Holly Halfacre Wins the Copperstone Sustainable Design Competition
From discarded luxury retail materials to an award-winning interior design concept.
We are incredibly proud to announce that YDA student Holly Halfacre has won the Copperstone Sustainable Design Competition!
Over three days, Holly and the other young designers were challenged to rethink waste and transform discarded luxury retail materials into a beautiful, functional communal living space. Inspired by the principles of the circular economy, the competition encouraged students to explore how creative design can have a positive impact on both people and the planet.
And Holly absolutely rose to the challenge.
A Real-World Design Challenge
Taking place from 27–29 July, the competition gave students the opportunity to experience the stages of a professional interior design project — from developing an initial concept through to producing drawings and presenting their final ideas.
Day 1 — Mood boarding & Concept Design
Students explored their ideas, developed a creative direction and considered how unwanted materials could be given a completely new purpose.
Day 2 — Scale Drawing
Ideas were developed into plans and elevations, helping students communicate their designs in a way that a professional designer or client could understand.
Day 3 — Presentation
The final day focused on bringing the design ideas together and preparing a professional presentation.
For Holly, the final presentation was a particularly exciting opportunity. She presented her completed design online to a panel of experienced industry professionals.
A Panel of Industry Experts
Holly presented her ideas to an impressive judging panel:
Dave Erasmus — Copperstone
Sonnaz Nooranvary — House of Sonnaz
Aysel Selimbeyoglu — Senior Interior Designer, Goddard Littlefair
Presenting to professionals can be daunting, but Holly did an amazing job of explaining her ideas, communicating her design thinking and confidently presenting her final concept.
Her ability to take the judges through her design and explain the thinking behind her decisions really stood out.
“Holly did an amazing job presenting her ideas to a panel of industry professionals and should be incredibly proud of what she achieved.”
And the Winner Is… Holly!
Holly was announced as the overall winner of the competition and received a beautiful official Copperstone trophy to celebrate her achievement.
But that's not all.
As part of her prize, Holly will be visiting Selfridges on 24 November for an exclusive site visit. She will have the opportunity to see a luxury retail remodelling project and meet the interior designers and project manager working on the project.
It's a fantastic opportunity to see how the ideas and skills she has been developing at YDA are used within the professional design industry.
Designing for People and the Planet
The competition was also connected to Oasis St Martin's, giving students the opportunity to think beyond aesthetics and consider the wider social impact of design.
This was a brilliant challenge for our young designers because it demonstrated that good design isn't simply about making something look beautiful. It's about solving problems, making thoughtful choices, reusing resources and designing spaces that work for real people.
Congratulations, Holly!
Everyone at Young Designers Academy is incredibly proud of Holly and her achievement.
Winning a competition judged by experienced industry professionals is a fantastic accomplishment — but even more importantly, Holly has gained valuable experience in concept development, technical drawing and professional presentation.
We can't wait to see what she does next, and we're looking forward to hearing all about her Selfridges site visit in November.
Well done, Holly!
Comments