2020 Purdue Interior Design Challenge

Purdue University students are creating design solutions to improve the quality of life for seniors in the West Lafayette community.

After interviewing residents at Westminster Village, a local continuing care retirement community, students taking Interior Design II in Spring 2020 are using their research to address the needs of the facility's aging population. Over the course of the project, student teams will create new designs for apartments and a shared living space at Westminster Village. Facility residents and staff will select the best design options in March, with the winning submissions actually being constructed over the summer and fall. The anticipated completion date for construction is December 2020.

Follow along here for updates on the students' progress.

Westminster Village residents select winning projects

Residents at Westminster Village had the opportunity to evaluate each project posterboard after the students' presentations at the senior living community on March 3. They selected winning teams for each apartment style, hallway design, and for the Village Square shared living space. Read more

Students create hallway designs to help residents navigate facility

In addition to their redesign concepts for apartments and the Village Square gathering space at Westminster Village, the student teams also came up with new hallway plans for the facility. Their goal was to make it easier for residents to find their way from point to point with designs that were both functional and visually pleasing. Read more

IMAGES: View the team project presentation boards

The student teams presented their concepts for renovated apartments, hallways, and the Village Square on March 4. View the eight teams' posterboards from their presentations, all of which are on display at Westminster Village for residents to select the best project.

Voting begins after student teams present their ideas

The eight student teams participating in the Purdue Design Challenge presented their ideas for new apartment, gathering space and hallway layouts at Westminster Village on March 4. The residents will have 10 days to vote for their favorite projects. Read more

Students want updated Village Square to feel like home

Not only are the Purdue students proposing new plans for apartments at Westminster Village, they are also creating new designs for the Village Square gathering space in the retirement community's basement. The students said their design proposals will focus on making the Village Square a warmer, more inviting space where residents might want to spend time. Read more

PHOTOS: Residents drop by Pao Hall to review design ideas

Westminster Village residents visited Pao Hall on Feb. 24 to view the design solutions the student teams are preparing to propose in their final presentations on March 4. View images from the residents' visit here.

Westminster Village residents pleased by students' progress

Residents from Westminster Village were invited to Pao Hall on Feb. 24 to see 3D renderings of the interior design concepts Purdue students were proposing for apartments and the Village Square meeting area at their community. The students will present their final design proposals at Westminster Village on March 4. Read more

Westminster Village director excited about students' fresh perspectives

Inspired by the success of a design project that Indiana State students completed at Westminster Village's sister facility in Terre Haute, executive director Ben Blankenship proposed a similar concept for students at Purdue. He is excited by their fresh ideas and believes their new designs will make life more convenient for Westminster Village residents. Read more

PHOTOS: The Village Square

In addition to the apartment redesign plans they will submit, the student teams will propose updates to a gathering space at Westminster Village known as the Village Square, as well as to the hallways that feed into the room. View images of what the Village Square looks like before the redesign here.

What is interior design?

Interior designers must consider both aesthetic and practical concerns in the spaces their clients inhabit. Interior design faculty member Laura Bittner explains the principles her students must consider in their project at Westminster Village. Read more

View the original apartment floorplans

The student design teams will suggest updates to three original apartment floorplans at Westminster Village. View the floorplans assigned to the teams here.

PHOTOS: Students visit Westminster Village

The student design teams visited Westminster Village on Jan. 27 to interview residents about their concerns and tour the facility. View a gallery of images from their vist here.

Students focus design efforts on meeting residents' needs

Interior design students Sydney Kowal and Korbin Williams are members of the student teams participating in the Purdue Interior Design Challenge at Westminster Village. The students explain how they are in the early stages of incorporating residents' feedback into their design concepts. Read more

The many roles of an interior designer

Interior design professor Laura Bittner describes the many skills a professional designer must utilize in order to effectively meet a client's needs. Read more