Ryanne Hawkins Wins 2019 Donghia Foundation Scholarship
Interior Design senior Ryanne Hawkins was selected as a recipient of the 2019 Angelo Donghia Foundation Senior Student Scholarship. The foundation’s scholarship program, which was launched in 2002, awards scholarships to deserving students who are entering their senior year in a Baccalaureate Degree Program in Interior Design. Each winner receives up to a $30,000 scholarship to be applied to their senior year tuition, board, maintenance and books.
From Honolulu, Hawaii, Ryanne explained her project, saying that, “Our studio with Aimee Less focused on the use of color, furniture, and sensorial experiences in creating immersive environments. I was extremely honored to have received the award. The class was an accumulation of past studio teachings and methods; it gave me an opportunity to create a holistic project that reflected the design lessons taught within the Interior Architecture program and my time here at Woodbury.”
Ryanne is the seventh Woodbury student to win a $30,000 Donghia Scholarship in the past five years.
Prior winners include: Christian Esparza (2018), Juan Febres-Cordero (2017), Dominic Luna and Carlos Ramirez (2016), Yumin Zeng (2015), and Kristen Dusold (2014).
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Ryanne’s Project
The project was inspired by Yūgen, a Japanese dining concept and the Chado tea ceremony, paying homage to the historical context of the Arts District in downtown Los Angeles. The project accentuates the relationship of nature and the art of traditional Japanese cuisine through the aesthetic philosophies of wabi-sabi and yugen. This immersive experience requires the guest to progress from outside to inside and through a carefully designed programmatic procession. The space is structured to be both relaxing and stimulating to the senses with natural elements from the garden transforming into finish materials as they move to the interior. Each patron is asked to choose their meal using their sense of smell only. The series of spaces become a refined backdrop to the artistry of the Kaiseki meal with natural, strong, and subtle use of forms, materials, and furnishings that take cues from the tools of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony.
Ryanne chose her project from Studio 6 for her submittal. This year’s judges were comprised of designers, architects and representatives of the press. The Angelo Donghia Foundation provides support for the advancement of education in the field of interior design. Since its launch, including the amounts distributed to scholarship winners, the Foundation has awarded in excess of $15,000,000 to education and other causes.