8th Annual Best of Canada Design Competition
Canadian Interiors welcomes you once again to the yearly showcase of award-winning
submissions for the Best of Canada Design Competition. As the only competition
in Canada focusing on interior-design projects and products without restrictions
of size, budget or location, we invite submissions from interior designers,
architects, interior architects, decorators, crafts people and students.
This year we felt we reached a new level in terms of quality of entries.
Our panel of judges, meeting in a Designers Walk boardroom in Toronto in May,
had to set extremely high standards to come up with 14 project and six product
winners. All submissions were presented anonymously. To avoid conflict of interest,
judges left the room when the category containing any entry they may have been
involved with came up for consideration.
We thank Roy Banse, furniture designer and the owner of showroom and retailer
Fluid Living; Doug Bullock, head of his eponymous interior design firm, Bullock
Associates; Corrine Drobot, design director at seating manufacturer Arconas;
Mike Niven, head of Mike Niven Interior Design; and Caroline Robbie, associate,
Alsop Architects – all of Toronto. Architect Renée Daoust, partner, Daoust Lestage,
and product designer Colin Schleeh, of Schleeh Design, are based in Montreal.
Will Alsop heads his self-named architecture firm in London, England.
Speaking of Will Alsop, his presence lent the lustre of an internationally
acclaimed architect to our judging team (his witty Ontario College of Art and
Design, created in collaboration with Toronto’s Robbie/Young + Wright, brings
smiles to passersby). He also brought the critical eye of someone with a transatlantic
point of view. So we took advantage of his distanced perspective to ask that
perpetually pertinent question: Is there a distinctive Canadian design style?
“From my point of view, Alsop said, “we didn’t see anything today that’s particularly
Canadian, except for the woody look of some projects. But I don’t think there’s
anything particularly English or French in the design world today, either, unless
you’re talking about new versions of old-style products like tweed or brogues.
Today, all designers look at the same Web sites and read the same magazines.
The whole notion of the vernacular is a seriously flawed idea.”
These winning entries were featured in an exhibition at the Design Exchange
in Toronto, Sept. 21 to Oct. 9; the winners were honoured at a gala reception
at the Design Exchange Sept. 23.
Projects
Best
of show: Residential
Sunset Cabin, Lake Simcoe, Ontario
Taylor Smyth Architects, Toronto
Best
of show: Institutional
Collège Jean-de-Brebéuf Library, Montreal
Beaupré Michaud Architectes,
Dupuis LeTourneux Architectes, Montreal
Best
of show: Retail
Boutique Shan, Laval, Que.
Daoust Lestage, Montreal
Project
Winner
11 Baldwin Street house, Toronto
Johnson Chou, Toronto
Project
Winner
Art collector’s house, Toronto
Hariri Pontarini, Toronto
Project
Winner
Bensimon Byrne, Toronto
Teeple Architects, Toronto
Project
Winner
Blue Mountain house, Collingwood, Ontario
3rd Uncle Design, Toronto
Project
Winner
Bronte, Montreal
Optima Design, Montreal
Project
Winner
Cedarvale house, Toronto
Taylor Smyth Architects, Toronto
Project
Winner
Grafic for Men, Woodbridge, Ontario
Johnson Chou, Toronto
Project
Winner
Malibu at Harbourfront Sales Office, Toronto
Mike Niven Interior Design, Toronto
Project
Winner
St. Joseph Media headquarters, Toronto
Teeple Architects and Superkül Inc. Architect, Toronto
Project
Winner
Tea Shop 168, Toronto
Dialogue 38, Toronto
Project
Winner
The Orange Room, Toronto
Munge/Leung Design, Toronto
Products
Best
of show: Products
Unfold paper products
Unfold Studio, Toronto
Product
Winner
Ensalada salad set
Scott Henderson, Mint Inc., New York, for Umbra, Toronto
Product
Winner
Box side chair
Massie Office, Calgary
Product
Winner
Do-Do salt and pepper shakers
Costantino Studio, Toronto
Product
Winner
Fold table
Jonathan Crinion, Toronto, for Keilhauer, Toronto
Product
Winner
Zig Zag magazine and newspaper fixtures
Fiorino Design, Toronto
Judges
Judges
page
Canadian Interiors thanks the judges of the 8th Annual Best of Canada Competition