Gensler honors four interior design students with 2023 Brinkmann Scholarship

Gensler has awarded the 2023 Brinkmann Scholarship to four interior design students across the United States. The annual program, which “celebrates design excellence and innovative thinking,” was established in 1999 as a memorial to former Gensler principal Donald G. Brinkmann.

University of Arkansas student Jason Côté was awarded a scholarship for his submission, which takes a human-centric approach to the design of a 120,000-square-foot robotics office in Boston. The project’s goal was to address “the myriad of emotional states employees navigate in a single day… and create different zones that cater to the needs of each emotion.”

School of Visual Arts in New York student Meixi Xu used her scholarship-winning submission to explore the creative process for designing a new location for the well-known Harlem restaurant brand Red Rooster. Through freehand sketches, Xu’s project explored the significance of “cultural aesthetics and forms in the creation of an interior in the community of Harlem.”

Kansas State University graduate student Henry Hammes’s submission tackled the design of a modern workplace for Next Robotics. Drawing inspiration from the diverse network of public transportation, Hammes developed solutions and special typologies that allowed for underrepresented groups within the workforce to converge in comfortable, casual environments.

Georgia State University graduate student Peter Huesemann-Odom was awarded a scholarship for his submission, which walked judges through the design of a new research and development hub for Boston consumer electronics manufacturer Next. Incorporating elements of biophilia and robotics, the resulting scheme accommodates a wide variety of meeting spaces and “underlines the company’s transition into the future.”

The four students will be awarded $5,000 each in scholarships.