On November 25, Canadian design projects from across the country were recognized as the best in class at a gala awards ceremony at the Design Exchange. The historic Stock Exchange Trading Floor made not only an aesthetically beautiful, but also a highly relevant location for a design competition that factors in the economic impact of each winning project.
Design Exchange Awards (DXAs) were judged by representatives of businesses such as Canadian Tire, CTV, Harry Rosen, GTAA, Toronto Hydro, Tridel and Shoppers Drug Mart, along with delegates from the design community. Judges chose award winners based on function, profitability, aesthetics, innovation, accessibility and sustainability. There are twelve categories spanning a number of design disciplines from architecture, to fashion, to visual communications.
The 2008 winners are:
Architecture – Commercial
Best of Category – Daoust Lestage Inc, Quai des Cageux
Award of Excellence – Levitt Goodman Architects, Peel Youth Village
Award of Excellence – MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects, South Oshawa Community Centre
Award of Merit – Kleinfeldt Mychajlowycz Architects Inc, Fire & Emergency Service Training Institute
Award of Merit – Manasc Isaac Architects + Sturgess Architecture, The Water Centre
Award of Merit – Stantec Architecture Inc, Peterborough Regional Health Centre
Architecture – Residential
Best of Category – Levitt Goodman Architects, Levitt Goodman House
Best of Category – Reigo + Bauer, 12 Cassels
Award of Excellence – Kohn Shnier Architects, Prefab Cottage for Two Families
Award of Excellence – Page + Steele Architects, 112 St Clair Avenue West
Award of Merit – Paul Raff Studio, Cascade House
Engineering
Award of Excellence – Davco Solutions Inc, Twin-Cut Sawmill
Award of Excellence – Ground Effects Environmental Services Inc, EK3 Electrokinetic Salt Remediation System
Award of Merit – CVT Corp, VariGen
Award of Merit – Shape Products, Pyramat Foldable Video Game Rocker
Award of Merit – Spark Innovations Inc, Pulsating Power Toothbrush
Award of Merit – Sport Systems Unlimited Corporation, Heavy-Duty Industrial Aluminum Saw Horse
Apparel/Fashion Design
Award of Merit – Gillian Batcher, Hollow Series
Award of Merit – Andrew Majtenyi, Cozy Cape
Industrial Design
Best of Category – Contexture Design, As the Crow Flies
Award of Excellence – Lumolar, Baby Fish Tide
Award of Excellence – Ninutik Maple Sugar, Sugar Bush
Award of Merit – AQUAOVO, OVOPUR
Award of Merit – Prototype Design Lab, Cloud Chandelier
Award of Merit – Shape Products, Homedics Mini Massager Series
Interior Design – Commercial
Best of Category – Kasian, Kasian Toronto Office
Award of Excellence – Gow Hastings Architects Inc, Humber Music Production Facility and Recording Studio
Award of Excellence – Seeton Shinkewski Design Group, VANOC Office Headquarters
Award of Merit – Bartlett & Associates Design Saatchi & Saatchi Toronto
Award of Merit – Gow Hastings Architects Inc, Ryerson Student Information and Advising Centre
Award of Merit – Splyce Design, Salari
Interior Design – Residential
Best of Category – Dubbeldam Design Architects, Cabbagetown Residence
Award of Excellence – Cecconi Simone, Private Residence
Award of Excellence – Smith Vigeant Architects, Loft Encadrex
Award of Merit – Fleur-De-Lis Interior Design, One King West
Award of Merit – Sustain Design Studio, miniHome SOLO
Interior Design – Temporary or Portable
Best of Category – Chase International, Clear Spirit Marketing Centre
Award of Excellence – Reich + Petch Design International, Butterflies + Plants: Partners in Evolution
Award of Excellence – Kantelberg Design, Queen & Portland Model Suite
Award of Merit – Cecconi Simone, Charlie Sales Centre
Award of Merit – Chapman Design Group, Liberty Market Lofts – Sales Centre
Award of Merit – Kantelberg Design, 1 Bloor Presentation Lounge
Landscape Architecture
Best of Category – PLANT Architect Inc, Boustrophedon Garden
Best of Category – space2place design inc, Garden City Park Play Environment
Award of Excellence – Daoust Lestage Inc, Thematic Gardens – Promenade Samuel-De Champlain
Award of Merit – PWL Partnership Landscape Architect Inc, Southeast False Creek Waterfront – Phase 1
Urban Design
Best of Category – Daoust Lestage Inc, Promenade Samuel-De Champlain
Award of Excellence – Office for Urbanism, Heart of Our City Master Plan
Award of Excellence – Urban Strategies Inc, Cornell University Comprehensive Campus Master Plan
Award of Merit – Du Toit Allsopp Hillier, Corktown Footbridge
Award of Merit – space2place design inc, Spirit Trail – City of North Vancouver
Visual Communications – Brand & Identity
Best of Category – Subplot Design Inc, Kasian Architecture Brand Identity
Award of Excellence – Ion Design, GBL Identity Refresh
Award of Excellence – Perennial Inc, Aisle 43 – Reinventing Vineyard Estate Wines
Award of Merit – LEAP Advertising, Freedom Pictures Brand Identity Program
Award of Merit – lg2boutique, Stripes Branding
Visual Communications – Content Development & Editorial
Best of Category – Seed9, Art vs Commerce – The Creative Industry Series
Award of Excellence – belladonna communications, Canadian Greatness
Award of Excellence – Borxu Design, Galerie Art
Award of Merit – Bleu Blanc Rouge, Aquaovo
Award of Merit – Clear Space Design & Communications Inc., The Madison Group Vision Brochure
Award of Merit – ERA Architects, Concrete Toronto
Canadian Company or CEO with the Best Design Strategy
Wayne Fyffe, Past President and CEO, Credit Valley Hospital, Carlo Fidani Peel
Regional Cancer Centre
DX Staff Choice
Lapointe Architects, Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Factory
The DXAs celebrate Canadian design and offer designers an opportunity to showcase their work to an influential business audience. The DXAs demonstrate how Canadian design not only benefits the domestic economy, but also international business with projects by Canadian designers, both at home and around the world. By focusing on the importance of good Canadian design in order to promote good business, the DXAs emphasize that design is essential to a successful, flourishing national economy.
Design Exchange Awards are sponsored by Audi, Aeroplan and the Fairmont Royal York. Winners will be announced in the December issue of Canadian Business Magazine, the presenting sponsor of the DXAs.
Winning projects are being featured in a major exhibition in the DX Exhibit Hall, at 234 Bay Street, Toronto, from November 26 2008 to March 22, 2009. For further information, visit www.dx.org/dxa