The first ever Surface Design Award winners were presented with their striking recycled glass trophies at a vibrant ceremony on the last day of Surface Design Show.
The Awards recognised outstanding examples of progressive design and innovative surfaces in projects both in the UK and internationally.
Hosted by Annabelle Filer from SCIN, the ceremony got off to a flying start with a stirring keynote address by Eric Parry, world renowned architect, Royal Academician and Principal at Eric Parry Architects. Nine winners were announced with two other projects receiving highly commended accolades. The Supreme Award (the best of the best!), sponsored by Interface, went to the Velvet Underground Nightclub in Singapore designed by Phillips Connor.
In the Commercial category, sponsored by Burlington Stone, 50 Great Sutton Street by Archer Architects won the Exterior Surface award. Stripping back the post war structure to its bare grain, the architects gave the building impact and drama by using long horizontal bands of ribbon windows and an expanded metal mesh on the façade that shifts from translucent to opaque depending on the viewpoint.
Winner of the Commercial Interior Surface award, Phillips Connor's Velvet Underground Nightclub in Singapore also went on to win the Supreme Award. A layered, detailed, interwoven scheme of contemporary and contrasting surface designs was applied in the refurbishment of the style-setting nightclub. Particularly striking were the 300 elbow fins which lined the "boomerang" corridor, connecting the "Dance" and "Lounge" aspects of the club.
The Housing category was sponsored by Trend GB and the Interior Surface award went to Mill House by Matthew Chamberlain and Oliver Wood. Within the Grade II listed 16th century Mill, the contemporary interior is crafted in a simple and traditional palette of materials including Portland stone, American Black Walnut planks and oak framed joinery, balanced with precisely engineered frameless glazing, stainless steel and exquisite bespoke cabinetry.
The Housing Exterior Surface was scooped by Hudson Architect's Feering Bury Farm Barn, a Grade II listed timber framed aisled barn. The architects used a never before applied technique - covering polycarbonate rooflights in a perforated steel mesh - to allow light into the interior whilst making the roof look like one solid structure from ground level.
The Temporary Structure category, sponsored by de magazine, attracted a particularly innovative and unusual range of entries. The KREOD Pavilion by Chun Qing Li was finally chosen as the winner. Resembling three seeds, the three pods combine through a series of interlocking hexagons to create an enclosed structure that is not only magnificently-intricate but secure and weatherproof. It functions beautifully both as an architectural landmark and an imaginative exhibition space.
The Korean Film Archive, London, by JAIA Architects won the Public Building Interior Surface award with its stunning use of light, sound and colour to create a visually individual but flexible space. An LED lit polycarbonate wall and 12 sliding panels represent digital information whilst other walls are equipped with LFD panels and film desks with 27" LED screens. Dimmable LED lighting can change the brightness of the overall space, creating different atmospheres for different events. The Public Building category was sponsored by James Latham.
The winner of the Public Building Exterior Surface category was Southend Pier Culture Centre. The design "Sculpted by Wind and Wave" was created by Scandinavian practice White arkitekter in partnership with UK based architects Sprunt and structural engineers Price & Myers. The 376sqm cultural centre sits dramatically on the Grade II listed pier, the longest in the world. The centre uses a range of materials, including GRP translucent cladding, to create a dynamic new building which responds to the fragile pier structure and harsh marine conditions, whilst presenting a radical deviation from the traditional Victorian architecture of the town.
Sponsored by Porcelanosa, the Retail category's Interior Surface award went to Stratford City by Simon Cochrane. The main ceiling bulkhead to the 400m long mall in Stratford was created to unify the space and accentuate the geometry of the curve. By specifying tubeline, with its pre-fabrication and modular qualities, the design also successfully delivered the complex M&E performance criteria required.
In the Retail Exterior Surface category, the winner was Princes Square in Glasgow by Timorous Beasties. Taking inspiration from the faded grandeur of many of the city's Victorian buildings, the design reflects foliage that emerges from neglected historical buildings. The trailing leaves design was produced locally in powder coated aluminium and moulded on site by Glasgow sculptor, Kenny MacKay.
Christopher Newton, Director of Surface Design Show said: "We were very excited by the range and quality of the projects entered for these inaugural awards. The judges had a very hard time in picking those projects that had that something extra in style or innovation or inspiration that edged them onto the winners' podium."
Highly commended projects were Paul McAneary Architects' Tortoise Enclosure (Housing Exterior Surface) and Techno Naturology: The Velcro Chain by Elaine Ng Yan Ling (Temporary Structure).
The exclusive trophies, engraved with Surface Design Awards logo, were made from recycled bottle glass by Bottle Alley Glass.
The Surface Design Awards were launched to mark the 10th anniversary of Surface Design Show, the only show in the UK focused solely on materials for surface design.
