Have you heard the news? The submission deadline for the 2015 Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition has been extended to January 23, 2015. The hunt is on for the most original and imaginative spaces designed by North American architects and designers using Italian ceramic/porcelain tile for the chance to win $4,000 + a trip to Italy!

Sponsored by the Italian Trade Commission and Confindustria Ceramica (the Italian Association of Ceramics, comprised of 150+ ceramic tile manufacturers), the Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition is the longest running contest of its kind. The 2015 edition is open to architects and designers based in North America who have used Italian ceramic or porcelain tile in their residential, institutional and commercial/hospitality projects compeleted in the past five years (January 2010 – January 2015). Projects can range from hotels and hospitals to offices and apartments —they want to see them all!

The competition is completely digital and FREE to enter! The winning architect or designer in each category will be awarded $4,000 and a five-day trip to Bologna, Italy to attend Cersaie – the world’s largest exhibition of ceramic tile and bathroom furnishings. An additional $1,000 will be awarded to the tile contractor/distributor team who worked on each winning project.

…Need more convincing? Check out this 30-second video to get all the details:

…Need a little inspiration? Here are last year’s winners:

COMMERCIAL
The Plaza of the Armericas in Dallas, TX
Designed by Corgan Associates

INSTITUTIONAL
Morgan Hall, Temple University
Designed by MGA Partners

RESIDENTIAL
355 Manfield Los Angeles, CA
Designed by D.I Group.

Click here to submit, or contact info@novitapr.com for more info.

As more than half of our editorial staff calls Brooklyn home, we are excited to announce that the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce is now accepting applications for BKLYN DESIGNS 2015.  Held from May 8-10, the juried exhibition will feature a dynamic collection of products from the borough’s most innovative designers and manufacturers.  After over a decade in DUMBO, the show will have a new home in Greenpoint at the Brooklyn Expo Center (a super cool, glass-clad structure). In addition to the facility’s inside space, it also touts a pretty amazing outdoor area – with gorgeous views of that other borough (Manhattan).

Show organizers are working on a number of  new initiatives and we cannot wait to be part of – what they are calling – BKLYN DESIGNS 3.0. You should be too! All Brooklyn-based makers and manufacturers of furniture, lighting, art, textiles and accessories are encouraged to apply at ibrooklyn.com/bkdapp by February 1. Collectives are welcome too!

In just a few weeks, imm cologne, a leading international furniture trade show and marketplace and one of the first international interior design shows of the year, takes over Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany. The exhibition focuses on contemporary design, innovative materials and fabrics, and architectural lighting design technology.  With over 1200 exhibitors – from international brands to up-and-coming designers, the show is a rich resource for inspiring ideas and the latest trends in the industry.

Event highlights this year include:

Das Haus – Interiors on Stage, a setting-like structure of spacious interiors and “housing cages.” This year, the Shanghai-based architects Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu will show an installation under the title “Memory Lane”, which, inspired by the Shanghai Lane Houses, combines Chinese tradition with contemporary design and thus would lead to a discussion about housing rituals.

Pure Talents, a new platform for young and up-and-coming international designers

The Sleep Lounge – “9 turns 9″: at imm cologne 2015, Hall 9 celebrates the 9th anniversary of the Sleep segment, while the Matratzen-Industrie e.V. trade association, partner of Koelnmesse in the Sleep sector, celebrates its 10th anniversary.  To commemorate, the association will be creating a film and welcome guests with the best scenes of the past years. The Lounge will be decorated with motifs from the anniversary film itself and from the classic cinema of the 50’s and 60’s. Some of the film clips specifically reflect the association’s different fields of competence. As is tradition, the Sleep Lounge will also host the “meet@sleep” party on Tuesday evening.

Café Trussardi in Hall 10.1 will make its debut. The booth combines the exclusive design of one of the world’s leading big brands with haute cuisine. itself communicates the level of quality and style which the Trussardi Group pursues in all of its commercial interests. It is therefore no surprise that – just like the original in Milan – Café Trussardi at imm cologne will present a straightforward and distinctive cuisine.

Happy hour + a behind-the-scenes peek at the leading design offices in New York? If this sounds like your kind of evening, the Architectural League of New York’s Spring 2015 First Friday program won’t disappoint. In a series of monthly open-offices, First Friday provides a unique opportunity to learn firsthand about effective organization and design processes in the architecture world. We’ve listed the full line-up after the jump.

On January 9th at 6:30 pm, the first host office will kick off the series, opening its doors for drinks, conversation, and an exclusive look at recent and upcoming projects. Located at 22 West 19th Street, FXFOWLE Architects is known for design inspired by urbanism, technology, and sustainable strategies. Exploring “the role of design in human settlement,” the firm’s work focuses on the interplay between form and function, a concept that is apparent in their commercial, education, and cultural facilities, multi-family residences, and city planning.

Above: FXFOWLE Architects’ Museum of the Built Environment in Rayadah, Saudi Arabia, to be completed in 2017

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There is no better way to ring in the new year than by attending Toronto’s annual Interior Design Show (January 22-25, 2015)!  Since the show’s inception in 1999, the IDS has continued to attract hundreds of exhibitors, thousands of visitors, and serve as an ultimate breeding ground for inspiration, creativity, and innovation.  Kicking off the weekend, guests are invited to attend their renowned Opening Night Party, connecting ideas within the design industry to the show floor entertainment through an atmosphere filled with delicious food and beverages, friendly faces, and spirit of excitement.

Guests and designers gathered together over cocktails discussing various intriguing ideas at the Opening Night Party.

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Bangles to Benches, High Museum of Art
Ongoing
Bangles to Benches is comprised of an astonishing range of contemporary works, varying in scale, utility, and production. The exhibit features unusual pairings of jewelry and design objects, creating dynamic and unexpected relationships for a fresh perspective on art and design.

CHICAGO

Veiled Architecture, Art Institute of Chicago
Till January 25, 2015
Conceptualization meets realization in Veiled Architecture, an exhibit that showcases Brooklyn-based SO-IL’s ability to refine concepts and ideas into solid forms, engaging with the materials used and expanding traditional white-cube galleries into interactive spaces.

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If you still believe in the American Dream, watch Mad Men marathons, and wish a time machine could take you back to 1950s New York, the exhibition Mac Conner: A New York Life is definitely something you don’t want to miss these holidays.

Above: “How Do You Love Me”, Woman’s Home Companion, 1950

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FOLLY 2015 encourages an exploration of architecture and sculpture in the context of these kinds of questions. The Call for Proposals is on now—participants have until January 12, 2015 to submit their concepts.

The 4th annual program is organized by The Architectural League and Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, New York, and it calls on designers and architects for proposals for full-scale projects and installations. In an effort to closely examine the concept of “folly,” participants will design a physical experience through the thoughtful use of space, material, and process. More details after the jump.

Above: Tree Wood, Folly 2013, architect Toshihiro Oki

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In the Can Hardly Wait category, we’re excited to get on up to the Cooper Hewitt, the Smithsonian Design Museum, which reopens today after its three-year renovation, a transformation that extends well beyond the building itself, the Andrew Carnegie Mansion. Rethinking the institution on all levels, the project engaged a talented group of New York architectural, design and interaction firms—from Gluckman Mayner Architects and Beyer Blinder Belle (expansion and refurbishment), to Diller Scofidio + Renfro (new shop and display cases), Pentagram (rebranding and wayfinding), and Local Projects (the Immersion Room, pictured). It’s an excellent time to become a member and check out the museum’s new spaces, including the Immersion Room, a high-tech showcase of the Cooper Hewitt’s collection of wallcoverings, and the interactive Process Lab, where visitors can brainstorm design solutions. Its opening exhibitions include:

Tools: Extending Our Reach – a full-floor exhibition includes objects from Cooper Hewitt and nine other Smithsonian collections, spanning 1.85 million years of tool use and design.

Beautiful Users – installed in Cooper Hewitt’s gracious first-floor Design Process Galleries, this show addresses the paradigmatic shift toward designs based on observations of human anatomy and behavior.

Happy exploring!

Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum
2 East 91st St (between 5th & Madison Aves)
NYC

That’s what’s at stake in the 2015 Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition, now open for entry! Sponsored by Confindustria Ceramica (the Italian Association of Ceramics) and the Italian Trade Commission, the 22nd annual event will feature inspired and imaginative architecture using Italian Ceramic Tiles.

The competition includes a uniquely large scope of projects encompassed by three categories: Institutional, Residential, and Commercial/Hospitality. Check out the details after the jump.

Above: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD took the Institutional category prize in 2013. Here, HDR Architecture combines aesthetic appeal with functionality in an effort to eliminate all environmental interferences. The structure features highly stabilized temperature, vibration, and humidity.

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