(Above image: Final design of 9-year-old Allan's new bedroom design. Image courtesy of IA Collaborative)

Good healthcare can help ease the stress of serious illness for a patient — it provides a sense of wellbeing and safety for patients who are going through difficult times. Students from the IIDA’s University of Tennessee Knoxville Campus Center experienced the impact of designing for wellness through their award-winning collaboration with Special Spaces, designing bedrooms for children with cancer. This collaboration earned the campus center the 2025 Campus Center award, which spotlights projects outside of the classroom where students gain real-world experience while positively contributing to their communities.

University of Tennessee Knoxville (UT Knoxville) collaborated with Special Spaces, a non-profit organization that creates dream bedroom makeovers for children ages 2-19 with cancer who are within one year of treatment. This project provides personalized spaces for rest and play, providing a special place to be outside of treatment. Students volunteers for this project are a part of the IA Collaborative, a campus organization created by IIDA and ASID student members to provide an environment for interior architecture students at UT Knoxville to benefit from professional development and an exchange of knowledge and support. For this special collaboration they helped re-design three different bedrooms with Special Spaces.

The Designing Dreams project fits into IA Collaborative’s mission to uplift the local design community while offering design students real-life professional development and career enhancing experiences. Through this partnership student members contributed to the design and renovation of the bedrooms. This included sourcing materials, installing flooring, painting walls and building furniture, all which was financed through student fund raising and raffles. Students worked hard and were able to directly impact their local community.

“Being the sole designer for the Special Spaces Knoxville chapter, having the students has been so valuable because I'm able to let them handle the design brain power and they can give me ideas to help implement the design. It's just been excellent. I'm hoping to have a long working relationship with IA Collaborative,” said Amy Hensley, the Special Spaces Knoxville Chapter Director.

In Spring of 2024, IA Collaborative and Safe Spaces renovated a bedroom for 11-year-old Tony, 9-year-old Allan, and 17-year-old Emma. Tony’s theme was Godzilla and LEGOs, Allan’s theme was under the sea, and Emma’s theme was hippie boho. “At the last renovation I was at, I stayed for the reveal and Allan was so excited about his under the sea themed bedroom,” said Maya Markowicz, Student IIDA and UT Knoxville Campus Center member. “After the reveal, a couple of other student volunteers and I sat down and ate cake with Allan. He told us all about the different sea animals he liked, and we joked about mythical creatures. We had so much fun.”

This project gave students the opportunity to be a part of positively impacting someone's life experience. Knowing the battles that these children go through and being able to be a part of their story has helped foster a deeper connection between the student volunteers and a stronger connection to their local communities.

“Special Spaces is more than just a project, it is an opportunity for us to apply our design skills in a meaningful way and create environments that have a lasting impact,” said another student volunteer, “There is something truly special about seeing the smiles and joy on everyone’s faces as we worked on these projects. It's a constant reminder that what we’re doing isn't just a task but it's making a real difference in people's lives.”

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