A $23 million state-of-the-art building with cutting-edge technology has opened its doors to let someone redesign its living room.
The FedEx Institute of Technology (FIT) at The University of Memphis is accepting entries for its Deck the Walls design competition to revamp the interior of its digital living room, a space that is used for meetings, conferences and video conferencing.
The room, which has already installed Elvis-themed carpet tiles donated by Elvis Presley Enterprises, has been in use since the building opened.
The competition entry states the FedEx Institute is accepting entries for "redesigning the space so that it effectively relays the impact music has had on Memphis, and the impact Memphis music has had on the world."
"After Elvis Presley Enterprises donated the Elvis tiles for the room, we decided to stick with Memphis music as the theme," said Marcy Sanford, FIT marketing manager. "The competition and theme seemed like a way to give the room a unique Memphis feel for outside groups who might use the space for meetings or video conferencing."
Memphis Business Interiors, Looney Ricks Kiss and Steelcase all collaborated in the original design of various spaces throughout the FedEx Institute.
"All three design teams worked together to design the public, learning and research spaces," said Scott Messmore, president and CEO of MBI. "The idea to celebrate Memphis music was really the brainchild of Jim Phillips."
Phillips was the founding director of the FedEx Institute of Technology.
"As a sponsor of the competition, we want to be a catalyst to bring that idea to fruition," Messmore said. "Since we played a role in the original design, we wanted to be a part of this."
The competition, which is limited to U of M students, has sparked interest among interior design, architecture, art and music students. But students in all disciplines are free to submit design plans.This semester the FedEx Institute will be unveiling a new Center for Experimental Design, Sanford said.
The center will research and design interior spaces for healthcare related facilities.
"We already have strong relationships with both the interior design and architecture programs," Sanford said. "This is an opportunity for those students to do some real world work and possibly see their designs implemented."
Contest entry forms and design specifications for the space are available on the FIT Web site. Recommended budget for design implementation is under $5,000.
The entry deadline is Feb. 24 and designs will be displayed in the building from Feb. 24 to March 3, when the top three winners will be announced during a reception.
Luminetx, a Memphis-based biotechnology firm, is sponsoring the redesign of the digital living room, and Memphis Business Interiors is sponsoring the competition that will award $500, $300 and $100 cash prizes to the top three entries.
Extensive floor plans, images and other details about the digital living room space are available on the FIT Deck the Walls competition Web site.
