WHY DOES ADVOCACY MATTER
The goal of IIDA’s advocacy efforts is to ensure that Commercial Interior Designers can practice to their fullest abilities through robust interior design legislation. Interior Design legislation helps establish and maintain professional standards that protect the health, safety and welfare of the general public. IIDA firmly believes that legal recognition, achieved through licensing, registration, and certification, brings uniformity to the profession, defines responsibility, and encourages excellence in the Interior Design industry.
COMMERCIAL INTERIOR DESIGN
What is commercial interior design?
Any code-impacted interior environment requires Commercial Interior Design. This includes all public and corporate spaces such as civic buildings, offices, and hospitality, retail, and entertainment spaces—essentially, anything that isn’t a private residential interior. Interior design encompasses the analysis, planning, design, documentation, and management of interior non-structural/non-seismic construction and alteration projects in compliance with applicable building design and construction, fire, life-safety, and energy codes, standards, regulations, and guidelines for the purpose of obtaining a building permit, as allowed by law. Qualified by means of education, experience, and examination, interior designers have a moral and ethical responsibility to protect consumers and occupants through the design of code-compliant, accessible, and inclusive interior environments that address well-being, while considering the complex physical, mental, and emotional needs of people.
ZERO LANDFILL
Zero Landfill is a beneficial reuse program assisting the architectural and interior design community in identifying, diverting from landfills, and re-purposing back into the community, thousands of pounds of specification samples that hold value for other audiences. Our volunteers provide boxes for purchase by design firms to fill with samples they no longer use or need. Once filled, city center volunteers pick up these boxes. All sample items are kept in a warehouse and a free event is held over the weekend for teachers, students, professors, crafters, fabricators, and anyone else who may be able to reuse these specification samples in their work.
Annual Advocacy Symposium
Hosted by IIDA Headquarters annually, guest speakers and design leaders discuss the benefits of design thinking in public office, the importance of activism and voting, and how having a design background can influence policy making. The IIDAOHKY encourages our members to attend, and offers free tickets annually.
Legislation
After a state legislature passes a law that creates a title of “registered interior designer” (RID), only those who have submitted the necessary education, experience, and examination to the state can call themselves a “RID.” Sometimes these laws also allow RIDs to stamp and seal drawings for permits and/or bid on state projects. In some states, registration is used interchangeably with certification. IIDAOHKY continually supports legislation efforts to advance the profession of interior design in both Ohio and Kentucky.