RISD Student Holden Rappuhn Wins Angelo Donghia Foundation Scholarship

Rising senior Holden Rappuhn 25 IA recently won a $30,000 Angelo Donghia Foundation Student Scholarship in Interior Design, which will help him complete his final year at RISD in the Interior Architecture department. Founded in 2001 in honor of the late, world-renowned American interior designer Angelo Donghia, the award is granted to rising seniors whose work demonstrates a comprehensive spatial approach to their design solutions. Each submission is assessed by a jury composed of design professionals, educators and editors.

“This award has definitely boosted my confidence in terms of creating digital representations,” says Rappuhn, who followed the contest recommendations by submitting 3D computer renderings along with hand-drawn sketches. “The faculty has been incredibly supportive during my time here,” he adds. “They’re truly passionate about seeing us grow and thrive, not just as artists but as people.”

Rappuhn first dabbled with art when he took a cross-country road trip after high school with his dad and grandfather that inspired him to take up photography. When he decided to enroll at RISD, he was drawn to creative outlets like drawing and graphic design but ultimately wanted to pursue a creative practice that would allow him to contribute to the built environment.

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“Growing up, I helped my dad fix up all the houses we lived in, so renovation was a part of my childhood,” he says. “I've always found beauty in something well built, even buildings that are labeled as ugly. I felt that going into architecture would be something familiar to me.” 

The proposal Rappuhn submitted for the award is titled The Canyon Wren: Nubian Square Ascends Project, a conceptual project that would transform an underdeveloped plot in Boston into a creative hub for mixed-use programming centered around music for students in the area. 

The canyon wren is a small, North American songbird that usually lives in the American southwest. Its cascading song echoes off the rock walls of its habitat—an experience Rappuhn wanted the music students to encounter in this space. He proposed materials such as wood and fabric to mimic the curves found in ravines, which influenced lighting, circulation and acoustics.

“I saw it as a relief to the bustling city and a means of inspiring music and free-spirited exploration,” Rappuhn says.

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The project was created for a class assignment in which each student was asked to repurpose a given building. Rappuhn took inspiration from his cross-country road trip and channeled the beauty of the canyons of Arizona and Utah.

He begins his process by gathering material samples and color palettes before jumping into 3D modeling and carefully considers energy efficiency in all of his work. “I tend to approach design from an engineering standpoint, and I’m always looking at the building’s carbon footprint and sustainability of the materials used,” he says. “I prefer construction that leads to fewer maintenance costs and increased energy efficiency down the line.”

Interior Architecture Professor Liliane Wong says it was incredibly rewarding to be his advisor for this competition. “Holden is the quintessential art and design student who is relentless in his pursuit of an ideal,” she says. “He exemplifies the best of what RISD teaches our undergrads.”

Kaylee Pugliese
August 1, 2024