The UTSA CACP’s Rising Star Distinguished Alumni are those who are demonstrating bright promise in the first decade of their professional lives. They show evidence of outstanding professional progression, such as licensure or position increase over time in any field, and evidence of service to their communities or professions. Originally from Lima, Peru, Micaela Silva earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Interior Design from UTSA in 2011. She is a Designer with Tom Dixon Research Studio in London, where she worked first as an intern, beginning in 2011. She joined the firm as Designer in 2012. Her significant projects are Mondrian Sea Containers Hotel, Eclectic Restaurant in Paris, Greenwich Peninsula, Craft London, Publicis Drugstore Brasserie on Champs Elysees in Paris, and Bronte in Trafalgar Square, London. Craft London, a café, restaurant and bar project, was named winner of “Best London Bar” at the 2016 Restaurant and Bar Design Awards. Le Drugstore was part of Surface Magazine’s 15 “Best Restaurant & Bar Designs of 2017” and Bronte was nominated for the “Best Interior” award at the 2017 GQ Food & Drink Awards.
On choosing UTSA:
Interior design college degrees were not commonplace back in Lima, so I knew I would have to go to university abroad to pursue it. I applied to UTSA because it had the combination of a good, accredited interior design programme, a women’s tennis team and an interesting location. I was lucky enough to be offered a full scholarship to play on the team so I started school in the fall of 2008.
On her path to London and Tom Dixon’s Design Research Studio, where she has worked for the last seven years:
I met my now wife at UTSA and she’s from the United Kingdom. We planned to move to London together after graduation as it was the perfect place for both of our careers. It’s hard to think of a better place to work in design. My experience [with Tom Dixon] has been extremely positive. I learned so much even in just my few months as an intern. Having not been able to do an internship during my time in college due to the tennis team requirements, I had a lot to catch up on! The studio is a great place to work, Tom and the team are incredibly creative and just a great group of people. Being exposed and involved with the product design and development side of the business has also been a very valuable experience.
On project work at different stages:
Typically our phases of work are split into Concept, Design Development, Detailed Design, Construction and Styling with of course some variation depending on the scale and type of project. The concept stage is where the big ideas and overall approach are presented, mostly as reference images with some high-level sketches and visuals as well as initial layouts. For me Design Development is one of the more exciting parts as the client is already on board with the concept and you really focus on translating it into reality and working through all the challenges that inevitably come up. In Detailed Design the focus is on drawing and document output, so this is always a very time-consuming stage and time management is key. At the same time this is the stage where we start developing the custom items — furniture and lighting as well as larger feature joinery items like bars or reception desks. During the construction stage it’s all about problem solving and dealing with external consultants and contractor queries. Finally, we like to be involved with the styling of a space to really see the design through to the last detail.
On recent or notable projects:
Craft London was a really interesting project for many reasons. The site was quite unusual in that it is located in a very new neighbourhood part of a large 20-year residential development. The building itself has a very particular architecture, with oval floor plates, fully glazed faade and a tubular feature ceiling in the main floor. Additionally, the project itself was actually three projects in one, with a café on the ground floor, restaurant on the first and bar on the top floor. So the whole thing was a real challenge. Luckily we had worked with the client and developer before and the operator of all three spaces is a chef that has a very close relationship with Tom, so we were given a lot of liberties and trust which is obviously a great way to work.
Le Drugstore was a great project to be involved with because of the history of the company and site. It is owned by the Publicis Group which is the second largest advertising agency in the world and located in their French headquarters, on the Champs Elysees in Paris with views to the Arc de Triomphe. The concept was inspired by the “Golden Era of Advertising” in the 50s and 60s, and the whole “Mad Men” aesthetic. So there was a lot of material to draw from and inform the design of this iconic site.
Her advice for current students:
My main advice for current students would be to really try to get any working experience you possibly can as early as you can. I know this is not always easy but there is just so much you can only learn from working within a real studio or firm.
Also to use your time in school to learn as many 3D programs while you have access to a variety of technology and people who know how to use it. What software each studio uses is always changing so it’s less about trying to be an expert in everything and more about learning how to learn new software quickly and on the job.
Finally I think if I could go back, I would use my time in school to take more risks with design concepts. While you always have to maintain an element of realism, you have your whole professional career to compromise to client briefs and all sorts of constraints, use this time to train your creativity instead.
The UTSA CACP Distinguished Alumni Awards were introduced at the college’s 15-Year Celebration in Spring of 2017 and are now awarded annually as part of the CACP’s Scholarship Banquet each fall semester. Distinguished alumni are nominated by faculty, vetted through a faculty committee, and voted on by faculty.