💛 Against All Odds: GiGi’s Playhouse Portland Honored for Design Excellence During Down Syndrome Awareness Month

This October, as we celebrated Down Syndrome Awareness Month, GiGi’s Playhouse Portland received a very special honor from the Oregon Chapter of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) — the “Against All Odds” Award at the 2025 Design Excellence Awards!

The award recognizes spaces that demonstrate creativity, resilience, and collaborative spirit — and our Playhouse community embodies all three.

🏠 A Space Built from Heart, Hope, and Community

Unlike most award entries designed with large budgets and paid teams, the GiGi’s Playhouse Portland facility was built almost entirely through donations, volunteer labor, and community partnerships.

From the very beginning, our start-up team — including the talented architect Sermin Yesilada of Sosyal Architecture — dreamed big and worked tirelessly to turn that dream into a beautiful, welcoming space for people of all abilities.

The jurors were moved by the creativity and resourcefulness behind our Playhouse’s design—proof of the get-it-done attitude and collaborative spirit of GiGi’s volunteers.

🌟 Designed by the Community, for the Community

Every part of our Playhouse tells a story of generosity:

• Furniture donated by Nike Headquarters brings durable comfort and style.
• A stage built by The Home Depot Foundation, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Portland, sets the scene for performances and free programming.
• A joyful painting titled “A Happy Day at GiGi’s” by professional artist Charlie French (who has Down syndrome) adds color and artistic inspiration to our walls.
• Volunteer-designed donor walls honor the generous households and organizations that continue to keep us running.

These contributions — and so many more — reflect what makes GiGi’s Playhouse Portland unique: it’s truly a community-built space for belonging.

As award juror Derek Chen shared:

“…Connecting with the community and finding all these vendors and consultants and partners to donate, whether it was furniture, artwork, materials, to come together and provide such a beautiful space for people with Down syndrome… It really showed off the cooperative nature of [the interior design] industry.”

💪 Against All Odds

Receiving the “Against All Odds” Award feels especially meaningful during Down Syndrome Awareness Month.
After all, the odds of being born with Down syndrome are about 1 in 800… And the people who walk through our doors are anything but ordinary.

At GiGi’s Playhouse, we see every day how our participants, families, and volunteers bring extra effort, extra love, and extra determination to everything they do. That “extra” is what makes our community so extraordinary.

This award is a celebration of everyone who helped make our dream a reality — from Sermin, Niki, and the start-up team to every volunteer, donor, and family who fills our space with creativity, kindness, and connection.

💜 Thank You, Oregon!

Thank you to the Oregon Chapter of the IIDA for recognizing the spirit of GiGi’s Playhouse Portland.
And thank you to everyone who continues to make our Playhouse a place where people of all abilities can grow — against all odds.

By the way, that ADA-accessible kitchen is about to be put to use for GiGi’s Kitchen for Teens & Adults in January 2026! Interested in helping people with Down syndrome develop their independence through cooking? Fill our our volunteer interest form!