The 2019 FORM Student Innovation Competition invites, for the first time in Quebec, interior design and architecture students to put their creativity to work by designing furniture pieces for “resi-mercial” spaces that showcase Formica® Brand products, to have the chance to win cash prizes, international recognition and have their work showcased in a public exhibit. The 2019 FORM Student Innovation Competition is open for entries through December 10, 2018.
The students are challenged to create a “resi-mercial” furniture design using Formica® Brand products that embody this growing design trend, blurring the line between residential and commercial spaces. The distinguished panel of industry and design professionals who will judge the work of today’s up-and-coming talent include Leanne Ford, interior designer and star of “Restored by the Fords” on HGTV, Tristan Butterfield, chief creative officer at Baker Interiors Group, Jaime Velez, former director of interior design at SOM, Renee Hytry Derrington, global design lead at Formica Group and Steven Matijcio, curator for the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati.
“As we continue to see the line between commercial and residential design blur, with residential spaces inspired by hospitality settings and office and health care environments designed to feel like home, we are excited by the emergence of the “resi-mercial” trend,” Renee Hytry Derrington said. “I can’t wait to see what today’s talented students will envision in their entries.”
The grand prize winner will receive a $1,500 cash award, and their design will be created and displayed at an unveiling event at the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center on March 22nd, 2019. The second-place winner will be awarded $1,000, and the third- place winner will receive $500. All prices are in US dollars.
Rachel Marie Thompson, “Deflextion”
“I am so excited to see how students interpret the new wave of “resi-mercial” design,” Leanne Ford said. “In reality, this is a style that has been around for years and will continue well into the future, but now it has a name. I love that these rising design students will undoubtably have an impact on how it continues to evolve as they jump into their careers. I am thrilled and honored to be part of this competition.”
The FORM Student Innovation Competition is inspired by the original iteration of this competition held in 2008, in which the company invited 10 world-renowned designers and architects including Velez, Zaha Hadid, Michael Graves, Bernard Tschumi and Massimo Vignelli, among others, to create works of art from Formica® Brand products. Their designs, which ranged from domestic pieces to conceptual sculptures, were then exhibited at the Contemporary Arts Center.
The 2019 FORM Student Innovation Competition upholds the spirit of the original challenge, but now students are invited to express their creativity in these designs, showing attention to detail, inventive design and a unique point of view.
More information about the 2019 FORM Student Innovation Competition is available here.