Vancouver firm mcfarlane green biggar architecture + design (mgb) received top honours at the 37th annual awards gala hosted by the International Interior Design Association on June 13 in Chicago. Recognized with two of the six winning entries selected from more than 300 projects nominated from around the world, mgb’s creative interiors for Vancouver-based Lynn Steven boutique were chosen by the IIDA judges as this year’s Best in Competition.
“In the context of such fantastic award-winning projects from around the globe, this recognition is a huge honour for us,” says mgb architect and principal Michael Green. “The Lynn Steven design reflects a really unique moment in time, where the challenges of the economy and the environment have intersected. We hope the project contributes to a quiet movement in the design world that inspires the reuse of materials and celebration of inventive modesty.”
Nominees for the Annual Interior Design Competition were judged for suitability of design to the project challenge, originality of the design solution, and the successful integration of interior finishes and furnishings.
mgb is known for its less-is-more approach to architecture and interiors, and the firm often uses reclaimed or repurposed materials and buildings in its work. It was this philosophy that caught the IIDA judges’ eyes when reviewing the interiors for Lynn Steven, a new boutique in Vancouver’s historic Gastown neighbourhood. The modest project utilizes existing heritage interiors as inspiration. An eye-catching “book column” made from 5,600 recycled pocket novels with pages faced outwards mimics the brick wall interior; it serves a dual purpose of providing privacy as a changing room, while acting as a focal point that draws many a passerby into the shop.
Of the six winning entries, mgb’s design for the Rennie Gallery + Offices at Wing Sang in Vancouver was also recognized by the IIDA judges at the 37th Annual Interior Design Competition. This year’s winners also include NBBJ for Dubai Mall Medical Center, Dubai, UEA; UNStudio in Amsterdam for MUMUTH Music Theatre, Graz, Austria; and STUDIOS Architecture in Beverly Hills for Guess? Inc. Headquarters, Los Angeles.