Calling all students: the Eussen Design Competition is back and this year the brief is all about creating a visual exhibition

For the last 12 years, the Eussen Design Competition has been one of Australia’s leading programs for awarding outstanding interior design, with students across the country vying to be crowned the annual winner. The brainchild of notable design name John Eussen, the competition is an essential program for fostering exceptional industry talent, elevating the work of students onto the national stage.

Each year, the competition asks entrants to respond to a specific theme or brief, with previous instalments including tiny houses, community housing, and a Fire & Ice Boutique Hotel. For 2024, Eussen is thinking digitally, asking applicants to draw inspiration from viral visual artists to create an exhibition pop up space that transports the audience to a destination real or imaginary.

But that’s not all, this year’s competition will also work in symphony with the ‘Sphaira Series‘ by multi-disciplinary design practice Studiojos, with the exhibition space showcasing pieces from the curvaceous collection.

The Sphaira Series

A symbiosis of past and present, the Sphaira Collection is a contemporary reflection on ancient Greek architecture and the motifs and visual cues of an ancient world. Drawing on the importance of spheres as a symbol of power, the collection features stacked orbs and supple serpentine lines, creating balanced structures that form tables, seating, and lighting pieces. An extension of the Studiojos ethos, Sphaira is a symphony of scale, form and material, made to create effortlessly luxurious, timeless spaces.

For the competition, students will use pieces from the collection to place within a visual exhibition space. The space can exist wherever students choose to locate it, but must remain within the constraints of 50 cubic metres. A jury of interior designers and experts will look for submissions that are transportative and evocative, with creativity and boldness highly regarded. As a competition that recognises the next generation of interior design talent, the spaces should encapsulate the future of design, pushing boundaries and expectations in their creation and concept.

Students should submit up to four realistic 3D visuals of their space, along with one realistic 2D plan view. A concept statement outlining the design intent should accompany the entry, creating a written dialogue to accompany the digital creation. Submissions should reference the Studiojos approach to design, including all products from their ‘Sphaira Collection’, along with a product or products from competition sponsors, which currently include International Floor Coverings Australia and Woodcut.

As well as having the honour of being the 12th annual Eussen Design Competition winner, the student that takes the crown will also receive extensive print coverage, including features in Indesign, Habitus, and Architecture and Design magazines.

If you’re the next generation of Australian Interior Design talent, we want to hear from you, with the Eussen Design Competition your ticket to getting your name up in lights. Entries close 30^th August 2024. Contact john@eussen.com.au for entry details.