“Mind Garden”, a project by Anastassia Westenra, has been recognised for its outstanding ability to transform space organically
News
The 4th IED Enric Miralles Award honours a library reimagined as a living landscape of the mind
Date
02 July 2026
“Mind Garden”, a project based on neuroarchitecture that reinterprets the library as a space adapted to users’ cognitive and emotional needs in today’s age of digital overload, has won the 4th IED Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue Award for the Best Interior Design Thesis at IED Barcelona.
Designed by Anastassia Westenra, the project received the award during a ceremony held on 16 June at the Fundació Enric Miralles, where the most outstanding projects by final-year students from the Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design programme were presented beforehand.
The jury’s decision was announced by Benedetta Tagliabue, President of the Fundació Enric Miralles and Director of EMBT Architects, who highlighted that the decision had been unanimous, praising “Westenra’s outstanding ability to intervene organically within the chosen space”. In this case, the Montoya Building.
Two other IED Barcelona projects also received Honourable Mentions during the event: “The Contemporary Sanctuary”, by Giulia Martinelli, a proposal that reinvents the role of sacred space in contemporary society; and “The Nest”, by Maria Beata Strybe, a primary school design inspired by alternative educational approaches that introduces healthy digital literacy into learning experiences.
In the first case, the jury praised the inspiring vision and the thorough development process behind the thesis, while in the second it highlighted the project’s approach to childhood, addressing a tangible issue through creative solutions.
The 4th IED Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue Award for the Best Interior Design Thesis at IED Barcelona formed part of the public programme of activities celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Istituto Europeo di Design.
THE THEME OF THE PROJECTS
“In-Between: Rethinking Spaces in a Physical–Digital World” is the conceptual umbrella under which the projects are grouped. Since the emergence of digital technologies, the boundaries between the physical and the digital have progressively blurred to the point where we now inhabit hybrid environments in which objects, bodies, data and spaces interact continuously. Building on this premise, IED Barcelona invited students from the Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design to design interior spaces that promote well-being, equity and environmental awareness in today’s phygital world.
Cover photo: Benedetta Tagliabue, President of the Fundació Enric Miralles and Director of EMBT Architects, together with the winner, Anastassia Westenra.
Anastassia Westenra alongside the scale model of the award-winning project "Mind Garden".
“The Contemporary Sanctuary”, by Giulia Martinelli, received an Honourable Mention.
The second Honourable Mention went to “The Nest”, by Maria Beata Strybe.
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