Design Exchange, Canada’s Design Museum, in partnership with Nespresso, has announced Toronto’s Lilly Otasevic and her Break~Wave proposal as the winner of the Grand Cru/ation design competition. Otasevic’s winning work will be manufactured and on display at Union Station beginning November 11, as part of the museum’s ongoing DX Satellite program.
The Competition
This Summer, designers, artists, architects, engineers and innovators were invited to rethink, rework, and re-imagine the conventional coffee break for this new design competition. Entrants were challenged to submit proposals for a sustainable, aluminum structure to encourage the recycling of Nespresso capsules, which are made of aluminum, a material that is infinitely recyclable.
Proposals were evaluated by a panel of judges that included award-winning architect Janna Levitt from LGA Architectural Partners; interior installation artist Pascale Girardin; designer Alessandro Munge of Studio Munge; architect Manon Asselin of Atelier TAG; Osmington’s Brad Keast; Nespresso Marketing and e-commerce Vice-President, Sylvie Charette; and Shauna Levy, President and CEO of Design Exchange.
The Winning Work
Inspired by the form of Nespresso capsules, Break~Wave, is a low-lying round bench topped with an undulating surface that mimics the organic properties of Nespresso’s velvety smooth coffee.
“This is an elegant solution, the design merges the seating experience with the flow of traffic, within a busy commute. The design responds well to the brand while adding a personal, human touch,” says jury member Pascale Girardin.
Break~Wave will be manufactured in colourways representing the Nespresso Grands Crus: Linizio, Arpeggio, Odacio, and will be on display at Union Station in the newly renovated West Wing. Passersby are encouraged to interact with the structure, to pause and take a moment to rest while enjoying a hot cup of Nespresso amid the hustle and bustle of urban life.
“Lilly’s proposal displays a subtle playfulness in offering a quiet moment during a hurried journey within a hectic space,” says Brad Keast, vice-president of development at Osmington, the company overseeing the Union Station revitalization.
The Winner
Born is Serbia, Lilly Otasevic studied in Belgrade and has had her work exhibited across Canada, the United States, and the Middle East. Otasevic has always been interested in ecology and the environment, which translates into her work where she uses various sustainable and reclaimed materials to create a variety of design pieces. She has completed several large-scale public art sculptures and industrial design projects in Ontario.
The Exhibition
The Grand Cru/ation exhibition opens November 11, 2016 and will be on view until January 3, 2017. Grand Cru/ation is the latest DX Satellite installation – a Design Exchange initiative that delivers and shares cultural experiences beyond the bricks and mortar of the museum building. Previous DX Satellite initiatives have included Jordan Söderberg Mills’ Anaglyphic Mirrors at June’s Luminato Festival, and 2015 exhibitions: 3DXL – A Large-Scale 3D Printing Exhibition; and Smarter. Faster.Tougher. – An Exhibition on Sports, Fashion + Tech in Toronto’s Distillery District.
