a CALIFORNIA BEACH ESCAPE FOR ROCKY LAFLEUR.
Ever the social butterfly, Rocky was also an avid traveler, finding joy and welcoming arms in cities across the US and in Europe, such as his beloved Paris. When he needed to unplug and disappear for a bit, he would often escape to one of California’s coastal towns. Sometimes he would invite his closest friends and confidantes to join him, and sometimes he would slip away on his own to reflect. In this spirit, we would like you to imagine that Rocky has purchased his own California beach home where he can find rest and recharge.
Originally a near tear-down “surfer’s beach shack”, Rocky’s renovated-from-the-studs-up beach house sits next to a world-famous point break. Architecturally designed on a restrained scale with a ship-builder’s mindset, custom artisanal details draw from both Scandinavian and French Colonial style influences. With heaps of natural light, a wide-open plan, and a close connection to the outdoor spaces, it lives much bigger than it is while creating minimal impact on a precious marine ecosystem.
We have provided architectural drawings for the entire home, but your task is to focus on creating an original design for the Great Room, Study, and Breakfast Nook. When Rocky is entertaining his friends here, he loves to cook big dinners and will often have his friends participate in preparing and cooking with him. Consider this as you design the Great Room; it needs to be comfortable for large, festive gatherings as well as for quieter, intimate downtime. The Study and Breakfast Nook are smaller, adjacent spaces which you may choose to keep as currently defined or you may redefine them, depending on how you envision Rocky using them.
Three $5,000 prizes will be awarded to the students determined by the judges to have the strongest submissions. Winners can choose to apply the prize money to UCLA Extension tuition or to attend Paris Deco Off in January 2025. Winners will be notified by October 7th, 2024.
Ken Fulk is a designer of experiences large and small. He is renowned for his layered interiors, high-concept hospitality brands and unforgettable parties. The Virginia-born designer has spent the last 25 years developing a business by elevating the daily lives of his clients, not only designing their homes, jets, restaurants, and hotels but also creative directing birthdays, weddings, dinners, anniversaries, and family getaways.
Leading a staff of 80 with studios in San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, Ken Fulk has gained international acclaim with widely published residential and hospitality projects from Mexico to Miami and Provence to Provincetown. As co-proprietor and creative director of properties ranging from historic hotels in New Orleans and the Berkshires to New York's Noda and Felix Roasting Co., Fulk has expanded his impact beyond the boundaries of design. In 2018, he founded Saint Joseph’s Arts Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to supporting local artists at revitalized historic landmarks in San Francisco and Provincetown. Fulk has been named to Architectural Digest’s AD 100, Elle Decor’s A-List, Luxe's Gold List and was twice-nominated for a James Beard Design Award. The firm recently won the international Restaurant & Bar Design Award for Carbone Miami.
Leslie Newsom Rascoe helped launch Veranda Magazine with her mother, Lisa Newsom, Veranda’s founder and longtime editor-in-chief. She held various editorial positions including Fine Arts and Decoration Editor. Leslie has an extensive background in art and design, completing the Sotheby's Decorative Art Education program in London as well as postgraduate study in Europe and Southeast Asia. A decade ago, Leslie assumed the role of Interiors Editor of MILIEU Magazine. She now serves as MILIEU’S Design Director, scouting interior design projects, producing articles, and moderating special events.
As President and Chief Creative Officer of Wynn Design & Development, Todd-Avery Lenahan leads the design and curation of Wynn Resorts’ $15B global portfolio of Forbes Five Star assets as well as an additional $10B of new design and development currently underway on three continents. Lenahan merged his eponymous 20-year firm, TAL Studio, with Wynn Resorts in 2019 after having been part of the founding Wynn consultant team in 2003.
Prior to the merger of TAL Studio and WDD, Lenahan earned renown for his commissions’ dynamic manifold of design born of his rare depth of expertise in architecture, development, operations, and entertainment design. His prestigious commissions by the world’s preeminent international luxury hoteliers and industry barons contributed to his firm’s consistent ranking as one of ID Magazine’s esteemed “Design Giants”. Over the course of his design career, Lenahan has designed and been involved with creating over 200 hotels on 5 continents and 8 tropical islands. His work ranges from historic preservation of landmark properties to precedent-setting contemporary work in emerging markets. Disciplined, rational architecture combined with interiors richly imbued by a wealth of global cultural and artistic study have resulted in the hallmark of Lenahan’s work that is often referred to as “powerfully enduring design”. Before creating TAL Studio in 1999, Lenahan was with The Walt Disney Company with whom he continued his collaborations from 1999 through 2020 after his near decade of in-house tenure that culminated in his role as Principal of Interior Architecture and Design for Walt Disney Imagineering.
Judging will commence the week after the close of the Entry Period. All determinations of the Judges shall be final and binding. Judging will be based on the Judges’ personal and subjective evaluation of the following criteria:
- 25% originality/creative solutions to design challenges
- 25% concept statement
- 25% visual appeal of presentation
- 25% use of furnishings, materials, and color
NOTIFICATION
Winners will be notified by Monday, October 7th, 2024.
- All entrants must work within the building floor plans provided, but layout can be redesigned as desired.
- You are free to use any design style of your choosing.
- Use of AI programs is strictly prohibited.
- Each room must include products sold at Kneedler Fauchère showrooms. Products can be viewed through the Kneedler Fauchère website (www.kneedlerfauchere.com) or in person at the Los Angeles showroom at 8687 Melrose Avenue, Suite B600, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
- Be creative and incorporate other products, materials, and architectural features that would work well with the space.
MOOD BOARD & CONCEPT STATEMENT
As part of your submission, please provide a digital mood board (11” x 17”) with a maximum of 15 images that presents your design concept. The mood board should also communicate materials, color palette, and overall aesthetic for the project.
In addition to the mood board, submit a concept statement of no more than 2,000 words. Your concept statement should express the ideas and approach behind your overall design concept and proposed design solutions.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
Drawn by hand or by utilizing your preferred computer rendering software, present an original design to address the brief. Include the following:
- One floor plan of each room with dimensions.
- At least one interior elevation of each room with dimensions.
- Up to five supporting perspective drawings communicating various design elements.
SUBMISSION
Your digital submission package should consist of your mood board, concept statement and supporting documents in a PDF of no more than 10 pages (11” x 17”).
ABOUT ROCKY LA FLEUR AND THE DESIGN COMPETITION
If there was ever someone born to be the design community’s Tribal Leader, it was Rocky LaFleur. Born in South Dakota, Rocky made his home in Los Angeles in 1978. His professional journey included outside sales for Pindler & Pindler, a national showroom manager role for S. Harris, and he served ten years as Vice President of Real Estate at the Pacific Design Center. In that role, Rocky networked with design companies throughout the US and Europe, bringing many new companies to Los Angeles. He was involved in creating events, exhibitions, and design programs at the PDC.
He came to Kneedler Fauchère in 2003 as an outside sales representative, building a new hospitality division and using his extensive relationships to strengthen Kneedler Fauchère’s client base. Rocky was an active industry supporter, especially through professional organizations like ASID, NEWH, and ICAA. In 2008, Rocky made plans to attend the newly launched Déco Off show in Paris. Being a natural salesman, he quickly convinced a dozen or so influential Los Angeles designers to join him in Paris for the show. That was the birth of what would become the Annual American in Paris party, and Kneedler Fauchère’s enduring commitment to and celebration of the French design community. Rocky steadily invited emerging professionals, his student friends, to experience the wealth of design resources in Paris. An eternal connector, nobody was as passionate about helping students and making them feel a part of the tribe. He regularly spoke at UCLA Extension to new entrants just beginning their foray into the design world, and hosted tours in Kneedler Fauchère’s showroom to make them feel at home.
Rocky was the ultimate social animal. He rarely had lunch or dinner alone, preferring those times to catch up with established contacts or to get introduced to new people, organizations, or ideas. He also loved hosting events and parties for various organizations, companies, or for friends. Rocky also had a very spiritual side. He read extensively about different thought practices and sought out spiritual leaders. This blend is what made him such a unique mentor to so many students, emerging professionals, and established professionals in the design industry.
Throughout his 40+ year career in design, he gained an enormous circle of admirers and contacts, which would eventually garner many awards and professional recognition by trade organizations such as NEWH and ASID, including the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Los Angeles chapter of ASID in 2018. The self-titled “Design Icon” will always remain iconic to those who had the privilege of knowing him.
Following his passing in March 2021, The Rocky LaFleur Scholarship Fund was introduced to honor Rocky’s passion for education and students. He believed strongly that everyone working in design should be constantly learning about the evolving field and was a strong advocate for getting out and seeing things in person. He believed materials needed to be seen and touched, and in meeting interesting people along the way. He famously admonished students to, “Just show up”. Therefore, his scholarship assists students with UCLA Extension tuition and supports students attending Paris Déco Off, two of Rocky’s greatest loves.
ABOUT KNEEDLER FAUCHÈRE
In 1948, two women, Dorothy Kneedler and Lucienne Fauchère, established Kneedler Fauchère. Housed in San Francisco’s Marine Memorial Building, the tenacious duo sold New York lines of textiles and Asian wallcoverings discovered abroad. This east-meets-west, global influence formed the bedrock of Kneedler Fauchère and is still apparent today.
From the outset, Kneedler Fauchère has believed in the power of creation. Dorothy, and her husband Harry Lawenda, nurtured and encouraged talent. They shared knowledge of the industry, believing that a rising tide lifts all vessels. They weren’t just business owners — they were forces of progress, growth, and positivity in a nascent industry. Eventually, they expanded their offerings to those created by local, talented designers—each one hand selected to be included in their showroom. Kneedler Fauchère became the benchmark for the modern-day multiline showroom, being the first to include lighting, furniture, textiles, wall coverings, art, all in one stop. Led today by a new management team, our teams are proud to carry on this legacy today in San Francisco, Los Angeles and in Denver.
To learn more about Kneedler Fauchère, watch a special documentary short about the 75+ year story:
When are submissions due?
Submissions must be uploaded to Kneedler Fauchère’s Dropbox no later than 11:59PM (PST) on Sunday, September 22nd, 2024.
How do I make my submission?
Your submission must be in a PDF format and sent electronically to the following Dropbox folder:
https://www.dropbox.com/
Who do I contact with questions?
Email marketing@
How will I be notified if I win?
Kneedler Fauchère will email winners directly using the email provided by the entrant when they registered.
- COMPETITION DATES: Eligible students must submit their completed package before the deadline of 11:59PM (PST) on Sunday, September 22nd, 2024.
- ELIGIBILITY: Participants, to be considered eligible to win a prize, must be enrolled at UCLA Extension as full-time or part-time students during the 2024-2025 academic year. Recent graduates may not apply. Winners may be required to submit proof of current enrollment.
- SUBMISSIONS/HOW TO ENTER: Each participant must register on the Rocky LaFleur Competition webpage on Kneedler Fauchère’s website: Design A California Beach Escape! | Kneedler Fauchère (kneedlerfauchere.com). Participants are limited to one submission per individual. Submissions become the property of Kneedler Fauchère after submission and cannot be altered or deleted. Incomplete or unreadable submissions may be disqualified. Kneedler Fauchère will not be liable for any submission that is not received. Kneedler Fauchère may reject or disqualify any submission that does not conform to these rules.
- COMPETITION PRIZES: Kneedler Fauchère will award three prizes in the amount of $5000 each to the entrants determined by the judges to have the best submissions. Winners of the Competition prizes may be featured in the Kneedler Fauchère website and other social media and internet platforms and/or digital and print collateral as determined by Kneedler Fauchère. Prizes may be paid by check or electronic transfer to the individual winner or to UCLA Extension. Prizes are non-transferable. Receipt of a prize is conditioned on compliance of all requirements described in these rules.
- ANNOUCEMENT OF THE WINNERS: KneedlerFauchère will notify all winners by an email sent to the email address provided as part of the registration no later than October 7th, 2024. Winners must acknowledge receipt and must complete and return any required documentation, including proof of enrollment. A participant may forfeit their prize should they fail to acknowledge the announcement of the prize, the announcement is undeliverable, they fail to provide any required documentation, or they violate any other rules of this competition.
In accepting a prize, the participant agrees to participate in reasonable publicity and public relations activity at Kneedler Fauchère’s request. Such public relations activities may include conducting in person interviews, virtual or phone interviews, and making public statements. The participant agrees that Kneedler Fauchère may use the participant’s name, photo, and likeness in its marketing and public relations activities.
Should any winner be disqualified or forfeit their prize for any reason, an alternate winner shall be selected using such procedures as Kneedler Fauchère deems appropriate. - TAXES: Any federal, state and/or local taxes are the sole responsibility of each prize winner.
- DISPUTES: Any disputes arising in connection with this competition shall be governed by the laws of the state of California, U.S.A.
- CHANGE TO OR CANCELLATION OF THE COMPETITION: Kneedler Fauchère reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify or suspend the Competition due to technical problems or matters beyond Kneedler Fauchère’s control.
