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BIID CONGRATULATES AWARD WINNERS AT AGM AND WELCOMES NEW BIID PRESIDENT

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As part of its Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at The Royal Geographic Society, London on Thursday 16th June, the British Institute of Interior Design (BIID) revealed the winners of its two prestigious Institute awards and officially welcomed new BIID President Susie Rumbold.

Merit Award - Noriko Sawayama

Each year members of the BIID nominate a fellow member who has particularly excelled in 3 key areas:

  • Excellence in interior design practice;
  • A contribution to the development of the Institute
  • A commitment to the wider field of design education.

The awards committee unanimously agreed that the winner of this year’s award is Noriko Sawayama, who has excelled in all three areas. 

Noriko is the founder of NSDA (Noriko Sawayama Design & Associates Ltd), a London-based interior design practice. Noriko divides her time between the UK and Japan and has had an accomplished career as an interior designer, working on a huge variety of international projects, both residential and commercial. She joined the BIID over 15 years ago and has been a dedicated and hard-working volunteer on behalf of the Institute ever since. She sat for many years on the International Committee, where she organised a hugely successful interior design visit to Tokyo. She also sat for several years on the Membership Interview Committee, ensuring that the Institute’s rigorous entry requirements were maintained, whilst welcoming new potential members on board. Noriko is passionate about bringing the high standards of interior design professionalism that the Institute strives for, to Japan. She regularly promotes the benefits of being a BIID member to her design contemporaries in Japan and has personally recruited many new BIID members.

Susie Rumbold, President of the BIID commented: “We are delighted to honour Noriko with the BIID Merit Award this year, to recognise her considerable achievements and dedication, particularly for her work on the International Committee. I am honoured to present her with this well-deserved award.”

CPD Award - Savana Al Khudhairi

Continuing Professional Development is an essential part of being a BIID member. The CPD Award recognises the member who has far exceeded the minimum requirement and has gained the most CPD points in that year. Savana Al Khudhairi of Savana Interior Design Studio was announced as the worthy recipient of the BIID CPD Award for gaining 113 points.

New BIID President

The AGM also marked the official hand-over to new BIID President Susie Rumbold, who takes over from Daniel Hopwood. Susie is a longstanding member of the Institute and worked on the Membership Committee for 4 years until her appointment as CPD Director in 2014. In her role as CPD Director, Susie oversaw the Institute's CPD programme of seminars, lectures and tours. She was also responsible for expanding the BIID CPD Providers Directory and for the annual BIID CPD Provider Showcase; a highly acclaimed day of BIID accredited CPDs from top suppliers.  

Susie is the Founder and Creative Director of Tessuto, a successful, multidisciplinary design studio, based in London. Established in 1993, Susie has built up a prestigious portfolio of commercial and private clients. Her practice specialises in both the design of large residential developments for the sales and private rental sectors, and luxury homes for private clients.

New BIID Directors

The AGM provided BIID members with the chance to learn about the institute’s progress over the past twelve months as well as voting in new directors Lindsey Rendall and Gilly Craft. 

Thank you to outgoing President Dan Hopwood

The BIID would like to extend huge thanks to outgoing President Dan Hopwood who has led the Institute for the past 2 years. 

(Pictured: BIID President Dan Hopwood and Noriko Sawayama)