You may have already heard about NeoCon’s wildly popular student event–the IIDA Student Charette. During this event teams of students from across the country are combined into teams of five, presented with one design challenge and given six hours to execute it and present before an esteemed panel of judges.

In the coming weeks, we will be introducing you to these stellar students who will have their design skills put to the test on June 11th!

Today we are excited to introduce you to Alexandra Leigh. Alexandra is a rising senior at Virginia Commonwealth University saw the value in an IIDA Student Membership right away! IIDA gave her the opportunity to network and further strengthen her leadership skills.

As a student, Alexandra draws her design inspiration from a variety of outlets.

“I recently discovered a firm in Oklahoma, Fitzsimmons Architects, and I really enjoy all of their work and their approach.  They’re blurring the lines between art and architecture, and I appreciate that their designs inspire me to think and observe.  Also, they designed a house for Wayne Coyne from the Flaming Lips, which is just awesome!”

Her design inspiration and passion also comes from a source a little closer to home.

“My mom has been redesigning our home for the last 19 years of my life.  I always enjoyed watching her have those “light bulb” moments when she came up with new projects.  I think constantly being around the renovations and changing environment gave me an appreciation and understanding of interior design that many other artists don’t have.”