as contemporary, clean, functional and aesthetic. "I try to design spaces that respond to one's needs and don't just look beautiful and fancy," she said.

An entire experience

Looking forward to returning to the UAE armed with fresh ideas, Lalwani said: "Interior design is a growing field here because Dubai has all these new developments which have to be designed. So it's exciting to be able to control and design a space people will inhabit."To Lalwani, interior design is about designing an entire experience with the perfect ambience.She believes an interior is a backdrop for an activity humans come in and perform. "I uses a lot of monotone colours with different textures and transparencies as it creates a more powerful space," she said.

— By Rania Moussly, Staff Reporter