In a show of creativity and craftsmanship, the graduating class of the Interior Design program at the School of Architecture and Design exhibited under the theme Lodus Serius—Latin for Serious Play—where students were challenged to create furniture pieces that balance playful imagination with rigorous, structured logic.

The event, which took place on June 2, 2026, at the Gezairi Building lobby, brought together industry partners, designers, faculty, and staff who engaged with the students and discussed their projects. Whether presenting a full-scale prototype or a scaled model, students spoke about their work with passion and enthusiasm that set the tone for the evening. 

A key juror and mentor for the students was the founder of Terrablu, Mr. Elie Rababi, whose company sponsored the Terrablu Design Awards. They were presented at the event in two categories.

The first category, the Design Studio Awards, celebrate third-year students who have demonstrated exceptional consistency, creativity, and design excellence throughout their studio coursework. They were presented to junior students Mariam Ezzeddine and Nour Khalife, who earned an all-inclusive study trip to Milan Design Week this spring.

The second category, the Furniture Design Awards, recognizes the work of the up-and-coming designers by taking their prototypes into full-scale production. Initially, Mr. Rababi planned to award four winning designs, but decided to expand the selection to include three more, as “the participants’ designs presented strong potential and it was difficult to choose winners among them,” he said.

Welcoming the attendees, Assistant Dean Sophie Khayat expressed gratitude to Mr. Rababi for his continued commitment to supporting design education. “By opening your doors to our students, you are giving them a rare and invaluable gift: to see a drawing, a model, turn into a beautifully manufactured furniture piece is an ultimate validation for a designer,” she said.

Mr. Rababi emphasized the importance of exposing emerging designers to art beyond the classroom. His experience attending international design fairs and visiting renowned showrooms, he said, inspired his decision to sponsor the trip to the Salone del Mobile in Milan, offering students the opportunity to experience the global furniture design exhibition firsthand.

Dean Elie Haddad highlighted the conceptual dimension demonstrated in the projects, noting that while some of them had collaborated with craftsmen to produce their pieces at full scale, “they still put a lot of thought into their ideas and demonstrated an innovative spirit.”

He also underscored the value of the school’s partnership with Terrablu. “It is very important for the students to see that their designs can be produced and reach an international audience. The collaboration with Terrablu has been very important in bringing about this connection between theory, experimentation and practice.”

The Furniture Design Awards were presented to the following students:

Fatimah Hijazi, for Rock, Paper, Scissors, a “flattened top stone piece floating on a curved, stainless steel sheet that slices through it,” emulating the continuity of the core dynamic of the famous game.

Jad Yafawi and Dima Saraeb, for Poised in Tension, a “system rather than a fixed seating object that employs a continuous structural frame, combined with a network of elastic elements that collectively form a suspended, responsive surface.”

Yara El Zaher and Aya Bazerbachi, for SitBits, a modular seating system inspired by puzzles, where the “bits” of furniture allow for an open-ended choice of seating options.

Maya Fayad and Faten Darwich, for The Rocking Chair, a circular, “cocoon-like form that merges the seat and backrest into one fluid, sculptural piece, that embodies playfulness and interaction.”

Nancy Najdi and Jessie-Joe Cherfan, for The Unfolding Shelter, a dynamic multipurpose chair that “responds to the emotional and special conditions of displacement.”

Reem Hijazi and Layla Dakroub, for Corpus Continuous. Inspired by sand dunes, they designed independent pieces that each embrace specific parts of the body, while seated in different positions, to maximize comfort and support.

Celine Abou Haidar for Sit Tac Toe, a collection of tokens that can be laid out on the floor to play Tic Tac Toe. Once compiled on top of each other, the tokens form a steady stool that can be used for seating.