Commerce Design Brussels Announces 2009 Jury Grand Prizes

The names of the winners of the first Commerce Design Brussels contest have recently been announced at a gala event held at the Fondation pour l’Architecture in Brussels, Belgium. Developed based on an original concept from the Ville de Montréal, the contest aims to reward merchants in the Brussels region for the overall quality of their establishment’s design, and to showcase the work of the architects and designers who were employed to create it.

In addition to the Belgian capital, the Commerce Design Montréal concept has been taken up, since 2003, by the French cities of Saint-Étienne, Lyon and Marseille, by the Times Square district in New York City, and more recently by Luxembourg and by the Brainport-Eindhoven region in the Netherlands.

A jury made up of recognized professionals in the field of design awarded 10 Grands Prix Réalisations 2005-2008 and three Grands Prix Atrium (for implementation projects) at the first edition of Commerce Design Brussels. The projects were evaluated based on their design quality (aesthetics, creativity, interior/façade/graphic design coherence, functionality, safety, longevity…), as well as on their context and the impact of the commercial design on people’s experience of the city.

Now that the winners named by the expert jury have been announced, members of the public are invited to vote for their favorites until June 2009. The voting for the people’s choice award and for the Grand Prix des Enseignes Commerce Design Brussels (for commercial signage) will take place on site at the award-winning business locations as well as online at www.commercedesignbrussels.be. The public’s favorites will be announced this fall during the Design September festival.

Drawing inspiration from the benefits of Montréal’s experience in terms of the revitalization of commercial arteries, Brussels hopes in turn to improve the quality of its urban living environment, its image and its appeal, by providing a stimulus for creativity and innovation in commercial design. The winners will serve as ambassadors for design quality and as sources of inspiration for merchants who wish to call on the services of an interior architect or a creative designer for the design of their businesses.

The Commerce Design Brussels contest is produced by Pro Materia and Design September with the support of the Région de Bruxelles-Capitale, Atrium, Brussels Louise, the Ville de Montréal, the Fondation pour l’Architecture and the Archives d’Architecture Moderne.