A glamorous award ceremony, held in Nottingham’s newest Penthouse apartment to be sold for over one million pounds, celebrated the efforts by six design students from all over the country who were shortlisted for the National Design Academy’s (NDA) prestigious competition to design the interior of the property: from the layout and furniture right down to the accessories and final touches.
The evening also celebrated the launch of the luxurious penthouse now being available to rent. Boasting panoramic views of the River Trent, Nottinghamshire countryside and both football stadiums it is hoped that a local sports celebrity may take on the lease. The last big profile name to rent one of the penthouses was Sven-Göran Eriksson during his brief stint as Director of Football for Notts County.
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| Grace Moulder receives her cheque from (Left to right) Competition Coordinator Bella Riley, Penthouse owner Ian Roberts and Academy Director Pauline Riley |
The competition was won by 21 year old Grace Moulder, an Interior Design student from Darlington who scooped a £3,000 cash prize and the chance to kick start her career in style.
Describing her winning design, Grace Moulder, said: “I had a look at the other River Crescent apartments and they were based around famous designers like Paul Smith, Chanel and Hugo Boss; I focussed mine around Dior by using simple clear streamlines and a classic mineral colour palette. The main apartment area was a huge open space, so I created a layout that had clearly defined zones by using shapes and materials to mould them and I used key focal points to draw people in with a bit a ‘wow’ factor.”
Owner of the Penthouse, Ian Roberts, said: “The quality, innovation and creativity of the short listed entries exceeded my expectations and selecting a single winner was very difficult. I congratulate the winner Grace Moulder and thank her for helping to create this world class interior to a breathtaking apartment.”
Presenting the awards NDA Academy Director, Pauline Riley, said: “At the National Design Academy we believe it is important to support and showcase talented design students in this difficult economic climate. I am delighted that the competition has been so well received by the design profession, university tutors and employers who encouraged so many young talented designers to enter. The quality of entries confirms my belief that design graduates have unique skills to offer. They are original thinkers, problem solvers, project managers and they know how to meet deadlines! They are very desirable graduates.”
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| Winner Grace with her Mother Joanne. |
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| Runner up Erika Davis with Director of Studies Anthony Rayworth and Penthouse owner Ian Roberts. |
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| Runner up Nicola Dejewski |
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| Runner up Katherine Charles |
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| Runner up Julian Potts |
The National Design Academy (NDA) is part of the NDA Foundation, a not for profit organisation that is committed to providing further and higher education access to all, regardless of their educational background. NDA is also the UK’s largest Interior Design School, offering a wide variety of accredited Diploma, Degree and Masters courses in Interior Design.
Videos of the finished apartment and an interview with Grace will be available soon, so stay tuned.
