Setting the mood, MC Lucia Cesaroni – an opera singer who has performed on the world’s most lauded stages – serenaded the crowd. And our Guest of Honour, the landscape architect Julie Bargmann, spoke of the ideals that she returns to again and again in her groundbreaking projects.

And AZURE Editor Elizabeth Pagliacolo introduced the audience to our next big event: the Human/Nature conference, taking place October 24 and 25 at the George Brown Waterfront Campus.

Journey Through Geometry, this year’s featured gala installation, was created by Safoura Zahedi. The reflective fractal sculpture reflects the architect-artist’s yearlong research into the prevalent patterns of Islamic architecture.

The winners of the AZ Awards 2024 took home a trophy designed by juror Evan Jerry, of Studio Anansi, made with upcycled marble sourced from architecture project offcuts.

Throughout the Brick Works, the AZ Awards partners – Alumilex, Keilhauer and Cosentino – and sponsors Technogym and Colombo showed off new offerings, which guests could explore while enjoying special wines from Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Stratus Vineyards.

Among the guests of the AZ Awards 2024 Gala was Stanley Sun of Mason Studio (centre)

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Stratus provided the fine wines that guests enjoyed during the Gala.

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The team of Cosentino, an AZ Awards Gala partner.

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Artist-curator (and AZ Awards Gala volunteer) Lukus Toane and architect Anna Kao.

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Members of the AZURE team, from left to right: Sophie Sobol, Sydney Shilling, Kendra Jackson, Elizabeth Pagliacolo, Brian Wong, Conner Palomba, Tori Rapp, Mahasti Eslahjou and Stefan Novakovic.

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A guest photographing Journey Through Geometry, Safoura Zahedi’s installation.

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Architect-artist Safoura Zahedi with MCM’s Michael Kovalcik.

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Technogym showed off its latest fitness machines.

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Colombo’s various hardware styles were also on view.

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A guest happily seated on Keilhauer’s Lull lounges.

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Among the evening’s winners, Lateral Office, Teeple Architects and the Inuit Design Advisory Council took home the award for Best Concept; Lateral’s Lola Sheppard accepted the award.

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The team of Frontier accepted the award for Best in Experiential Graphic Design.

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University of Cambridge student Xidian Wang won the Best in Social Good category for her project, New Domesticity.

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Temitope Akinsiku, centre, led the team that won the A+ Student Award for Sabon Gida, Sabon Farko – “Home After Crisis”.

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Partisans, represented by Teddy Shropshire, won the People’s Choice in Lighting Schemes for Toronto restaurant Gusto 501.

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WXY’s Claire Weisz (middle) and Farida Abu-Bakare (right) received a People’s Choice award for their Palaver Bench; later in the evening, they won both the PC nod and the jury award in Environmental Leadership for RISE UP, a land stewardship project in Queens, NY.

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PUBLIC WORK took home the award in Urban Design, Unbuilt Developments for its Steelport vision for Hamilton.

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Nick Savage (Superkül and MCM) with architects Neno Kovacevic (Arcadis) and Uros Novakovic (Office OU).

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The team of Vogt, one of the Gala sponsors.

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The team of Dark Tools, one of the Gala sponsors.

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Tiktok’s Karen Kang, DesignAgency’s Allen Chan and his spouse, Allison McColeman.

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Lightform’s COO Bobby Buchkowsky and account executive Kaitlin Hegarty.

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Jenna Allain and Bahar Ghaemi, the Creative Director of Products at Yabu Pushelberg, which took top prize in the Single-Piece Furniture category.

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PR powerhouses Lisa Barnes and Lindsay Singer.

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Bellosound provided the tunes as the party continued into the night.

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The 2024 AZ Awards is presented by Alumilex, Cosentino and Keilhauer and sponsored by Colombo Design America and Technogym. Gala sponsors are George Brown College’s Brookfield Sustainability Institute, Dark Tools, Landscape Forms, Scavolini and  Vogt.

Media Partners: Archello, ArchDaily, Archilovers, Archinect, Archiproducts, The Architect’s Newspaper, Architonic, Bustler, Design Week Mexico, v2com newswire and World-Architects.

The post Scenes from the AZ Awards 2024 Gala appeared first on Azure Magazine.

WINNER IN BUILDINGS OVER 1,000 SQM

Ferrocarril de Cuernavaca 780 by HEMAA, Mexico City, Mexico

People’s Choice

The Urban Monument | Qujiang Museum of Fine Arts Extension by Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, Xi’an, China

WINNER IN BUILDINGS UNDER 1,000 SQM

Neil Campbell Rowing Centre by MJMA Architecture & Design and Raimondo + Associates Architects, St. Catherines, Canada

People’s Choice

La Escondida Chapel by Apaloosa Estudio de Arquitectura y Diseño and Walter Flores Arquitecto, La Garza, Mexico

WINNER & PEOPLE’S CHOICE IN HOUSES

Copas by PPAA, Valle de Bravo, Mexico

People’s Choice (*two PCs in this category!*)

Shenandoah House by Schaum/Shieh Architects, Lexington, U.S.

Award of Merit

Reciprocal House by Gianni Botsford Architects, London, U.K.

WINNER & PEOPLE’S CHOICE IN MULTI-UNIT RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

Edificio Tonalá 15 by CRB Arquitectos, Mexico City, Mexico

Awards of Merit

Mercado Groningen by De Zwarte Hond and Loer Architecten, Groningen, Netherlands

Highnote by Studioninedots, Almere, Netherlands

WINNER IN TEMPORARY AND EXPERIENTIAL INSTALLATIONS

Divergence by Thomas Cheney Architects with Sputnik Architecture, The Forks Renewal Corporation, DVW Bobcat and Fête Jockey Events, Winnipeg, Canada

People’s Choice

Orchid Pavilion by CCA Centro de Colaboración Arquitectónica | Bernardo Quinzaños, Puerto Escondido, Mexico

WINNER IN ADAPTIVE RE-USE

Incision | Nantou City Guesthouse by Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, Shenzhen, China

People’s Choice

Nanyang Old Town Public Space Renewal by YFS, Ningde, China

Award of Merit

Pumphouse by 5468796 Architecture, Winnipeg, Canada

WINNER IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

Benjakitti Forest Park – Transforming a Brownfield into an Urban Ecological Sanctuary by Turenscape with Arsomsilp Landscape Studio, Bangkok, Thailand

People’s Choice

The Opera Park by Cobe, Copenhagen, Denmark

WINNER IN FURNITURE, SINGLE-PIECE

Ollie Collection by Yabu Pushelberg for Glas Italia

People’s Choice

The Palaver Bench by WXY architecture+urban design with SITU, Design Trust for Public Space, (UN)COMMON and Baida Canada

Awards of Merit

Limbo Chair by Hlynur Atlason with John Edelman and Andrew McPhee for Heller

Sunset Lounger by Robin Delaere for Pebl

WINNER IN FURNITURE SYSTEMS AND COLLECTIONS

Material Studies – Rugosa by Johann Pauwen and Michaele Simmering for Kalon Studios

People’s Choice

Libelle by Khodi Feiz for Studio TK

Award of Merit

Semiton by García Cumini for Arper

WINNER AND PEOPLE’S CHOICE IN LIGHTING FIXTURES

Africa by Francisco Gomez Paz for Vibia

Awards of Merit

Konoha by Yabu Pushelberg for Marset

14p by Omer Arbel for Bocci

WINNER IN LIGHTING SCHEMES

Department 57 Bar & Club by DA Bureau with Yarko Lighting Design, Saint Petersburg, Russia

People’s Choice

Gusto 501 by Partisans, Toronto, Canada

WINNER IN INTERIOR PRODUCTS

Sport by Patricia Urquiola for Kvadrat

People’s Choice

Milo by Cité Arquitetura for Eliane Revestimentos

Awards of Merit

Aurora by Calico

Corde Collection by Ronan Bouroullec for Kvadrat

WINNER AND PEOPLE’S CHOICE IN ARCHITECTURAL PRODUCTS

Textures Collection by 3form

Awards of Merit

Venezia by Venini by Matteo Thun and Antonio Rodriguez for Fantini

002 Collection by Alexander Dornbracht, Julianne Gietzen, Coralee Sandee and Carlee Benzie for Kallista

Rainstick Shower by RainStick Shower

WINNER IN COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL INTERIORS

Artifact Bar by NC Design & Architecture, Hong Kong, China

People’s Choice

Inside/Outside | Jisifang & Woven Moonlight by Neri&Hu Design and Research Office

Awards of Merit

Department 57 Bar & Club by DA Bureau with Yarko Lighting Design, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Lee Restaurant by Futurestudio and Bent Gable Design, Toronto, Canada

WINNER IN RESIDENTIAL INTERIORS

Liminal House by McLeod Bovell, Vancouver, Canada

People’s Choice

House Caroline by Reign Architects, Toronto, Canada

Awards of Merit

Matski House by ZROBIM Architects, Minsk, Belarus

Brooklyn Mass Timber House by Schiller Projects, Brooklyn, U.S.

WINNER AND PEOPLE’S CHOICE IN CONCEPTS

Nunavut Inuit Heritage Centre by Lateral Office and Teeple Architects with the Inuit Design Advisory Council, Iqaluit, Canada

People’s Choice (*two PCs in this category!*)

Warmth of the Wood Pile by Cornecelli, Winnipeg, Canada

Awards of Merit

Housing the Unhoused by SvN with Two Steps Home and CABN, Toronto, Canada

Nunavut Inuit Heritage Centre by Dorte Mandrup

WINNER IN EXPERIENTIAL GRAPHIC DESIGN

Ontario Court of Justice by Frontier Design, Toronto, Canada

People’s Choice

Chitose Techno Park by Motive, Chitose, Japan

WINNER AND PEOPLE’S CHOICE IN BUILT DEVELOPMENTS

Pumphouse by 5468796 Architecture, Winnipeg, Canada

Awards of Merit

Die Macherei München by HWKN with Ochs Schmidhuber Architekten and M3 Architekten, Munich, Germany

Knight’s Park by Alison Brooks Architects, Cambridge, U.K.

WINNER IN UNBUILT DEVELOPMENTS

Steelport by PUBLIC WORK office for urban design & landscape architecture, Hamilton, Canada

People’s Choice

Downsview Framework Plan by Henning Larsen, SLA, KPMB Architects, Urban Strategies, BA Group, Ramboll, Purpose Building, Third Party Public, Department of Words and Deeds, Nbisiing Consulting, Monumental Projects, Future Simple Studio, Northcrest Developments, Canada Lands Company, Transsolar and ARUP, Toronto, Canada

Awards of Merit

University Park by PUBLIC WORK office for urban design & landscape architecture, Toronto, Canada

WINNER AND PEOPLE’S CHOICE IN INFRASTRUCTURE AND INTERVENTIONS

High Line – Moynihan Connector by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Field Operations, New York City, U.S.

Awards of Merit

Kendall/MIT Gateway by NADAAA, Cambridge, U.S.

Hydroelectric Power Plant Töging by Robert Maier Architekten, Töging, Germany

WINNER AND PEOPLE’S CHOICE FOR A+ STUDENT AWARD

Sabon Gida, Sabon Farko – “Home After Crisis“ by Temitope Akinsiku, University of Manitoba, North East Nigeria

Awards of Merit

Gateway to Onomichi by Oonagh Davis, Harvard University Graduate School of Design

New Domesticity – The Shared Life of Low-Income Single Mother Families in Tokyo by Xidian Wang, University of Cambridge

WINNER AND PEOPLE’S CHOICE FOR SOCIAL GOOD

New Domesticity – The Shared Life of Low-Income Single Mother Families in Tokyo by Xidian Wang, University of Cambridge

Award of Merit

RISE UP: Community Coastal Stewardship in the Rockaways by WXY architecture+urban design, Queens, U.S.

WINNER OF ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP

RISE UP: Community Coastal Stewardship in the Rockaways by WXY architecture+urban design, Queens, U.S.

People’s Choice

Parks in Action by Centre for Landscape Research – University of Toronto/Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada

Awards of Merit

Restoring Downstream by Angavu Architecture, Indigenous Nation of Quapaw, Oklahoma, U.S.

Sport by Patricia Urquiola for Kvadrat

Congratulations to all!

The 2024 AZ Awards is presented by Alumilex, Cosentino and Keilhauer and sponsored by Colombo Design America and Technogym. Gala sponsors are George Brown College’s Brookfield Sustainability Institute, Dark Tools, Landscape Forms, Scavolini and  Vogt.

Media Partners: Archello, ArchDaily, Archilovers, Archinect, Archiproducts, The Architect’s Newspaper, Architonic, Bustler, Design Week Mexico, v2com newswire and World-Architects.

The post AZ Awards 2024: Meet the Winners! appeared first on Azure Magazine.

The 14^th edition of the AZ Awards Gala will take place at Toronto’s Evergreen Brickworks on Friday, June 21. Winners, including the People’s Choice, will be revealed and celebrated in company of colleagues and designers from around the world. 

The 2024 AZ Awards Gala is an opportunity to meet, mix and mingle with local and international finalists and our Guest of Honour, renowned landscape architect and educator Julie Bargmann, the first-ever recipient of the Oberlander Prize — a Pritzker-level honour bestowed by the Washington, D.C.-based Cultural Landscape Foundation. 

What to expect at the AZ Awards Gala:

6:30pm-8pm

• Meet Guest of Honour, renowned landscape architect and educator, Julie Bargmann, the first-ever recipient of the Oberlander Prize – a Pritzker-level honour bestowed by the Washington, D.C.-based Cultural Landscape Foundation
• Make connections with top local and international architects and designers
• Get to know the AZ Awards finalists and winners and their work
• Experience spectacular and engagin installations by AZ Awards partners
• Enjoy delicious food and drinks

8pm-9pm

• Take your seat at the stage and share the excitement of the big reveal as winners are announced

Post ceremony

• The celebration continues with music, drinks and dessert.

Get your tickets now and fête the very best in international architecture, landscape, interiors, products, concepts and ideas. Tickets include admission to the Gala, as well as dinner, drinks and a one-year subscription to AZURE Magazine.

A portion of Gala ticket proceeds will be donated to the Nelda Rodger Bursary for Indigenous Students.

The 2024 AZ Awards is presented by Alumilex, Cosentino and Keilhauer and sponsored by Colombo Design America and Technogym. Gala sponsors are Dark Tools, George Brown College’s Brookfield Sustainability Institute Dark Tools, Landscape Forms, Scavolini and  Vogt.

Media Partners: Archello, ArchDaily, Archilovers, Archinect, Archiproducts, The Architect’s Newspaper, Architonic, Bustler, Design Week Mexico, v2com newswire and World-Architects.

The post 2024 AZ Awards Gala appeared first on Azure Magazine.

This year’s impressive field of submissions was evaluated by Piero Lissoni, Tosin Oshinowo, Evan Jerry, Jennifer Keesmaat, Wanda Dalla Costa, Hector Esrawé, Julie Bargmann, Shirley Blumberg, Sidhartha Talwar, and Alex Holloway. And you can have your say too! Public voting for our People’s Choice awards is now open and runs until May 17.

Winners, including the People’s Choice, will be revealed at the 2024 AZ Awards Gala, taking place at Toronto’s Evergreen Brickworks on June 21. Super early bird pricing is in effect until April 21! A portion of Gala ticket proceeds will be donated to the Nelda Rodger Bursary for Indigenous Students.

Gianni Botsford Architects: Reciprocal House, London, U.K.

SCHAUM/SHIEH: Shenandoah House, Lexington, Virginia, U.S.

PPAA: Copas, Valle de Bravo, Mexico

De Zwarte Hond and Loer Architecten: Mercado Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

Studioninedots: Highnote, Almere, The Netherlands

CRB Arquitectos: Edificio Tonalá 15, Mexico City, Mexico

Neri&Hu Design and Research Office: Incision | Nantou City Guesthouse, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China

YFS: Nanyang Old Town Public Space Renewal, Ningde, Fujian Province, China

5468796 Architecture: Pumphouse, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

HEMAA: Ferrocarril de Cuernavaca 780, Mexico City, Mexico

Neri&Hu Design and Research Office: The Urban Monument | Qujiang Museum of Fine Arts Extension, Xi’an, Shanxi Province, China

Apaloosa Estudio de Arquitectura y Diseño: La Escondida Chapel, La Garza, Chiapas, Mexico

MJMA Architecture & Design | Raimondo + Associates Architects: Neil Campbell Rowing Centre, St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada

Thomas Cheney Architects: Divergence, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Centro de Colaboración Arquitectónica (CCA): Orchid Pavilion, Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico

Dorte Mandrup: Nunavut Inuit Heritage Centre, Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada

SvN: Housing the Unhoused, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Lateral Office with Teeple Architects: Nunavut Inuit Heritage Centre, Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada

CORNECELLI: Warmth of the Wood Pile, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Fantini: Venezia by Venini with Matteo Thun & Antonio Rodriguez

3form: Textures Collection by 3form Design Team

RainStick Shower: RainStick Shower

Kallista: 002 Collection

Yabu Pushelberg: Ollie Collection

Robin Delaere: Sunset Lounger

WXY architecture + urban design: Palaver Bench

Heller: Limbo by Hlynur Atlason

Kalon Studios: Material Studies — Rugosa

Studio TK: Libelle by Khodi Feiz

Arper: Semiton by García Cumini

Cité Arquitetura: MILO

Kvadrat: Sport by Patricia Urquiola

Kvadrat: Corde Collection by Ronan Bouroullec

Calico Wallpaper: Aurora

Vibia: Africa by Francisco Gomez Paz

Bocci: 14p by Omer Arbel

Yabu Pushelberg: Konoha

DA BUREAU: DEPARTMENT 57 Bar & Club, Saint-Petersburg, Russia

PARTISANS: Gusto 501, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

MOTIVE Inc: CHITOSE Techno Park, Chitose, Hokkaido, Japan

Frontier Design Inc: Ontario Court of Justice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

DA BUREAU: DEPARTMENT 57 Bar & Club, Saint-Petersburg, Russia

NC Design & Architecture Limited: Artifact Bar, Hong Kong

Futurestudio: Lee Restaurant, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Neri&Hu Design and Research Office: Woven Moonlight | Jisifang Boutique Panlong Store, Shanghai, China

McLeod Bovell Modern Houses: Liminal House, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

ZROBIM Architects: MATSKI HOUSE: the architect’s less is more residence, Minsk, Belarus

Schiller Projects: Brooklyn Mass Timber House, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

Reign Architects Inc: House Caroline, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Turenscape: Benjakitti Forest Park: Transforming a Brown Field into an Urban Nature, Bangkok, Thailand

COBE: The Opera Park, Copenhagen, Denmark

Robert Maier Architekten: Hydroelectric Power Plant Töging, Bavaria, Germany

NADAAA: Kendall/MIT Gateway, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Field Operations: High Line – Moynihan Connector, New York, U.S.

5468796 Architecture: Pumphouse, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Alison Brooks Architects: Knight’s Park, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, U.K.

HWKN Architecture: Die Macherei München, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Henning Larsen, KPMB Architects, SLA, Urban Strategies Inc: Downsview, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PUBLIC WORK: Steelport, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

PUBLIC WORK: University Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Xidian Wang (University of Cambridge): New Domesticity: The Shared Life of Low-Income Single Mother Families in Tokyo

Oonagh Davis (Harvard University): Gateway to Onomichi

Temitope Akinsiku (University of Manitoba): Sabon Gida, Sabon Farko – ‘Home After Crisis’

Angavu Architecture: Restoring Downstream, Indigenous Nation of Quapaw, Ottawa County, Oklahoma, U.S.

WXY architecture + urban design: RISE Up: Community Coastal Stewardship in the Rockaways, Queens, New York, U.S.

Centre for Landscape Research – University of Toronto / Toronto Metropolitan University: Parks in Action, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Kvadrat: Sport by Patricia Urquiola

Xidian Wang (University of Cambridge): New Domesticity: The Shared Life of Low-Income Single Mother Families in Tokyo

WXY architecture + urban design: RISE Up: Community Coastal Stewardship in the Rockaways, Queens, New York, U.S.

***

The 2024 AZ Awards is presented by Alumilex, Cosentino and Keilhauer and sponsored by Colombo Design America and Technogym. Gala sponsors are George Brown College’s Brookfield Sustainability Institute, Dark Tools, Landscape Forms, Scavolini and  Vogt.

Media Partners: Archello, ArchDaily, Archilovers, Archinect, Archiproducts, The Architect’s Newspaper, Architonic, Bustler, Design Week Mexico, v2com newswire and World-Architects.

The post AZ Awards 2024: Meet the Finalists! appeared first on Azure Magazine.

This is an opportunity to meet, mix and mingle with local and international finalists and our Guest of Honour, renowned landscape architect and educator Julie Bargmann, the first-ever recipient of the Oberlander Prize — a Pritzker-level honour bestowed by the Washington, D.C.-based Cultural Landscape Foundation. 

Get your tickets now and fête the very best in international architecture, landscape, interiors, products, concepts and ideas. Super Early Bird pricing is in effect until April 21.

The AZ Awards is a celebration in three acts:

• 6:30pm-8pm: Enjoy delicious food + wine
• 8pm-9pm: Take your seat at the stage and share the excitement of the big reveal as winners are announced
• Post ceremony: The celebration continues with music, drinks and dessert.

Tickets include admission to the Gala, as well as dinner, drinks and a one-year subscription to AZURE Magazine. Buy yours now!

A portion of Gala ticket proceeds will be donated to the Nelda Rodger Bursary for Indigenous Students.

The 2024 AZ Awards is presented by Alumilex, Cosentino and Keilhauer and sponsored by Colombo Design America and Technogym. Gala sponsors are Dark Tools, George Brown College’s Brookfield Sustainability Institute Dark Tools, Landscape Forms, Scavolini and  Vogt.

Media Partners: Archello, ArchDaily, Archilovers, Archinect, Archiproducts, The Architect’s Newspaper, Architonic, Bustler, Design Week Mexico, v2com newswire and World-Architects.

The post 2024 AZ Awards Gala: Super Early Bird Tickets Available! Now! appeared first on Azure Magazine.

Now celebrating its 14th edition, the annual AZ Awards celebrates the best in architecture, landscape architecture, interiors, design and more from around the world. Our jury of 10 architecture and design luminaries will adjudicate the entries. They are: Piero Lissoni, Julia Bargmann, Evan Jerry, Jennifer Keesmaat, Shirley Blumberg, Wanda Dalla Costa, Héctor Esrawe, Alex Holloway, Tosin Oshinowo, and Sidhartha Talwar.

The 2024 AZ Awards is presented by Keilhauer, Cosentino, and Alumilex, and sponsored by Colombo Design America and Technogym. Gala sponsors are Dark Tools, Scavolini, George Brown College’s Brookfield Sustainability Institute, Vogt and Landscape Forms.

Media Partners: Archello, ArchDaily, Archilovers, Archinect, Archiproducts, The Architect’s Newspaper, Architonic, Bustler, Design Week Mexico, v2com newswire and World-Architects.

If you haven’t done so already, submit your best work now to the AZ Awards at awards.azuremagazine.com.

The post AZ Awards 2024: Deadline Extended! appeared first on Azure Magazine.

With our AZ Awards 2024 jury recently announced — submissions are open until February 23! — we’re taking a look back at 13 years of design inspiration, showcasing a memorable winner from every past edition. While choosing just one entry from each year left out many of our favourites, the selections speak to the breadth — and evolution — of both the AZ Awards program and the design industry itself. (And along the way, they highlight a few Canadian treasures that confidently take their place on the global stage.)

If you haven’t done so already, submit your best work now to the AZ Awards 2024 at awards.azuremagazine.com.

In its inaugural year, the AZ Awards bestowed its Best Commercial Building honour onto Long Studio, an artists’ retreat that heralded the renaissance of Fogo Island, then being transformed into a cultural site by the indefatigable Zita Cobb. Designed by Todd Saunders, who was born in Gander, Newfoundland, but practices in Bergen, Norway, the slender structure – clad in blackened rough-sawn pine and internally lined in whitewashed spruce – is anchored to its craggy site on one end while, opposite, its ocean-facing facade floats above the terrain on a series of stilts. These characteristics would be amplified by the Fogo Island Inn, to be completed not too long thereafter – but the Long Studio still stands on its own (stilts and all) as an example of the local vernacular celebrated in sophisticated form.

Stepping into a diamond-shaped funeral chapel made entirely of concrete, you might assume that its interior would be just as heavy and imposing as its exterior. Yet, the interior of Sunset Chapel by BNKR Arquitectura in Acapulco, Mexico, is remarkably light and open, with built-in pews facing a glass wall and transparent crucifix that align with the setting sun, bathing mourners in a divine pool of colour and light. Juror Brigitte Shim of Shim-Sutcliffe Architects described this winner of Best Commercial Architecture under 1,000 square metres best when she said, “It’s spiritual, raw and powerful — quite an accomplishment when concrete is your only material.”

Viewed in the wake of the pandemic, the 195 white circles on the lawn at Frankfurt’s Städel Museum may at first evoke the social distancing markers that were a fixture of many city parks circa summer 2020. But get a little bit closer, and the sloped field’s graphic accents reveal themselves to be something far more exciting: The circles are actually UV-resistant skylights, carrying daylight down into a subterranean museum extension buried underground to preserve the institution’s limited green space. (Slip-resistant ceramic frits keep the apertures safe to walk or sit on, allowing the space to maintain its appeal as a park.)

Granted, the apparent simplicity of this scheme masks a lot of behind-the-scenes complexity. Downstairs, Bonn-based lighting design firm Licht Kunst Licht devised an array of LEDs powered by dynamic sensors that respond to the shifting weather conditions up above — bolstering the basement’s glow during cloudy days, or taking over entirely at night. (Louvers can also be activated to block out daylight entirely if light-sensitive canvases are on view.) But perhaps what’s most impressive is how seamlessly the light emitted by the ceiling’s LEDs and that passing through its skylights are blended together. Credit the textile layer installed just below the LEDs, which evens everything out into a dreamy, diffuse glow. Hence this praise from our 2013 juror Todd Bracher (of Todd Bracher Studio): “There is a logic and beauty to the idea of taking sunlight and allowing it — not forcing it — into a gallery space, and letting the time of day and seasonal changes be part of the experience.

At first glance, the U Turn Chair might appear to be any ordinary tub chair. But Vancouver designer Niels Bendsten’s rigorous less-is-more approach is what ultimately won him the AZ Award for Best Furniture Design. “I’ve seen a lot of furniture that is over-exaggerated and over-animated. U Turn is just the opposite. It has phenomenal proportioning and style that will stand the test of time,” said 2014 juror Diego Burdi. Its tapered, tulip-shaped form lends elegance to the often-stumpy typology, while the smooth 360-degree rotation that gives the chair its name takes cues from the auto industry. Boasting form and function in equal measure, the design is the perfect marriage of Bendtsen’s “Danish sensibility for refined craftsmanship and his Canadian pragmatism.” At a time when design trends seemingly change by the minute, U Turn remains a timeless piece that would suit any contemporary interior, even a decade after its initial release.

Social housing can often be treated like just another box to check — a chance to meet a moral obligation, rather than to explore a real design opportunity. With the Oiseau des Îles residences, Antonini Darmon flipped this idea on its head, creating a grid-patterned façade that looks like a giant game of tic-tac-toe capped off by a sharply angled roofline. Back in 2015, this architectural scheme managed to establish an elegant landmark all the while also delivering a comfortable, empowering environment for its residents in Nantes, Frances. Indeed, the design allows each of its occupants to play an active role in reshaping it on the fly over the course of each day. By opening or closing the full-height perforated aluminum shutters along the building’s exterior hallways, residents gradually fill in or reveal some of the building’s boxes — keeping the blocky façade forever in motion.

The interiors are just as dynamic, with a range of unit configurations devised to suit both single dwellers and families. At ground level, a bank of timber-clad garages and shops add warmth while blending into the wooden boardwalk that borders the Loire River. Along with being commendable for its beauty, the project was also celebrated for its sustainability. (In addition to its thoughtful yet affordable material palette, the residence is equipped with an array of solar panels.) Our 2015 juror Philippe Malouin was particularly impressed, saying “Not enough good architecture is dedicated to housing projects. When someone takes the time to pay proper attention and care, that needs to be underlined and celebrated.”

Retail design evolves quickly. Just eight years later, interiors from 2016 can feel like a bygone era, rooted in a bygone set of fleeting trends. The best design, however, transcends shallow aesthetic signifiers yet nonetheless embodies its time and place. In Shanghai, Rossana Hu and Lyndon Neri‘s striking space for the Comme Moi fashion brand achieves a timeless quality through its sensitive adherence to spatial and cultural context. Within the concrete husk of an Art Deco hotel, the local designers conjured a new milieu of brass, metal mesh, terrazzo, and oak flooring.

A striking brass banister frames the perimeter, with shelves, mirrors and displays ingeniously suspended below. The careful interplay of textures and materials creates a warm and cohesive space — one that resolves the aesthetic dichotomy between Art Deco flourishes and raw concrete walls. It’s a perfect home for the brand’s elegantly unfussy garments. And, as juror John Tong put it, “[It] is a perfect balance of contemporary style and old-world luxury.”

Dazzling dotted lights dancing across a Montreal sky bridge. That’s what we remember from the 2017 lighting installation winner: CHUM Passerelle by CannonDesign and NEUF Architect(e)s. But the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre’s elevated glass passageway is so much more than a simple shortcut between two facilities, it is both a vital link between buildings and a powerful work of art. With 197, 838 punctured holes that allow for dappled, natural light during the day and embedded LED lights at night, CHUM Passerelle lights up what might have been an uninteresting walkway — from dusk till dawn.

Nearly seven years after it opened its doors, the Hariri Pontarini-designed Casey House, a hospital for people living with HIV and AIDS, is an enduring paragon of architecture that embodies social good. Grafting a contemporary new addition onto a restored Victorian mansion on Jarvis Street, the architects greatly expanded the care centre’s ability to serve its clientele while crafting a space imbued with all the intimacy, warmth and comfort of a residential setting. Its quilt-like façade comprises crust-faced limestone, brick and tinted bronze glass that maintains patient privacy while still evoking the organization’s ethos of transparency. “In the eighties, during the HIV crisis, there was a huge stigma – as there is today – around HIV, and our facility was in the shadows of this community,” Joanne Simons, Casey House’s CEO, told us in our initial coverage of the project. “Nearly 30 years later, we’re making a very bold statement. We’re not hiding anymore.”

A perfect embodiment of the beauty that can be found in contrasts, the Officina sofa harmoniously pairs rugged wrought iron with soft-to-the-touch upholstery. Originally designed for Magis in 2017 by French brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec (well before the two’s recent decision to explore individual creative pursuits), Officina relies on ancient metal forging techniques to shape its iron frame, effectively celebrating the perfectly imperfect nature of hand-wrought industrial craftsmanship. The surprisingly slender framework wraps up and around both the back and sides, elegantly embracing the sumptuous cushions in such a way that they almost appear to be hovering midair. Carefully composed to be attractive when approached from all angles, Officina is at once modern and timeless, sensible yet a little extravagant – and it was all these well-considered and original details that caught the eye of our 2019 jury and garnered it the top award for Best in Design: Furniture. 

Toronto-based architecture firm Gh3* has proven time and again that infrastructure can — and should — be as beautiful as it is functional. Its design for Edmonton’s Borden Park Natural Swimming Pool is no exception. At its completion in 2018, the project marked a milestone as Canada’s first chemical-free outdoor pool and only the second of its kind in North America. At the north end of the pool, a “constructed wetland” filled with stones, gravel, sand, flora and Zooplankton improves the water quality while evoking the local landscape. The second natural filtration system — along with changerooms and staff areas — is housed in a low-slung, austere building that runs along the pool’s southern edge. Meanwhile, the concrete deck slopes gradually into the water, an accessibility strategy that formally nods to a beach’s sandy shoreline. Not only is the pool easier and less costly to maintain than its conventional counterparts, its thoughtful design, which renders visible the process of water treatment, makes it a true standout.

Leave it to Matty Matheson. Together with designers and long-time collaborators Castor Design — led by Brian Richer and Kei Ng — the iconic Toronto restaurateur has created a new culinary classic: Matheson Cookware reinvents the iconic cast-iron skillet through a series of subtle yet remarkably thoughtful design gestures. Most notably, the lip of the pan is gently raised where it meets the knurled handle, facilitating an easy way to collect sauce when the skillet is raised and tilted. Meanwhile, the elongated handle creates a safe and comfortable distance between the chef and open flame, while a matching lid seamlessly transforms the skillet into a dutch oven.“This understated piece takes an object that’s been around and reinvents it in such a way that it feels fresh, right down to its well-considered details,” said Juror Paul Filek.

In our Landscape Architecture category, Beijing-based Turenscape are serial winners. Widely recognized as a leading global practice, the firm – led by Kongjian Yu — boasts an extensive portfolio of ecologically regenerative and aesthetically striking environments. Yet, none captured our attention quite like Nanchang’s Fish Tail Park, which reinvents the site of a former fish farm as a flood-proof archipelago full of tree species that can survive fluctuating water levels. On a site where nearby power plants dumped mountains of coal ash, the designers mixed the waste material with dirt to create a new ecosystem of lakes and islets. It’s also a haven for the public, thanks to the striking angular geometry of walkways and viewing platforms that rises just above the landscape.

If architects and developers are serious about reducing the carbon loads of their buildings, they need to act boldly. This project, by the always ingenious 3XN, pushes the possibilities of adaptive re-use as far as they can go. It essentially grafts a new building to an existing tower’s core, reducing the need for demolition and saving some 12,000 metric tons of concrete in the process. Awarded by a jury including Lawrence Scarpa, who noted “It sends a big message to developers who are quick to tear buildings down and start from scratch,” Quay Quarter Tower also demonstrates that working with an existing structure need not preclude the creation of uplifting spaces: the building comprises five volumes stacked around a series of atria and includes external terraces that allow access to outside space from the podium all the way to the roof.

The 2024 AZ Awards is presented by Keilhauer, Cosentino, and Alumilex, and sponsored by Colombo Design America and Technogym. Gala sponsors are Dark Tools, Scavolini, George Brown College’s Brookfield Sustainability Institute, Vogt and Landscape Forms.

Media Partners: Archello, ArchDaily, Archilovers, Archinect, Archiproducts, The Architect’s Newspaper, Architonic, Bustler, Design Week Mexico, v2com newswire and World-Architects.

The post AZ Awards 2024: A Look Back at 13 Years of Design Excellence appeared first on Azure Magazine.

If you haven’t done so already, submit your best work now to the AZ Awards at awards.azuremagazine.com.

Julie Bargmann is internationally recognized as a leader in the design and building of regenerative landscapes as well as a rigorous, adventuresome educator. She founded D.I.R.T. studio in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1992 to execute projects with the passion, vision, and unflinching honesty that define her unique style. Bargmann’s work hews to themes of economy of means, neighbourhood connections, respect for site histories, and above all a love of the landscape — specifically, the existing and often former industrial landscape.

Highly regarded for her versatility and hands-on approach, Bargmann received her BFA in sculpture at Carnegie Mellon University before earning her Masters in landscape architecture at Harvard. Amongst numerous national awards received for DIRT work, Bargmann became the inaugural recipient of the Cornelia Oberlander International Prize in Landscape Architecture. Simplicity of form, use of extant materials, and deliberate restraint are hallmarks of her evocative and authentic landscapes.

One of Canada’s most respected practitioners, Shirley Blumberg is a founding partner of KPMB Architects and a Member of the Order of Canada for her contributions to architecture and community. She has designed many of the firm’s noteworthy and award-winning projects, which range in typology and scale – from architecture and interiors to planning and sustainable strategies. These include the Julis Romo Rabinowitz and Louis A. Simpson International Building at Princeton University; the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre and Ponderosa Hub, both at the University of British Columbia (UBC); Ottawa’s Global Centre for Pluralism for the Aga Khan Foundation of Canada; the Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan; and the recently completed Harrison McCain Pavilion for Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Social justice projects have been a core focus of Blumberg’s practice. She has designed affordable housing projects for Toronto Community Housing Corporation, affordable student housing at UBC, and prototypical housing for the northern Indigenous community of Fort Severn. She continues to work on the intensification of suburban neighbourhoods with affordable midrise housing. Inspired by the Order of Canada’s recognition – they desire a better country – Shirley began a conversation with like-minded colleagues that became BEAT (Building Equality in Architecture Toronto), a grassroots initiative to promote equality for women and minorities in the profession; today there are chapters across Canada. She has also led the firm’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) initiative, now a framework for policy and practice at KPMB.

Wanda Dalla Costa is a member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation. Her firm, Tawaw Architecture Collective has offices in both Phoenix and Calgary. At Arizona State University, she is the director and founder of the Indigenous Design Collaborative, a community-driven design and construction program that brings together tribal community members, industry and a multidisciplinary team of ASU students and faculty to co-design and co-develop solutions for tribal communities. Her teaching and research are focused on Indigenous ways of knowing and being, co-design methodologies, sustainable design, and the resiliency of vernacular architectures.

Dalla Costa received an Honorary Doctorate in 2023 from Athabasca University. In 2022, she was also recognized as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada, and in 2019, she was recognized as a YBCA 100 recipient by the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, a list which celebrates people, organizations, and movements shifting culture through ideas, their art, and their activism.

Portrait by Alejandro Ramirez Orozco

Héctor Esrawe is a prolific furniture and interior designer, architect, academic and entrepreneur, living and working in Mexico City. Esrawe has a great ability to simply but abstractly transform the shape and expression of natural materials, while being nurtured by Mexico’s rich artisan heritage, aiming for a timeless and honest creation. Since 2013, Esrawe has created unique and limited-edition pieces; his works are part of numerous private collections, as well as permanent collections at the High Museum of Atlanta.

He also co-founded many design institutions, including the nomadic gallery MASA, the experimental glass-making collective VISSIO, the evocative EWE Studio, and – of course – his own design and architecture practice, Esrawe Studio, which he launched in 2003. Esrawe studied industrial design at the Universidad Iberoamericana (UIA), where he would eventually become a design professor; he ultimately established the Industrial Design Degree as Design Director at Centro Study House in Mexico City before starting his own firm.

Alex Holloway is the founding director of interior architecture studio Holloway Li, based in London and Hong Kong, where he is responsible for overall creative output and design direction. Specializing in the hospitality, residential and workplace sectors, the cross-cultural studio works with forward-thinking brands across the globe to develop lasting experiences. It draws from the rich visual worlds of cinema, theatre and art to combine future-facing strategic insight with fine-tuned delivery to craft experience-led, multi-sensory spaces. With a purpose driven approach and fascination for material alchemy, the studio melds an eclectic mix of high and low cultural references for clients – playing with distortion, reflection and light to transmute the simplest material into unexpected tactile states.

Holloway Li’s portfolio to date spans a hotel in London’s Bermondsey, a rooftop extension for The Hoxton, an experiential showroom in Clerkenwell, a large-scale hotel in Munich, a coach house in Mayfair and Co-Living haven in Wembley. Prior to establishing his practice with Na Li, Holloway realized numerous projects at Michaelis Boyd, John McAslan+Partners, Pernilla Ohrstedt, and Perkins&Will.

Evan Jerry founded Studio Anansi, based in Nova Scotia, in 2018 in order to represent a reflection on modernity with a nod to the Afrocentric elements that have been missed or masked in contemporary design. The studio’s sculptural and architectural storytelling alludes to Jerry’s Caribbean heritage and global education, and the name Anansi is a direct reference to West African and West Indian folklore. A prominent figure in West African and Caribbean folklore, Anansi is known for taking the form of a spider and is revered as the god of storytelling and knowledge. Evan’s childhood exposure to Anansi’s tales and his global adventures equipped him with a profound tool to interpret the world, gaining a unique perspective on culture and storytelling while furthering his curiosity to understand our connections.

As a prolific design partner to CB2, Jerry served as Creative Director of the Black in Design collection, mentoring designers throughout the design and development process; he has also collaborated on furniture collections with TRNK NYC and Sight Unseen.

Jennifer Keesmaat is an urban planner named one of the “most powerful people in Canada” by Macleans, one of the “most influential” by Toronto Life, one of the top Women of Influence in Canada, and one of the 100 most influential urbanists of all time by Planetizen Magazine. She spent half a decade as Toronto’s Chief City Planner, where she was celebrated for her forward thinking and collaborative approach to city-building. Today, Keesmaat is President and CEO of Collecdev-Markee, developing new communities across the GTA as sustainable, liveable places that prioritize access to high quality, affordable housing.

A Distinguished Visitor in Residence Emeritus at the University of Toronto, Keesmaat continues to share her vision for cities of the future, through her WEBBY Award–winning podcast, Invisible City. Keesmaat is the Chief Architect of the 2020 Declaration for Resilience in Canadian Cities, which is a blueprint for adapting cities post Covid19 that has been adopted by cities around the world. She is on the Advisory Board of the Urban Land Institute, Toronto, and is appointed to the International Panel of Experts, Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority. Keesmaat is on the Board of Directors for May Mobility and is on the President’s Planning and Growth Advisory Board and Design Review Panel for Ohio State University.

Portrait by Veronica Gaido

One of the masters of contemporary design, Piero Lissoni is an architect, art director and designer. For over 30 years, he has developed projects the world over in the fields of architecture, landscape and interiors, as well as in product and graphic design. He is also art director for Alpi, B&B Italia, Boffi, Living Divani, Lema, Lualdi, Porro and Sanlorenzo.

Some of his most important architecture and interior projects deserving of mention include the Dorothea Hotel in Budapest (2023), the AKA hotel in New York (2023), the Shangri-La Shougang Park in Beijing (2021) realized for the 2022 winter Olympics, the Ritz-Carlton Residences in Miami Beach (2020), the Grand Park Hotel in Rovigno, Croatia (2019), the restyling of the historic Camparino in Galleria Bar in Milan (2019), The Middle House for the Swire Hotels Group in Shanghai (2018), the residential projects One Paraiso and Grand Paraiso in Miami (2018), The Oberoi Al Zorah Beach Resort Ajman in the UAE (2017), the interiors of a series of yachts for Sanlorenzo (2017-2020), the Conservatorium Hotel in Amsterdam (2012), the renovation of the historic Teatro Nazionale in Milan (2009), in addition to the corporate headquarters of Boffi, Glas Italia, Fantini, Living Divani and the Sanlorenzo shipyards in La Spezia and Ameglia.

Piero Lissoni has received a series of international awards, including the Good Design Award, the Red Dot Award and the Compasso d’Oro ADI.

Portrait by Spark Creative

Tosin Oshinowo is a Lagos-based Nigerian architect and designer. The founder and principal of Oshinowo Studio, which she formed in 2013, Oshinowo has worked on a number of civic, commercial and residential projects throughout the country. She is renowned for her insights into socially responsive approaches to architecture, design and urbanism. One of her key designs is a project with the United Nations Development Programme to build an entirely new community in northern Nigeria for a village displaced by Boko Haram. Her work also spans the conceptual sphere, where it embodies a contemporary perspective on the next generation of African design, innovation, and afro-minimalism. She partnered with Lexus on conceptual design explorations for Design Miami/ 2020 and co-curated the second Lagos Biennial in 2019.

Before founding Oshinowo Studio, she worked in the offices of Skidmore Owings & Merrill in London and the Office of Metropolitan Architecture Rotterdam, where she was part of the team that designed the 4th Mainland Bridge proposal in 2008. Upon returning to Lagos, she practiced at James Cubitt Architects and led on notable projects, including the corporate head office building for Nigeria LNG in Port Harcourt.

Portrait by Noughts and Crosses

Sidhartha Talwar is co-founder of and Principal at Studio Lotus, a New Delhi-based multi-disciplinary design practice. Spanning the domains of master planning, architecture and interior design, the work of the award-winning practice is grounded on the principles of “conscious design” – an approach that celebrates local resources, cultural influences, an inclusive process, and keen attention to detail. Talwar leads the architecture and master planning initiatives for the practice, working extensively on large-scale developments for a diverse clientele; he is also an active member of the Indian architectural community through adjudicating design competitions and speaking at trade events, and represents the practice on a global stage.

He has worked on corporate complexes and campuses for Organic India, Max Estates, and Royal Enfield, in addition to developing the master plan and architectural schematic for Devanya in Matiyal, an eco-development for a luxury residential community in the Kumaoni foothills, and The Oberoi at Bandhavgarh, a boutique hotel in the forest reserve.

The 2024 AZ Awards is presented by Keilhauer and sponsored by Colombo Design America. Gala sponsors are George Brown College’s Brookfield Sustainability Institute, Vogt and Landscape Forms.

Media Partners: Archello, ArchDaily, Archilovers, Archinect, Archiproducts, The Architect’s Newspaper, Architonic, Bustler, Design Week Mexico, v2com newswire and World-Architects.

The post Meet the Jury of the AZ Awards 2024 appeared first on Azure Magazine.

In 2023, our 13th edition celebrated more winners than ever — including MVRDV’s striking Valley mixed-use complex in Amsterdam and Shim-Sutcliffe’s exquisitely refined Ace Hotel Toronto. Gracing the cover of our AZ Awards annual issue, Dorte Mandrup’s Kangiata Illorsua/Ilulissat Icefjord Centre meets Greenland’s spectacular northern lights. Taken together, the 26 winners represent the world’s best in design at all scales and disciplines, ranging from Vibia’s ingenious Plusminus light fixtures and Paola Lenti’s unmistakable Metamorfosi furniture collection to 3XN’s upcycled Sydney skyscraper and Michael Maltzan Architecture’s Los Angeles Sixth Street Viaduct. (You can see them all online on the AZ Awards website.)

Our jury of internationally renowned practitioners in the areas of product design, architecture, landscape architecture and interiors will convene virtually to evaluate all entries. Past jurors have included Alison Brooks, Lawrence Scarpa, Ma Yansong, Nader Tehrani, Nina-Marie Lister, Pascale Sablan, Marion Weiss, Róisín Lafferty, Craig Dykers, Sou Fujimoto and Patricia Urquiola. Stay tuned to find out who the members of the 2024 AZ Awards Jury will be!

Winners receive the AZ Awards trophy, which is reimagined each year by a prominent designer. In past years such luminaries as Marie-Christine Dorner, Luca Nichetto, Michael Anastassiades, Philippe Malouin, Karim Rashid and Ini Archibong have designed trophies for the AZ Awards. Look for announcements later this year about the 2024 AZ Awards trophy designer.

AZURE and its partners encourage design and architecture professionals, developers, urban planners, students and manufacturers to submit their work to the AZ Awards for an opportunity to step into the global spotlight, elevate their profile, and raise public awareness for their firm and their clients.

Submissions close Friday, February 23, 2024 (early-bird deadline is January 31, 2024).

Online entry portal and more information at awards.azuremagazine.com 

ELIGIBILITY

The 2024 AZ Awards are open to:

• Designers and design firms from all disciplines
• Architects, landscape architects and architectural firms
• Developers
• Post-secondary students enrolled in design and architecture programs in 2023
• Clients and manufacturers
• Projects must be completed on or before December 31, 2023
• Products must be prototyped or in production
• Concepts must have been developed or presented for the first time in 2023

THE CATEGORIES

Architecture: Residential buildings; commercial and institutional buildings over 1,000 square metres; commercial and institutional buildings under 1,000 square metres; temporary and demonstration projects; adaptive re-use

Landscape Architecture: Public and private landscapes

Urban Design: Built and unbuilt multi-building development projects (commercial, residential or mixed-use); infrastructure; urban interventions

Interiors: Residential spaces; commercial and institutional spaces


Design: Single-piece furniture; furniture systems and collections; lighting fixtures; lighting schemes; interior products; architectural products
; *tech products (new!)

Experiential Graphic Design: Wayfinding; sign programs; information and map design; experiential brand identity

Concepts: Unbuilt competition entries and proposals; concepts/prototypes

A+ Award: Projects developed by a student enrolled in a post-secondary design or architecture program in 2023. The winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize.

All entries may be considered for the Social Good Award and/or the Environmental Leadership Award by election. A winner in each of these two categories will be selected. Projects may be entered in one or both categories. 


For the Social Good Award, projects must advance social equity and have a positive impact on the collective realm.

For the Environmental Leadership Award, projects must show sensitivity and respect for the use and management of natural resources throughout their lifecycle, especially with respect to materials and energy use.

The 2024 AZ Awards is presented by Keilhauer and sponsored by Colombo Design America. Gala sponsors are George Brown College’s Brookfield Sustainability Institute, Vogt and Landscape Forms.

Media Partners: Archello, ArchDaily, Archilovers, Archinect, Archiproducts, The Architect’s Newspaper, Architonic, Bustler, Design Week Mexico, v2com newswire and World-Architects.

2024 KEY DATES

January 2
Competition opens 

January 31
Early bird deadline 

February 23
Competition closes 

April 18
Finalists announced and People’s Choice voting launched

May 17
People’s Choice voting closes 

June 20
Winners are revealed 

Winners and finalists are celebrated at the AZ Awards Gala in Toronto and get published online and in print in the AZ Awards Annual – AZURE’s July/August issue.

The post AZ Awards 2024: Now Open For Submissions appeared first on Azure Magazine.

Architect Craig Dykers’ speech was an ode to all the things that make Canada great. Photo by Arash Moallemi.

Our charismatic MC, Jessica Allen, exuberantly hosted an exciting night. Before the jury winners and People’s Choice favourites were announced, Azure’s Editor in Chief, Elizabeth Pagliacolo, announced a new initiative – the Nelda Rodger Indigenous Student Award in Architecture and Design – and introduced the gala’s Guest of Honour, the architect Craig Dykers, co-founder of Snøhetta.

A sketch of the AZ Awards 2023 trophy by Marie Christine Dorner.

The awards were then presented in 24 categories. Jury winners received a stunning trophy designed by AZ Awards juror Marie Christine Dorner. This Earth-like orb is made from different layers of wood, including oak, sycamore and walnut, assembled at various thicknesses and in random order so that no two sculptures are alike.

The final trophy. Photo by Arash Moallemi.

The awards also included the A+ Award for Student Work, which comes with a cash prize that is generously sponsored by George Brown College’s Brookfield Sustainability Institute, a global solutions studio focused on applied and smart sustainable solutions for the future.

George Brown School of Design created an evocative installation for the AZ Awards 2023 gala. Photo by Arash Moallemi.

Meanwhile, George Brown School of Design, our decor partner, had created the luminous installation that transformed the Evergreen Brick Works with a paper landscape made of construction tubes lit from within and capped with rings of light. It was the perfect ambience for a fantastic event.

In the lead-up to the awards presentation, guests enjoyed special wines from Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Stratus Vineyards, and celebrated the winners and finalists with bubbles from Stratus’ just-to-be released Ancestral.

Stratus served up the evening’s wine. Photo by Arash Moallemi.

Known as the original way of making champagne, before filtration, this classic style is grown on their Niagara-on-the-Lake farm and is purposefully slightly “hazy” to preserve aromatics, complexity and flavour.

Porta’s mini desserts came in delightful glass jars. Photo by Arash Moallemi.

Later in the evening, an assortment of delicious Italian desserts was generously provided by our Gala Partner, Terroni’s PORTA. It was a sweet end to a wonderful evening.

Design P.R. mavens Lisa Barnes and Lindsay Singer. Photo by Arash Moallemi.

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Landscape Forms, an AZ Awards 2023 Presenting Partner, showed off its Take-Out collection and Motive lamp in the Evergreen Brick Works garden. Photo by Arash Moallemi

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Azure’s plant wall in the garden of the Evergreen Brick Works. Photo by Arash Moallemi

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Stanley Sun of Mason Studio and Suzanne Wilkinson of Figure3 (and an AZ Awards 2023 finalist in Residential Interiors). Photo by Arash Moallemi.

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Azure publisher Sergio Sgaramella and Keilhauer founder Mike Keilhauer. Photo by Arash Moallemi.

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Chris Burek, Strategic Relationship Executive at MillerKnoll, with Rebecca and Ottilie Nienkämper. Photo by Arash Moallemi.

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Colombo Design America, an AZ Awards 2023 Sponsor, showed off some of its colourful hardware. It also hosted a contest. Photo by Arash Moallemi.

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Sasa Radulovic, a co-founder of Winnipeg firm 5468796 Architecture – and an AZ Awards 2023 finalist – with Azure Senior Editor Stefan Novakovic. Photo by Arash Moallemi.

8/27

Eric Martin of Toronto’s Picnic Design with Azure’s Director of Marketing & Partnerships, Mahasti Eslajou. Photo by Mauricio Calero.

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Giannone Petricone Associates’ Ralph Giannone, Azure EIC Elizabeth Pagliacolo, Shim-Sutcliffe’s Brigitte Shim, journalist Beth Kapusta, designer Andrew Jones, GPAIA’s Pina Petricone and Montreal landscape architect Claude Cormier. Photo by Arash Moallemi.

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Allen Chan of The Design Agency in conversation with designer Andrei Zerebecky. Photo by Mauricio Calero.

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Two AZ Awards 2023 gala guests having a tête-a-tête on Keilhauer’s Lull lounge chairs. Photo by Mauricio Calero.

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Andrew Hill of Studio AC with his partner. Photo by Mauricio Calero.

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The team of architecture firm DEXD. Photo by Mauricio Calero.

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MC Jessica Allen gets the presentation started. Photo by Mauricio Calero.

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Azure Editor in Chief Elizabeth Pagliacolo announces the Nelda Rodger bursary. Photo by Arash Moallemi.

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The audience listens intently. Photo by Arash Moallemi.

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AZ Awards Gala Guest of Honour Craig Dykers takes the stage. Photo by Arash Moallemi.

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The AZ Awards 2023 trophies all lined up and ready to be handed out. Photo by Arash Moallemi.

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Ralph Giannone and Pina Petricone of Giannone Petricone Associates accept the People’s Choice medallion – from Christina Patriarca, Marketing Manager at Colombo – for The Royal, a hotel in Prince Edward County. Photo by Mauricio Calero.

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Paolo Ferrari received the trophy in Residential Interiors for his Muskoka Lake House. Photo by Mauricio Calero.

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Stephen Dalrymple heads to the stage to accept the jury award for Parkside, the lounge chair he designed for Coolican and Company.

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Monica Bussoli, Senior Designer at Scavolini Toronto, presents the trophy to Josh Shelton, Partner at El Dorado (from Portland), for Albina Vision Trust Community Investment Plan, the AZ Awards 2023 winner in Social Good. Photo by Mauricio Calero.

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Filipi Oliveira of mf+arquitetos travelled all the way from Brazil to attend the gala. He accepted the jury award – from Amanda Butera, Assistant Manager at the Toronto A&D department of AZ Awards 2023 Sponsor Ciot – in Architecture: Houses for Lake House. Photo by Mauricio Calero.

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Claude Cormier (second from left) and team accept the People’s Choice in Urban: Interventions for The Ring in Montreal. Photo by Mauricio Calero.

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Brigitte Shim of Shim-Sutcliffe accepts the jury award and People’s Choice in Architecture: Buildings Over 1,000 SqM for the Ace Hotel Toronto from Ryan Heiser, Director of Design at Landscape Forms. Photo by Mauricio Calero.

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Mickey Bian of Dedang Design’s Canada office picks up the People’s Choice in Buildings Under 1,000 SqM for the Bache Community Centre in Shanghai. Photo by Mauricio Calero.

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The 2023 AZ Awards is presented by Caesarstone, Keilhauer and Landscape Forms and sponsored by Ciot and Colombo Design America. Gala sponsors are George Brown College’s Brookfield Sustainability Institute, Dark Tools and Scavolini.

Media Partners: Archello, ArchDaily, Archilovers, Archinect, Archiproducts, The Architect’s Newspaper, Architonic, Bustler, Design Week Mexico, INDEX Design, Kollectif, v2com newswire and World-Architects.

The post Scenes from the Gala of the AZ Awards 2023 appeared first on Azure Magazine.