Formed in 1983, the Design Council of Saskatchewan – a voluntary organization -– is the collective voice of six professional associations each representing a design discipline: architecture, community planning, engineering, graphic design, interior design and landscape architecture. Established to promote public awareness of applied design, DCS hosts a biennial Design Week in the month of November, in Saskatoon; held in conjunction is the Premier’s Awards of Excellence in Design.
All award entries must be designed in Saskatchewan by Saskatchewan personnel and completed within a two-year period prior to Design Week. They’re displayed to the public throughout the week. A jury – composed of invited guess from the Speakers Series plus one representative form each member association -– evaluates entries on criteria appropriate to each category. At the conclusion of Design Week, a gala evening is held, where a professional designer from each association is presented with an award.
Design Week 2011 ended with the Mixer @ the Market: all entries had been on display at the Saskatoon Farmer’s Market during the week, and it was here the winners were announced.
The big winner of the evening was Stantec, with three awards: in the Interior Design category, an Award of Excellence for Studio FIAT, in Saskatoon, and an Award of Merit for the renovation of the Ramada Hotel, in Regina; and in the Collaborative category, an Award of Excellence for River Landing Pedestrian Linkage, in Saskatoon. “This is the second consecutive year that Stantec’s Saskatoon Interior Design Group has received the Premier’s Award of Excellence in Design,” says Rebecca Stewart, one of its members. “These awards are something our team is very proud of and excited about because they recognize the innovative work we’re doing in Saskatchewan.”
The runner-up was HDH Architects, with two awards: in Architecture, an Award of Excellence for Meadow Lake Courthouse, in Meadow Lake; and in Interior Design, an Award of Merit for Saboroso Brazilian Steakhouse, in Saskatoon.
Three other Awards of Excellence were given out during the evening: to Crosby Hanna & Associates for River Landing Riverfront – Phase One, in Saskatoon (Landscape Architecture); to Ryan Schmidt of Sparrowhouse for his ScotDance Canada 2010 logo (Graphic Design); and to the city of Saskatoon for Public Spaces, Activity and Urban Form Strategic Framework (Community Planning).
To view a full list of award recipients, visit designcouncil.sk.ca.