Released on: October 23, 2007, 10:02 am

Press Release Author: California Design College

Industry: Education

Press Release Summary: Interior Design class at California Design College present
proposals for the Ramada Plaza Hotel, West Hollywood. Project results include first
hand experience and scholarship money for students and creative renovation concepts
for hotel.

Press Release Body: Los Angeles, October 25, 2007 - Little did Interior Design
instructor Mark Lewison know that a class assignment would become an opportunity for
his students to leave their creative mark on a West Hollywood hotel.

Mark Lewison, California Design College faculty member, met with Zoe Caratas, the
[director of] Sales and Public Relations at the Ramada Plaza, West Hollywood last
spring. He was looking for an inspiring new assignment for his Commercial
Hospitality Design class. The meeting was a success. Lewison and Caratas developed
an assignment that would benefit both the hotel and the students.

Over the summer, the class received real-life experience with a design project to
renovate several guest rooms at the hotel. The assignment involved creating floor
plans, color schemes and an overall design concept using specifications provided by
Ramada Plaza. The students interviewed the client, conducted site visits and
researched budget parameters.

The most valuable education for the students came from working with a tangible
project. "With real projects come real problems. You can't pretend.and the budget
constraints are firm," remarked Lewison. As in the real world, the students were
forced to work within the parameters they were provided. In a fictitious assignment,
there are no room restrictions or cost parameters to truly deal with. In the end,
each student made an on-site presentation at the Ramada Plaza to staff and Alan
Johnson, Managing Director of Holteliers International Corporation, owner of the
Ramada Plaza and dozens of other hotels across the globe.

The Ramada Plaza was so impressed with the students' concepts they wanted to offer a
$1,000.00 scholarship to the student with the best overall design. Lewison and Karen
Nowak, academic department director for Interior Design at California Design
College, were tasked to select the winner. Each student's designs were impressive,
but they were ultimately drawn to Kirsten Wasser's presentation. "Kirsten's was the
most creative. It played on old Hollywood mystique and dynamic use of color." Nowak
said of Wasser's project. Kirsten's project included low cost, durable options that
made it particularly appealing to the Ramada Plaza. According to Kirsten Wasser, a
third year student at California Design College, "The scope of the project was a bit
overwhelming. [It] was so much bigger than we thought it would be.I am amazed at how
professional my work has become."

The Ramada Plaza is considering using elements from each of the presentations when
they plan renovations to the hotel. Due to the success, Lewison plans to incorporate
a more in depth assignment into his syllabus for the next quarter and present again
to the Ramada.
Zoe Caratas said "We were impressed with the creative and functional concepts
brought by the students and we look forward to seeing the work next quarter. There
are plans to implement many aspects into our rooms."

California Design College is one of The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), a
system of over 35 locations throughout North America, providing an important source
of design, media arts, fashion and culinary professionals.


Web Site: http://www.artinstitutes.edu/cdc/

Contact Details: Sarah Carlson, Marketing Coordinator
California Design College
3440 Wilshire Blvd, 10th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90010
(213) 251-3636 ext. 615
(213) 385-3545
sacarlson@aii.edu