2026 ARIDO Awards Winners

Zinnia Bookwala is an ARIDO certified Interior Designer and currently a Construction Manager at Allied Properties REIT. She brings over a decade of experience across interior design, construction management and project delivery in Canada, India and the GCC. Zinnia is also committed to advancing diversity and supporting internationally trained professionals within Canada’s design industry. Zinnia is the founder of CANDID (Canadian Association for Newcomers and Diversity in Interior Design) and also serves as Committee Leader, Grants & Funding at SPAN-EA, where she champions mentorship, inclusion and meaningful pathways for newcomer success.

Dyonne Fashina is Founder and Principal Designer at Denizens of Design; an Interior Design Studio specializing in public and commercial spaces centered around building community – including spaces for dining, gathering, working, relaxing, learning, and creating. The aspect of community in her work begins with the design process itself. Her practice was built on the strength of collaboration and partnerships, working with independent practitioners, small and large firms on projects of all scales. Evolving to its present-day form as a small but reliable permanent team; bolstering the continued goal of strategic partnerships and community by design.

Dyonne’s starting point is always the identity and history of each space, foregrounding cultural sensitivity and partnering with local makers. Deep research and empathy in her design strategy bring quantifiable business value to every project. Dyonne thrives on finding meaningful connections to inspire everyone involved throughout the design process. She designs with compassion for the human experience, creating spaces that are not only thoughtful, but thought-provoking.

Tracy Ho has spent her career exploring how spaces shape human experience. After two decades as an interior designer in workplace, hospitality, and healthcare, she expanded into AudioVisual integration at Aligned Vision Group, where video, sound, and controls become another layer of the design itself. She works with interior designers and architects to bridge their creative vision with technical execution, shaping experience-driven environments and complex venues.

She’s an ARIDO award winner and advocate, Vice President of the Retail Design Institute Canada, and a recent judge for the RDI International Design Awards. She speaks for Women in Lighting and supports interior design programs as a guest speaker at schools.

Outside of work, Tracy performs and organizes live music events—a creative outlet that mirrors her professional one: to make people feel something when they enter a space, and remember it when they leave.

Alexandra Palmer is a Registered Interior Designer with dual degrees in Business and Interior Design, bringing a strategic, practical, and human-centred lens to the built environment. Registered with ARIDO and IDIBC, she brings broad project experience across local, national, and global contexts.
As an Associate and Interior Design Discipline Lead at O4 Architecture, Alexandra contributes through design leadership, project delivery, technical coordination, stakeholder engagement, and construction administration. Her work spans workplace, public sector, commercial, civic, hospitality, aviation, and community-focused interiors, with a particular interest in complex environments where design, operations, accessibility, wellness, and long-term functionality intersect.
Her portfolio includes government workplace transformations, courthouse and public-sector projects, aviation retail and hospitality environments, community spaces, and commercial interiors. With WELL AP and LEED Green Associate credentials, Alexandra approaches interiors as both a creative and strategic discipline, designing spaces that support people, communities, organizational performance, wellbeing, and operational success through thoughtful design decisions.

Stanley Sun’s vision is informed by a unique blend of formal studies in human sciences, fine arts and interior design. Approaching each challenge with a combined scientific and humanistic perspective, he first observes how people experience and react to the built environment to create a rational and intuitive design solution. Of particular interest to Stanley’s practice is the science of light and the physiological and psychological response people have to light. As an advocate for Canadian design, Stanley has been published widely and has participated as a keynote speaker at leading design conferences. He is also a sessional instructor at his alma mater, Toronto Metropolitan University.