Winners demonstrate that design supports all type of businesses in their competitiveness
DETROIT, Mich. (October 26, 2018) – Design Core Detroit, a non-profit that offers services to strengthen, grow and attract design businesses to Detroit, and AIA Detroit announced last night the 10 winning projects of the inaugural Commerce Design: Detroit awards. Commerce Design: Detroit recognizes 10 brick-and-mortar commercial projects, submitted jointly by the business owner and design team.
"The jurors for Commerce Design: Detroit chose businesses that celebrate the impact of commercial design in neighborhood businesses. Regardless of project size or budget, the winners exemplify everything we had hoped for when bringing this program to Detroit," said Olga Stella, executive director of Design Core Detroit, a joint initiative of the College for Creative Studies and Business Leaders for Michigan.
Commerce Design: Detroit aims to recognize the role of design in increasing competitiveness of local businesses, spur work by local designers and architects, and preserve the unique local identity of Detroit’s neighborhoods. These spaces help to create a sense of place, and improve quality of life for locals and visitors alike.
The winners include:
● Advance Plumbing and Heating Supply Co. (Midtown) Submitted by Owners Jeffrey, Justin, and Joshua Moss, and Design Team D-MET Studio
● FOLK Detroit (Corktown) Submitted by Owners Kiki Louya & Rohani Foulkes, and Designer Christopher Stefani of CL Stefani Co.
● Detroit Foundation Hotel (Downtown-Financial District) Submitted by Owners Aparium Hotel Group & 250 Larned LLC, and Design Team McIntosh Poris Associates
● House of Pure Vin (Downtown-Merchants Row) Submitted by Owners Regina Gaines, Andrea Dunbar, and Terry Mullins, and Design Team M1/DTW
● Kuzzo's Chicken & Waffles (University District) Submitted by Owner Ronald Bartell and Designer Joshua Smith of Who’s That?
● Lumen Detroit (Downtown-Beacon Park) Submitted by Owner DTE (managed by Norm LePage), and Design Team Touloukian Touloukian Inc.
● New Order Coffee Roasters (Brush Park) Submitted by Owner Elizabeth Rose, and Design Teams Unsold Studio and Et al Collaborative
● Sfumato Fragrances (Midtown) Submitted by Owners Jane Larson & Kevin Peterson, andDesigner Paul Karas of Ware Mfg.
● TAKOI (Corktown) Submitted by Owners Philip Kafka & Chef Brad Greenhill, and Design Team Undecorated
●The Commons (Islandview) Submitted by Ezekiel Harris of MACC Development, and Design Team Laavu Studio
The winners of the first Commerce Design: Detroit awards were selected from a highly competitive group of 37 submissions, representing a broad range of businesses, scales and neighborhoods. The jury, featuring both local and international design practitioners, consisted of Elliott Broom, general manager of the forthcoming Shinola Hotel, Sylvie Champeau, project manager of Bureau du Design in Montreal, Najahyia Chinchilla, co-studio director of Workplace at Gensler, and Sandra Olave, chair, interior design department, College for Creative Studies. The jury conducted on-site visits to each of the finalist businesses to learn more about their design process and the impact the project has had in its neighborhood context.
Developed more than 20 years ago in Montreal — another UNESCO City of Design — the program is now licensed in more than a dozen cities around the world, now including Detroit. “Montreal’s long-term investment into this program has made the case that good design can be additive in many ways. Thanks to the contest’s ripple effects, we have seen tangible improvement in the quality of places we visit and the experiences they offer. It’s such a joy to see it happening in Detroit!” said Sylvie Champeau, project manager at Montréal’s Bureau du design.
AIA Detroit, the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects, has supported Design Core in the management of the new program, which is presented by Bank of America, with additional support from the Hudson-Webber Foundation and New Economy Initiative.
“These awards are a powerful reminder of the great work that’s taking place in Detroit, across a wide range of project types and scales, and in communities well beyond greater downtown. From internationally-renowned architecture firms to small, startup designers, Detroit’s design economy is a positive force lifting up businesses and communities across the city,” said Charlie Klecha, managing director, AIA Detroit.
Commerce Design: Detroit is just one of more than 50 initiatives launched by Design Core and its Detroit City of Design partners as part of a larger strategy to champion inclusive growth. Through this program, Design Core and AIA Detroit are striving to develop a culture in Detroit neighborhoods that uses design to create spaces that welcome all.
A People's Choice vote will open at 10 a.m. today, October 26 that will allow the public to select their favorite project from among the 10 winning businesses. To vote, visit this link. Design Core will be hosting a special tour of the winners on December 1 as part of its Drinks x Design series. Tickets go on sale November 7. Details are forthcoming. Visit www.https://designcore.org// for more information.
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About Design Core Detroit
Design Core Detroit champions design-driven businesses and their role in strengthening Detroit’s economy. It offers services to strengthen, grow and attract design businesses, increases market demand for design services, and tells Detroit’s design story locally and globally. Design Core is the steward of Detroit’s UNESCO City of Design designation and was founded by College for Creative Studies and Business Leaders for Michigan.
About AIA Detroit
AIA Detroit, a Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, serves as the primary trade association for architects and allied trades in southeast Michigan, and seeks to facilitate broad-reaching and interdisciplinary programming in support of a collaborative, vibrant, and growing design community in the metro Detroit region.
About Bank of America
At Bank of America, we’re guided by a common purpose to help make financial lives better, through the power of every connection. We’re delivering on this through responsible growth with a focus on our environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership. ESG is embedded across our eight lines of business and reflects how we help fuel the global economy, build trust and credibility, and represent a company that people want to work for, invest in and do business with. It’s demonstrated in the inclusive and supportive workplace we create for our employees, the responsible products and services we offer our clients, and the impact we make around the world in helping local economies thrive. An important part of this work is forming strong partnerships with nonprofits and advocacy groups, such as community, consumer and environmental organizations, to bring together our collective networks and expertise to achieve greater impact. Learn more at about.bankofamerica.com, and connect with us on Twitter (@BofA_News). For more Bank of America news, including dividend announcements and other important information, visit the Bank of America newsroom.
