Mind Garden wins IV IED Enric Miralles Award for interior design thesis

Anastassia Westenra's project 'Mind Garden' has won the IV IED Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue Award for Best Interior Design Thesis at IED Barcelona. The award ceremony took place at the Fundació Enric Miralles as part of the 60th anniversary of the Istituto Europeo di Design. The project reimagines the library as a cognitive landscape based on neuroarchitecture, replacing traditional organization with a natural-inspired journey through a meadow, a social forest, and a contemplative mountain. The jury, led by Benedetta Tagliabue, decided unanimously, praising Westenra's 'excellent ability' to intervene organically in space. The award is part of the conceptual framework 'In-Between: Rethinking Spaces in a Physical–Digital World,' which guided all final-year interior design projects at IED Barcelona this year. Two honorable mentions were also awarded: 'The Contemporary Sanctuary' by Giulia Martinelli, which redefines sacred space through immersive architecture, nature, sound, and ethical AI, and 'The Nest' by Maria Beata Strybe, which proposes a primary school combining technology, creativity, and physical-world contact for balanced digital literacy. The projects explore how interior design can address cognitive, emotional, and social needs in a hybrid physical-digital society.