CHICAGO — The IIDA Foundation, in partnership with Contract magazine and Teknion, is pleased to announce Kia Weatherspoon, president of Determined by Design, as the recipient of the 2020 Anna Hernandez/Luna Textiles Visionary Award. This award honors a woman business owner making valuable contributions to the design industry. Weatherspoon will receive $5,000 from the IIDA Foundation.

“We are so pleased to be honoring Kia with this award. She is a remarkable ambassador for equity and social justice through design,” said IIDA Executive Vice President and CEO Cheryl S. Durst, Hon. FIIDA. “Her story and spirit are an inspiration and her firm truly has the potential to create change in the world.”

Weatherspoon has made significant contributions to the design profession by advocating for design equity in low-income communities. She champions interior design as a standard for all, rather than a privilege for some, and has challenged developers, architectural partners, and general contractors to do better by those deemed less deserving of an elevated space.

Weatherspoon’s firm, Determined by Design, based in Washington, D.C., has become an expert on affordable housing in the region, having designed more than 2,000 units, with $1 million in procurement, and more than 120,000 square feet of affordable housing and retail in underserved communities.

Anna Hernandez, the founder and president of Luna Textiles, was known for advancing and celebrating the work of women in the interior design industry. Hernandez had served on the IIDA International Board of Directors. This award was established to honor the memory of Anna Hernandez and her contributions to the profession.

“I am thankful for this fund and its dedication to continuing Anna’s legacy through supporting strong female entrepreneurs and helping them change the future of design,” said Hernandez’s husband and acclaimed multidisciplinary designer, Michael Vanderbyl.

Entries were reviewed by a committee of interior design industry professionals: Carol Bentel, IIDA, FAIA, architect and partner, Bentel & Bentel Architects, chair of the BFA in Interior Design program at the School of Visual Arts; Jennifer Busch, Hon. IIDA, vice president of A&D, Teknion; Karen Donaghy, publisher, Contract; and Ming Thompson, IIDA, AIA, co-founder, Atelier Cho Thompson, 2019 Anna Hernandez/Luna Textiles Visionary Award recipient with her partner in practice, Christina Cho Yoo, IIDA, AIA.

“Kia brings a very thoughtful and forward-thinking approach to interior design. She has a vision for where the profession can go to become more equitable and better serve the public,” said Thompson on behalf of the jury. “She expressed a clear viewpoint and goal — to put the human experience at the center of her work.”

For further information, contact John Czarnecki, Hon. IIDA, Assoc. AIA, deputy director and senior vice president of IIDA, at jczarnecki@iida.org.