AOD Alumni, Nelu Weerasinghe creating Modern Interiors through Design
AODs BA in Interior Design, continues to deliver Interior Designers for Sri Lanka, featuring AOD alumni Nelu Weerasinghe, Founder of Nelu Weera Design Studio.
Interior Architecture Design is a profession which requires precise knowledge and skill and has been gaining popularity and prominence as the residential and leisure industry grows. It goes beyond appearance to a combination of aspects such as building technology, ergonomics, environmental factors, health and safety and comprehensive understanding of Design. The modern day consumer places high importance on the visual appeal of a place they visit, which means the need for Interior Designers has moved on from hotels and restaurants to include corporate offices, hospitals, leisure spaces such as salons and spas, retail stores and an array of other places.
AOD Alumni Nelu Weerasinghe is one such Interior Designer making waves in the Sri Lankan industry contributing to the space of corporate & retail interiors to hospitality & the leisure sector. She completed her education at AOD with the BA (Hons) Degree in Interior Design, offered via a powerful partnership with the prestigious Northumbria University UK, rated one of Europe’s top Design Schools. This set in motion a future in interior design which has proved to be professionally and personally satisfying and a well-calculated career decision. Nelu, past pupil of Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya worked in the industry under many interior design companies after her Degree. She gained valuable experience on handling long-term projects at Design Forum under the guidance of Architects Rajiv Senanayake and Lilantha Wijayapala. She then became a freelance interior design consultant which led her to establish her own ‘Nelu Weera Design Studio’ with the objective of delivering creative and complete interior solutions to clients.
Nelu, speaking about her team stated; “We are a team of creative interior designers and furniture designers who delivers creative design solutions from leisure to office interior design environments. As a collective team we work in both modern and traditional designs with unique twist, taking into consideration the client’s needs”.
On her approach to interior design she says that she prefers a collaborative approach. “We encourage our clients to develop their own style and taste. We collaborate with them from the conceptualization stage through to the completion of the project by working towards a united vision. We provide a complete understanding of how to avoid short-lived trends and opt instead for quality and timelessness. This ensures that the client is satisfied on a long term basis”. The end result would be a visually appealing, comfortable and most essentially a functional space.
Nelu and her team specialize in Interior Design for commercial spaces which include corporate offices, leisure spaces and retail stores. This accounts for high quality design, using the most suitable material, lighting, functionality, safety and comfort. “We focus a lot on how the design of a space will contribute to its functionality. Commercial spaces always have to be designed in a way that it provides a complete solution for the day-today activity that will be taking place in that space. The dynamism of the space has to be preserved and therefore we strive to provide the best quality of design based on our unique expertise”.
The Interior Design Program at AOD fully focuses on delivering on design Excellence, critical thinking, collaboration, research and the professional expectations to create interior architects and designers such as the likes of Nelu. Students at AOD study interior spaces in a comprehensive manner; their functions, finish materials and furnishings, colour and lighting, furniture design, building systems and health and safety, function etc. In addition to this, the program is taught by a multi cultural faculty from around the world and nurtures a culturally diverse and international learning experience that underscores innovation and collaboration in global contexts right here in Sri Lanka. Enriched by study tours from around the country, tours to Asia like Singapore and Hong Kong to ones in New York, it trains an international eye in each student.
Interior designers lead design teams from the early stages of a design project through to its installation as a finished interior space, and many students, after gaining work experience, will open their own design firms. Students are given opportunities to develop leadership abilities throughout their studies at AOD including an internship, as well as entrepreneurial, communication and organizational skills before they graduate; and our support systems continue for them as alumni. Interior design is perfect for those who love to be creative and work with others creating amazing designs for places where people live and work.