Great IDEAs: second annual Interior Design Excellence Awards.

• Author: Lewers, Christine
• Position: INTERIOR DESIGN

LAST FALL THE INDIANA chapter of the International Interior Design Association announced its Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) Celebration winners. The recognition went to Indiana-based interior design or architecture firms for projects completed between January 1, 2004, and July 1, 2006. Here's a look at "Best Idea" winners in the corporate, institutional and health-care categories.

CORPORATE

Best Idea: Jung Design Inc., Indianapolis--Endangered Species Chocolate in Indianapolis

Everything about Endangered Species Chocolate's new home says "welcome." Walk into the lobby and you smell chocolate. Playful green, brown and yellow hues surround you. Eclectic furniture invites you. And atop the curved reception desk sits a bowl filled with, you guessed it: samples.

"Their employees are very friendly when you walk in," says Connie Jung, owner of Jung Design Inc., who says she wanted the space to reflect that. The company makes ethically traded, all-natural chocolate and gives 10 percent of net profits to help endangered species.

The space is environmentally friendly as well. The 43,000-square-foot building, which includes manufacturing and administrative space, has registered for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for meeting sustainability benchmarks.

Instead of building new, the company recycled a former check-manufacturing plant when it moved to Indianapolis from Oregon in 2005. The remodeled administrative space includes offices, conference rooms, a reception area, a cafeteria and a fitness center (a chocolate worker's must-have). Designers took care to use as many existing wails as possible.

They also chose to work with earth-friendly materials. The reception area flooring and all work surfaces are bamboo, a natural resource that renews quickly. Signage incorporates organic resin. Tiled carpet, made from corn byproduct, means areas of wearing and staining are easily replaced. The gym floor is Expanko, a recycled product, and paint throughout the building is non-toxic. The office's chairs are 94 percent recyclable.

INSTITUTIONAL

Best Idea: HM Design, Indianapolis--Purdue University Dauch Alumni Center in West Lafayette

The Spurgeon Hall of Spirit on the first floor of Purdue University's new Dauch Alumni Center serves as the center's main entryway, reception hall and as a museum for art, photographs and memorabilia telling the story of Purdue's history and achievements.

Step into the sunny four-story...