ARIDO Announces 2008 Award Recipients

The Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario (ARIDO) announced the winners of its 24th annual ARIDO Awards of Excellence at a gala dinner at the Direct Energy Centre. Among the winners were six Awards of Excellence and 17 Awards of Merit.

This prestigious awards program honours innovation, creativity and professional achievement in the province’s interior design industry. Judges of this year’s entries chose to recognize 23 designs from 11 separate categories. Among the winning entries were six Awards of Excellence and 17 Awards of Merit.

Private Residence; Elaine Cecconi (Cecconi Simone)

“The wide range of award winning projects demonstrates the breadth of interior design talent across the industry and the province,” says Franca Rezza, president of ARIDO. “The Association takes great pride in the contribution its members make to public and private spaces. Our members’ designs emphasize the need for inspiring safe spaces in all realms of the built environment and to build public awareness of our professional capabilities.”

Osler Chalet - Collaborative; Connie Braemer (Connie Braemer Design)

Evaluated by seven esteemed representatives from media and design, each entry was judged on its own merit and on the specific circumstances under which it was completed. In their submissions, entrants were asked to consider existing design elements, budget and project objectives, strategies employed, overall creativity, examples of project results, client feedback and elements of sustainability.

The projects of this year’s recipients speak to every space imaginable, from a residential green roof, to a museum exhibit, to a floating boardroom. Awards of excellence were given in six categories demonstrating that good design can be employed wherever we live, work and play.

Kasian Toronto Office; Dean Matsumoto (Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Planning Inc.)

Kasian Toronto Office - Touchdown Area; Dean Matsumoto (Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Planning Inc.)

Three of these projects highlighted outstanding work in the corporate sector, with two awards given to Dean Matsumoto (Kasian Architecture Interior Design & Planning Ltd.) for his work on the Kasian Toronto Office and within it, a special collaborative work and social gathering space anchored by a stainless steel light table, known as its Touchdown area. Also representing excellence in corporate interior design is Sharon Martens (Martens Group Licensed Interior Design Studio), whose work for the Pengrowth Corporation illustrates an unexpected contemporary approach to embracing traditionalism in the workplace. Martens also received an Award of Merit for the custom lighting created for the space.

Pengrowth Corporation; Sharon Martens (Martens Group Licensed Interior Design Studio Ltd.)

Remarkable work also emerged from the residential sector, with two projects looking to enhance the way we live. An Award of Excellence went to Connie Braemer’s (Connie Braemer Design) spectacularly executed Osler Chalet, carried out in conjunction with Ray Murakami, Architect, which married and transported two log cabins from Quebec to Ontario. Another Award of Excellence went to Elaine Cecconi (Cecconi Simone) for her work on her own private residence. Her business partner Anna Simone took home an Award of Merit in the residential category, for her Carport and Green Roof project.

Butterflies and Plants, Partners in Evolution; Fang-Pin Lee (Reich+Petch Design International)

The sixth Award of Excellence was handed out to Fang-Pin Lee (Reich + Petch Design International) for her project, Butterflies and Plants, Partners in Evolution, completed in collaboration with Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern, architects. The exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. playfully tackles the biology of butterflies and through its design, engages adults and children alike.