Recipe for a Room is a model-making contest about building spatial, sculptural, miniature rooms while fostering fun, creativity, and professional mentorship. Two-person teams, each comprised of a student and architect mentor, will design small-scale Places of Food and Culture—rooms for food preparation and enjoyment.

The AIANY Interiors Committee launched Recipe for a Room in 2020 to benefit NYC design students who had lost their summer internship opportunities, and to raise awareness and financial support for the New York City Restaurant Employees Relief Fund. Each following competition cycle has focused on a different prompt, model-building media, and local beneficiary. For the program’s 5-year anniversary, the theme returns to food, acknowledging that we are once again experiencing global instability due to funding cuts for global help organizations and suppression of cultural differences.

Net proceeds from the 2025 program will benefit Rethink Food, a NYC non-profit that bridges the gap between excess food and the communities that need it.

Registration details to join us for this virtual event (September 4, 6pm ET) will be shared shortly!