Interior Educators National Student Awards 2026 celebrate regenerative design
The Interior Educators (IE) National Student Awards 2026 have been announced, highlighting undergraduate interior design projects from across the UK and Ireland. The winners were revealed in early July at MillerKnoll's Clerkenwell showrooms in London. The awards introduced new categories reflecting shifts in interior design practice, including sustainability, social impact, and innovation. Among the winning projects is 'Wonder: Beneath the surface' by Marea Tippetts (Falmouth University), which uses ant colony behavior as a design generator. Other notable projects include 'Unpicking | MEA House' by Bernadette Renshaw (Northumbria University), transforming a Grade II listed building into a textile reuse sanctuary; 'The Ark' by Flora Berki (Atlantic Technological University Sligo), reimagining Harbour Mills as an environmental research centre; and 'Grounded' by Kitty May Ellis (Manchester School of Art), a modular bamboo florist and workshop. The awards are sponsored by MillerKnoll and the Royal College of Art. All entries will tour various IE member locations over the next year.
Key facts
- Interior Educators National Student Awards 2026 announced
- Winners revealed in early July at MillerKnoll's Clerkenwell showrooms
- New award categories reflect shifts in interior design practice
- Marea Tippetts won Innovation in Practice and Process Award for ant colony-inspired design
- Bernadette Renshaw won Spatial Experience and Interior Response Award for MEA House textile reuse project
- Flora Berki won Material and Environmental Resolution Award for Harbour Mills reimagining
- Kitty May Ellis won Material and Environmental Resolution Award for modular bamboo florist
- Awards sponsored by MillerKnoll and Royal College of Art
Entities
Artists
- Bernadette Renshaw
- Flora Berki
- Rachel Koh
- Lara Aptowitzer
- Tom Narai Cowles
- Indigo Hancock
- Aaliyah Benjuya
- Kitty May Ellis
- Adiya Orzhanova
- Marea Tippetts
- Nicoleta Mereuta
- Andrea Couture
- Paul Ring
- Rachel Currie
- Grainne McGarty
- Jason Scoot
- Helen Darnell
- Gillian Treacy
- Orit Sarfatti
- Joe Trickett
- Dani Jenkin
- Rob Disney
Institutions
- Interior Educators
- MillerKnoll
- Royal College of Art
- Northumbria University
- Atlantic Technological University Sligo
- Middlesex University London
- Manchester School of Art
- University of Edinburgh
- Edinburgh College of Art
- Oxford Brookes University
- Manchester Metropolitan University
- Falmouth University
- Middlesex University
- Dezeen
Locations
- United Kingdom
- Ireland
- London
- Clerkenwell
- Oxford
- Sligo
- Manchester
Sources
- Dezeen —