Bangladeshi student wins global interior design award at ayda 2024
Mahdia Rahman of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) has won the Judges' Choice award in the Interior Design category at the prestigious AYDA Awards 2024 global finale, held in Tokyo.
Organised by Nippon Paint as part of its global CSR initiative, the 17th edition of the AYDA Awards brought together over 8,000 student submissions from 16 countries under the theme "CONVERGE: Glocal Design Solutions." The theme encouraged young designers to craft locally responsive yet globally mindful solutions to pressing social, environmental, and urban challenges.
Mahdia's project, titled "Stories Unfold: The Tale of a Single Mother," reimagines the humble tea stall—a ubiquitous fixture in Bangladesh's streetscape—into a safe, multifunctional space where single mothers can work while caring for their children. The design addresses the invisibility and vulnerability of single mothers in urban settings, proposing a secure, harassment-free environment grounded in empathy and function.
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"We are immensely proud of Mahdia Rahman, who has represented Bangladesh with creativity and compassion," said Robin Miah, Marketing Manager of Nippon Paint Bangladesh. "The AYDA Awards recognises design as a tool for change—and Mahdia's project exemplifies that spirit."
Earlier, Mahdia and Md Munsurun Nabi were crowned national winners in Interior Design and Architecture, respectively, and went on to represent Bangladesh at the international finale.
The AYDA Designer of the Year titles went to Mike Huang of China for "18+1 Sewing Plan" (Architecture) and Adelia Meysa of Indonesia for "Mayangan Teh" (Interior Design). The winners received fully funded placements at the Harvard Graduate School of Design's Design Discovery Program worth up to USD 10,000.
Sub-category winners, including Judges' Choice recipients such as Mahdia, received $500 in prize money.
Formerly known as the Asia Young Designer Awards, the AYDA Awards remains a no-entry-fee competition that champions mentorship, cross-border collaboration, and meaningful design. It continues to spotlight emerging talent across Asia and beyond, equipping them to address the world's most urgent design challenges.
