The night before IIDEX, late in September, the Association of Registered Designers of Ontario announced the winners of its prestigious annual awards program, during a gala dinner at Toronto's Liberty Grand.
The ARIDO Awards recognize excellence, innovation and creativity in the province's interior design industry. Total awards this year numbered 28: Project of the Year; 11 Awards of Excellence; 14 Awards of Merit; and two Awards of Merit + Awards of Merit: Sustainable Design.
The big winner of the evening was Toronto-based firm Yabu Pushelberg for work on Printemps Haussmann, the iconic department store in Paris. Principals George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg pushed the boundaries of what a department store can be, creating "rooms" -- carefully crafted to evoke a residential ambience - with walls made of metal frames for transparency. The impressive volume of the atrium creates an opening that visually connects the three floors from the core of the building. "ARIDO takes pride in the international scope of Canadian design," says ARIDO president Elisa Petersen. "Printemps Haussman is a retail project like no other, pairing classic grandeur with modern simplicity."
Winners of multiple awards (including at least one Award of Excellence) number four: Burdifilek, with three Awards of Excellence; Quadrangle Architects Limited, with two Awards of Excellence; II BY IV Design Associates, with one Award of Excellence and two Awards of Merit; and Bennett Design Associates, with one Award of Excellence and one Award of Merit + Award of Merit: Sustainable.
Winners of the remaining Awards of Excellence number three: B+H Architects, Stephen R. Pie Architect Inc., and Helene Makowka Design Associates.
"The association heartily congratulates all award recipients," says Petersen. "The commitment to design excellence strengthens ARIDO's position as the guardian of the highest standards for interior design in both the public and private realms."
To view the full list of winners, visit arido.ca and click on Awards.