NEWH - Fall 2015 - 16

Scholarships
Erica Brooks, Virginia Tech
Scholarship: NEWH Sustainable Hospitality
Design Competition

Swathi De Faria, Suffolk University
Scholarship: NEWH Sustainable Hospitality
Design Competition

"The building I chose is located on an economic division in
the city, and I wanted the hostel to help connect these two areas
and further develop the neighborhood. A big part of my concept
was to provide service projects for the guests to participate in
to accomplish this goal, while simultaneously involving them
with the local residents and enhancing their experience and
understanding of the city's culture. I designed the hostel with an
amphitheater and community garden to further encourage the
surrounding community to interact with the guests and learn
about sustainability.
"I'm so excited to have participated in this competition, and
to learn about [NEWH] and its mission. Getting more involved
with the group has provided me with wonderful networking
opportunities and an extended education on sustainable design
in the hospitality field, and I am so grateful to everyone who has
made this a possibility for me and my classmates. I also want
to thank the design program at Virginia Tech, and all of my
professors for encouraging me and helping to expand my design
education."

"I know I would not be here today without the constant support
of those around me. I would like to take this time to thank my
professors at the New England School of Art & Design, my thesis
advisor Cynthia Solarz, and my thesis mentor Askin Bas. Your
encouragement has pushed me to excel and come up with creative
solutions. You nudged me out and away from my comfort zone, and
taught me the fun side of critical thinking and problem-solving.
Thank you for expanding my knowledge and always pointing me
in the right direction. I would also like to thank my family-your
unconditional love, support, and encouragement has helped me
accomplish my goals."

The NEWH Sustainable Design
Competition provides students
with the opportunity to showcase
their design skills while using the
best in sustainable design products
and practices. Sponsored by JLF
| lone meadow and Crypton, the
$5,000 scholarship is awarded at
the Social Hub on the HD Expo
show floor to one undergraduate
student and either a graduate
winner or the interiors program
of the undergraduate's school.
Scholarship winners were selected by a panel of industry judges:
Lisa Zangerle, SERA; Michele Machado, Hostelling International
USA; and Tom Burdeshaw, Marriott International.
"The Cork Factory is an adaptive reuse project that will not only
provide a unique, sustainable, and easily accessible place for young
travelers to stay, but will help restore the economic improvements
throughout Baltimore," says Erica Brooks, the undergraduate
winner from Virginia Tech. "It is a youth hostel in a renovated
warehouse that originally made corks for wine bottles.

16

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"I wish I could truly express how
grateful and honored I am to
receive the NEWH sustainable
hospitality scholarship," says
Swathi De Faria, the graduate
recipient of the scholarship.
"It symbolizes years of hard
work and dedication toward
a commitment to sustainable
design. NEWH's resources and
support allows students like
myself to explore our passions
and pursue our dreams.
"As a graduate student at
the New England School of
Art & Design [at Suffolk University], it has been exciting to learn
how to design spaces that impact the way we live, learn, work,
eat, shop, and play. My thesis project, City Pod, was designed
as a way for travelers to spontaneously interact with the local
community. On the surface, it is much like a hostel, where people
can live and socialize during their travels. But my goal was to
dig deeper, and provide a different and more intimate way for
travelers to experience new places. I wanted them to feel like they
were a part of the city, not just looking in from the outside. The
outcome of this project has only reinforced my passion for the
built environment, and it's a good sign that I found myself looking
forward to working late nights amongst endless cups of coffee and
piles of crumpled up trace paper.
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NEWH - Fall 2015

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