Design competition for development of movable street furniture elements for
use by festivals - Morelli Designers and Signature Design Communication are
the winners

MONTREAL, Oct. 19 /CNW Telbec/ - The Mayor of Montréal, Gérald Tremblay, is pleased to announce the winners of the design competition to develop movable street furniture elements for use by festivals. Among the five finalist concepts, the jury selected the proposal submitted by Morelli Designers and Signature Design Communication.

"At Rendez-vous November 2007 - Montréal, Cultural Metropolis, the city made a firm commitment to bring competitions into widespread use, and introduce guidance tools as well as financial incentives to encourage these practices," the Mayor said. "The holding of this competition is proof of our administration's desire to promote the implementation of projects that give vital and tangible expression to Montréal's status as UNESCO City of Design, and to help designers make a more important contribution to the city's future."

The concept submitted by Morelli Designers and Signature Design Communication stood out from the other proposals, among other reasons for the ingenuity and effectiveness of the anchoring system and mounting brackets, and its modular system of nesting ballast blocks. The jury also remarked on the great flexibility of the various elements. "The concept is extremely simple from both the technical and visual standpoints," explained Mario Gagnon, President of the Association des designers industriels du Québec and the jury Chair. "The movable furniture elements can be quickly installed by the setup teams, and will help prevent deterioration of the festival sites. The proposal is discreet, and respects the architectural concept of Place du Quartier des spectacles."

For her part, Catherine Sévigny, Executive Committee member responsible for culture, said: "The Quartier des spectacles is an outstanding calling card for Montréal on the international scene. I congratulate the winners for their creativity and their commitment to bringing to fruition this project, which will help better respond to the needs of cultural event promoters."

The jury sought to underscore the innovative nature of the concept submitted by NIP paysage by awarding the firm an honourable mention. Jury members were impressed by its playful character and the poetic aspects of its image.

The jury members were:

    
    - Ruedi Baur, designer, Intégral Ruedi Baur;
    - Radu Buruiana, consulting engineer;
    - Renée Daoust, architect and urban designer, Partner, Daoust Lestage
      Architecture & Design urbain;
    - Mario Gagnon, industrial designer, President of both Alto Design and
      the Association des designers industriels du Québec;
    - Tatjana Leblanc, industrial designer, Associate Director, GRAD (Groupe
      de recherche en aménagement et design) and professor, Université de
      Montréal School of Industrial Design;
    - Alain Petel, Commissioner, Culture, Bureau des festivals et des
      événements culturels, Ville de Montréal;
    - Pierre Raymond, Site Director, Les Productions Raymond inc.;
    - Michael Santella, industrial designer, professor of industrial design,
      Dawson College (DIBIS); and
    - Jean-François Jacques, industrial designer, Météore Design.

    Follow-up
    to the competition
    

The Ville de Montréal will issue a call for tenders between now and spring 2010 for the design and production of the winning concept. The company selected will be required to enlist the services of the winning firms for the technical development of the street furniture elements.

This design competition stems from the commitments announced by the Mayor of Montréal at the Pecha Kucha Night for Elected Officials on September 30, 2008. It aims to provide tangible impetus for creativity in made-in-Montréal design and architecture and to broaden access to public design commissions to the largest possible number of practitioners. The competition was run by the Design Montréal office of the Ville de Montréal on behalf of the Bureau des festivals et des événements culturels, Ville de Montréal, in collaboration with the Quartier international de Montréal and the Partenariat du Quartier des spectacles. To view the five finalist proposals, including the winning concept, visit realisonsmontreal.com.

    
    About
    Design Montréal
    

The Design Montréal office was created in January 2006 by the Ville de Montréal. Its mission is to implement the municipal action plan aimed at improving design throughout the city and positioning Montréal as a city of design.

/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited members of the media/

For further information: Stéphanie Jecrois, Design Montréal, [phone]; Source: Martin Tremblay, Office of the Mayor and the Executive Committee, [phone]