Excerpts from the 2009
Design Awards Winners' Submissions
Commercial Design: First Prize
Inger Bartlett, ASID
Bartlett Associates
Toronto, ON Canada
Client: FUEL Advertising, Inc.
Design Intent:
A strongly-branded WOW space on a shoestring budget for FUEL Advertising
Client Objectives:
• The mandate was to deliver a creative and engaging message—a hip style to motivate employees and attract new hires and a strong creative statement to engage clients
• Tight budget considerations demand a high degree of creativity for FUEL’s loft-style space in an early 1900s industrial warehouse
Program Requirements & Design Challenges:
• Powerful Main Reception Area with Branding
• Boardroom/Presentation Area
• Alcoves for Client Services
• Executive Offices
• Open Creative Space
• Lounge/Café
“The new space exceeds my expectations, and that’s significant because the bar was pretty high. We wanted a place for big ideas but intimate ways of working and, of course, everything for nothing. This was our first every opportunity to discover the FUEL brand within our environment. We remain excited by our space!” Cyndy Carruthers, President, FUEL Advertising, Inc.
Commercial Design: Honorable Mention
Doug Bullock, ASID
Bullock Associates
Toronto, ON Canada
Client: Hewitt Associates
Design Intent:
Create a new downtown flagship consulting office & energize the business. The client wanted an inspirational and collaborative environment to complement their corporate culture & to accommodate various working styles. Our strategy was to create a workplace that exuded a professional, high-energy atmosphere, with an urban edge.
Client Objectives:
To announce to clients and associates that they are a key player in the market & growing—therefore attracting & retaining the top talent.
Program Requirements & Design Challenges:
• To locate all private offices along the exterior windows, while maximizing the natural light available.
Solution:
• Incorporated full glass fronts on all exterior private offices
• Located informal collaborative spaces along exterior walls
• Utilized asymmetry and variety in order to keep the user stimulated throughout the space—in the diversity of formal and informal collaboration spaces, application of finishes, furnishings, ceiling details and lighting features
Hospitality Design: First Prize
Zoriana Dunham, ASID
King & King Architects, LLP
Syracuse, NY
Client: SUNY Oneonta Br@in Café
Design Intent:
Renovate an under-utilized section of a student dining hall and transform it into a trendy late-night café and lounge area.
Client Objectives:
This project is the prototype and test pilot for a new café brand called the “Br@in Café” which serves healthy “brain food.” The concept was developed by students and the campuses food services vendor.
Program Requirements & Design Challenges:
• Design centers around a “wave” theme which was derived from the idea that Healthy Brain Food = Healthy Brain Waves. This theme is carried through a number of elements including carpet, wall tile, texture in translucent panels as well as dynamic ceiling design
• As the defining and most dynamic element in the space, the ceiling design reinforces the central theme.
• The inverted, cone-shaped soffit is located over the coffee bar symbolizing the source for the brain food. Twinkling LED fixtures symbolize sparks from brain activity and the curved metal fabric symbolize brain waves
Hospitality Design: Honorable Mention
Susan Mole, FASID
Cohos Evamy Integratedesign
Toronto, ON Canada
Client: 145 King St. Retail Concourse
Design Intent:
Create a fresh, spacious, modern and orderly destination for existing and potential tenants, PATH (city’s underground walkway) travelers, shoppers and tourists.
Client Objectives:
Building image was being dragged down by a tired, 15-year old, 14,460 sf retail concourse. Objective was to rejuvenate the boring, bland, uninspiring and one-dimensional quality of the concourse areas.
Program Requirements & Design Challenges:
• Project had phasing implementation for least disruption to users, tight budget and the discovery of a severely deteriorated subflooring which resulted in a 4 week construction delay
• Replaced fussy, dated details with stainless steel column covers, back-painted glass panels, sophisticated light fixtures, new porcelain tile flooring
• Created attractive, strategic, low-energy lighting scheme
• Design solutions reduced environmental impact, increased dining area capacity 15%, improved traffic flow and accessibility, enhanced ease of maintenance, and reduced crime risk
Residential Design: First Prize
Fred B. Hershey, FASID
Burlingame Interiors
Loudonville, NY
Client: Guest House Kitchen
Design Intent:
Create a kitchen in 67 sf space which would appear aesthetically clean and uncluttered when viewed through the open doorway from the adjacent living space
Client Objectives:
A fully equipped kitchen installed in a guest house
Program Requirements & Design Challenges:
• Significant challenges were the amount of equipment the client wanted—full sized refrigerator, oven, cook top, hood, dishwasher, double sink, garbage disposal, large microwave and maximum storage and counter space—within a space with a 7’ ceiling with 25% of the square footage under the slope of the roof
• Articulated pullout racks permitted the entire utilization of corner storage
• A wall to wall light valance beneath the cabinets washes light over the deep relief pattern of hand made tiles
• Typhoon granite complements the paneling in the adjacent living room while the lighter wood cabinets and soft warm tones of the tiles provide a bright ambience for the small space
Residential Design: Honorable Mention
Alex Chapman, ASID
Chapman Design Group
Toronto, ON Canada
Client: Concord Adex, City Place
Design Intent:
Spanning 44 acres, this multi-phase condo project is downtown Toronto’s largest development in history. The location is vibrant and appealing even after business hours, offering a lifestyle that is dynamic and where creativity is omnipresent. Designer’s role was to act as consultant in the design of the amenity spaces, including all lobbies, corridors, event rooms and indoor recreation facilities.
Client Objectives:
Create three separate identities, one for each building, that are unique but still carry a common, linking aesthetic throughout—sleek sophistication
Program Requirements & Design Challenges:
• Public art is incorporated in the interiors as a way to create and reinforce a sense of community, as well as, connect with the exterior streetscape
• Large volumes are given human scale by introducing social furniture groupings and bold swaths of color
• Light is used as both a sculptural and a way-finding element
• Budget objectives changed during the construction process and so cost effective materials were employed with interesting details
• Restrained use of luxury materials creates memorable focal points and reduces stress on the budget
Student Design: First Prize
Kirby Meindl, Student ASID
Syracuse University
Project: Inhabitots
Background:
What will retail in the year 2030 look like?
How will we integrate retail stores with online shopping and blogs?
Inhabitots.com is an online blog for eco-minded parents to discover, review and discuss sustainable products. Readers and bloggers participate in a dynamic web-based form of product interaction without physically interacting with the products.
Project Statement:
The Inhabitots concept store is a 3,630 sq ft interactive retail environment that engages the digital world of online shopping with the tangible experience of product interaction.
• Visitors to the store are able to experience regional products and upload their experiences to the Inhabitots blog, thus connecting digital to the physical.
• Each retail location houses only regional products, thus reducing the amount of energy needed to transport merchandise from the source to the user.
• A flexible display system of recycled metal and wood can be easily adapted to any location and provides adaptability for constantly changing merchandise needs.
• Soft colors and shapes keep the space child-friendly while maintaining an exciting and dynamic experience.
Student Design: Honorable Mention
Jessica Ekblaw, Student ASID
Cornell University
Project: Giantmicrobes
No descriptive text provided—see submission