Editors’ Cut: interiors+sources Staff Break Down 2025’s People’s Choice Project Winners
What do interiors+sources readers value most right now, and what does that reveal about where commercial interiors are heading next? In this year-end Editors’ Cut episode of I Hear Design, host Robert Nieminen is joined by interiors+sources Editor-in-Chief Carrie Meadows and Editor Lauren Brant for a behind-the-scenes look at the People’s Choice Projects of 2025, including what stood out across the broader mix of projects published this year and why certain spaces rose to the top.
The team digs into the year’s biggest through lines—adaptive reuse and reinvention, community-centered/co-created design, and human health and biophilic strategies—then explores the deeper “why” behind audience favorites: storytelling, identity, and “impact over opulence.”
You’ll also hear candid reflections on designing for healing, what truly inclusive design looks like in practice, and what the editors hope to see more of in 2026, from trauma-informed thinking to community impact that extends beyond a building’s four walls.
Key Moments in This Episode
Opening + Episode Setup
00:00:00 — Welcome + year-end framing (final episode of 2025)
00:00:28 — Introducing guests: Carrie Meadows + Lauren Brant; People’s Choice Projects of 2025
00:01:20 — “Sneak peek behind the curtain”: how editors choose projects for publication
00:01:31 — Listener context: audience voted via poll; discussion includes top honorees
2025 Project Through Lines
00:02:06 — Theme #1: Adaptive reuse (beyond “updates” to reinvention)
00:02:44 — Theme #2: Community-centered, co-created design across sectors
00:03:39 — Theme #3: Human health + well-being (biophilic as a clear through line)
What the Audience Rewarded
00:04:44 — “Connection, access, inclusivity, sanctuary”: the intangible made physical
00:05:19 — “Design with purpose”: spaces that help people feel, heal, learn, connect
00:24:23 — Storytelling + identity: what makes a project memorable to readers
Quote-worthy Takeaway
00:25:45 — “Impact over the opulence” (and the editors immediately crown it the sound bite)
Inclusivity Check: Progress, But Not Yet the Default
00:26:40 — Inclusivity is “permeating,” but not yet “pervasive”
00:27:08 — Practical barriers: representation, stakeholder voices, and “ROI buttons”
00:29:25 — Post-2020 shift: inclusivity broadens beyond baseline accessibility
Top Projects: Personal Resonance + Designing for Healing
00:14:45 — University Health Women’s & Children’s Hospital: why this story hit home
00:15:11 — Key insight: healing extends beyond the patient to the family
Design Details Editors Can’t Forget
00:18:56 — Hall Park Hotel: the Palato wine lounge lighting “layer cake”
00:20:03 — Nature-inspired respite: biophilic moves + natural materials
Future-Facing Design: Flexibility + Decarbonization
00:31:39 — Reuse done right: adaptability, safety, material realities, and flexibility
00:34:14 — “Coloring outside the lines”: mass timber + decarbonization momentum
What They Want More of in 2026
00:36:22 — More human-scaled, mood-driven spaces that are accessible to everyone
00:37:05 — Community impact that extends beyond a project’s walls
00:38:03 — Trauma-informed design: the psychology of space—and resistance to the idea
Sustainability + Longevity: A Push Against “Disposable Trend Cycles”
00:46:43 — Designing for disassembly + reuse (and why “too trendy” can backfire)
00:47:55 — Timelessness test: which project still holds up in five years?
Timeless Picks
00:47:55 — Hall Park Hotel gets the nod for longevity + intentional design
00:49:07 — Another pick: Wyndham Grand Shanxi (storytelling + history as staying power)
About the Author
Robert Nieminen
Chief Content Director
Chief Content Director, Architectural Products, BUILDINGS, and interiors+sources
Robert Nieminen is the Chief Content Director of three leading B2B publications serving the commercial architecture and design industries: Architectural Products, BUILDINGS, and interiors+sources. With a career rooted in editorial excellence and a passion for storytelling, Robert oversees a diverse content portfolio that spans award-winning feature articles, strategic podcast programming, and digital media initiatives aimed at empowering design professionals, facility managers, and commercial building stakeholders.
He is the host of the I Hear Design podcast and curates the Smart Buildings Technology Report, bringing thought leadership to the forefront of innovation in built environments. Robert leads editorial and creative direction for multiple industry award programs—including the Elev8 Design Awards and Product Innovation Awards—and is a recognized voice in sustainability, smart technology integration, and forward-thinking design.
Known for his sharp editorial vision and data-informed strategies, Robert focuses on audience growth, engagement, and content monetization, leveraging AI tools and SEO-driven insights to future-proof B2B publishing.
Carrie Meadows
Editor-in-Chief
Carrie Meadows is Editor-in-Chief of interiors+sources (i+s), where she leads editorial strategy, content development, and brand storytelling focused on the people, projects, and innovations shaping the design industry. With more than two decades of experience in B2B media, she has built a career connecting technical expertise with creative insight—translating complex topics into meaningful stories for professional audiences. Before joining i+s in 2024, Carrie served as Editor-in-Chief of LEDs Magazine within Endeavor Business Media’s Digital Infrastructure & Lighting Group, guiding coverage of emerging lighting technologies, sustainability, and human-centric design. Her earlier editorial experience spans across Laser Focus World, Vision Systems Design, Lightwave, and CleanRooms, where she managed print and digital publications serving the optics, photonics, and semiconductor sectors.
An advocate for clear communication and thoughtful storytelling, Carrie combines her editorial management, SEO, and content strategy expertise to help brands and readers stay informed in a rapidly evolving media landscape. When she’s not crafting content, Carrie can be found volunteering at a local animal shelter, diving into a good crime novel, or spending time outdoors with family, friends, and her favorite four-legged friends.
Lauren Brant
Editor, i+s and BUILDINGS
Lauren Brant is the editor at both i+s and Buildings. She is an award-winning editor and reporter whose work appeared in daily and weekly newspapers. In 2020, the weekly newspaper won the Rhoades Family Weekly Print Sweepstakes—the division winner across the state's weekly newspapers. Lauren was also awarded the top feature photo across Class A papers. She holds a B.A. in journalism and media communications from Colorado State University-Fort Collins and a M.S. in organizational management from Chadron State College.