Press release
December 12 2007
And the winner is ...
Winners of the International Design Competition S.I.T. (Search for International Talent) announced during the festive final in the Atomium in Brussels.
During the past five months JORI has organised a prestigious international design competition under the name of S.I.T. (Search for International Talent). The aim of the initiative was to discover trends, developments and talent.
From more than 200 registrations and 93 entries there were a total of 7 winners. The jury, consisting of an international cast of top designers and prominent figures from the design world, agreed that these 7 designs were all of equivalent quality with regard to creativity, innovation, technical feasibility, design and ergonomics. The prize money totaling € 40,000 was divided equally among the winners.
JORI is pleasantly surprised by the large number of responses to this initiative and their quality. This indicates just how many talented designers there are in Europe, with an original vision of the future of living in general and new seating furniture in particular.
Theme of the competition
For the design competition JORI was looking for a versatile seating concept that anticipates future living trends. Key words here are flexibility, mobility and multi-functionality.
JORI also specified the importance of intimate, snug seating and lying comfort combined with ‘home working’ (laptops). The designs also had to encompass a wide programme ranging from sofas, corner ensemble configurations, separate easy chairs in a variety of sizes and footstools in a range of dimensions to a chaise longue and matching coffee tables to complete the concept.
It was very important to include a recurring and ‘common theme’ binding the elements together e.g. in the materials used (metal, wood...).
The upholstery had to be leather (no fabrics). The adjustability and modularity of the seating and lounging furniture were an absolute plus with regard to design.
Successful initiative
During the past few weeks JORI received more than 200 registrations for the design competition and 93 designers actually submitted a scale model and the sketches required to be eligible to participate. Registrations were received from Italy, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and France.
The jury was delighted by the quality, resourcefulness and creativity of the designs, which of course did not simplify the selection process. Eventually 7 finalists remained, each of which turned out to be the winners – and rightly so.
These are the winners :
Project 23 : Moef Design (Denmark): "Sculptural Sofa"
Project 59 : Linde Stevens, Jeroen De Laender & Julie Nauwelaerts (Belgium): "Square"
Project 41 : MAXIMALdesign (Belgium): "Sofa Longue (Piano)"
Project 84 : Christian Wildauer (Austria): "*FRAIM*"
Project 87 : Fritsch Associés (France): "Spread Boo"
Project 25 : Tov Design (Belgium): "Play @ Work"
Project 9 : Helena Winckelmans (Belgium): "Chaise-Lène"
Dieter Pesch, jury chair:
“S.I.T. is an interesting and commendable initiative, because it offers talented designers the chance to showcase their talents in front an illustrious international jury. One by one, each of the 93 submitted designs charmed and surprised the jury with their innovative character, clever designs, ergonomics and much more.”
“Only 7 (very different) designs more or less met all the criteria. Because no single design was head and shoulders above the rest, the jury agreed to nominate all the finalists as winners. The jury’s decision is intended to encourage these talented designers and challenge them to continue their search for the ideal design in ergonomic seating comfort.”
“JORI set exceptionally ambitious goals with the organisation and the criteria the company defined in its S.I.T. design competition. Nevertheless, the tone is set for the future and there are ample perspectives for the future of this project.”
Jeannick Breine, member of the jury, JORI
“The format of the S.I.T. was to discover new promising talent and to introduce them to JORI in an original manner and S.I.T. managed to do just that. No less than 93 designers surprised us with their designs. The fact that there was no clear winner just goes to show that the 7 finalists submitted equally excellent and high quality products with style.”
“For JORI as a company this mental exercise has been successful throughout: a number of new designers have been introduced to JORI, our company has come into contact with modern international design talent that will be working on design trends in the next few years, and the first step has been taken to make sure Jori keeps its finger on the pulse of furniture design with its new trends and ideas about living and seating furniture. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the jury again for their time and the diligence they applied to this task.”
S.I.T. = Search International Talent
In the course of the last five months, JORI organised a prestigious international design competition under the name “S.I.T.”, which stands for Search International Talent.
Participation in the design competition was open to every designer (or designer team), with or without relevant experience, from one of the countries where the competition was organised: Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Denmark.
The winning designs were presented to the press in the Atomium in Brussels on 12 December at 4:30 p.m. The official prize-giving ceremony will take place on 15 January 2008 at 3 p.m. during the international furnishing show IMM Cologne, in the presence of the international press.
Composition of the jury
The jury consisted of an international cast of top designers and prominent figures from the international design and furniture world:
- Dieter Pesch, Germany (jury chair)
- Gijs Bakker (Droog Design), The Netherlands
- Jörg Boner, Zwitserland
- Axel Enthoven, Belgium
- Kirsten Hoppert, Steffen Kroll (Studio Vertijet), Germany
- Pierre Keller, Switserland
- Xavier Lust, Belgium
- Karim Rashid, United States
- Jane Worthington, Great Britain
- Jeannick Breine (JORI), Belgium
The jury assessed the designs based on the following criteria:
- The extent to which the design contributes to innovation and creativity in interior design on a cultural, social, technological, economic, ecological and aesthetic level
- The level of finishing of the design and the extent to which the design is ready for production
- The extent to which the design conforms with the theme of the competition
Prize money
The prize money totalling € 40,000 was divided equally between the 7 winning projects viz. € 5,750 per winning project.
Motivation through innovation
In 1968 in the West-Flemish Wervik (Belgium) Juan Jorion started designing and producing 'contemporary seating'. These days the JORI Corporation has grown into a dynamic company with an international focus and is one of the leading manufacturers of high-quality, modern seating furniture in Europe (www.jori.com). Innovation, diversification and a dynamic marketing strategy are at the foundation of our international success. As a result of the growth the company has been divided into 3 business units for developing the collections Originals, Kamasitra and Diners.
Note for journalists - Not for publication
For further information about the design competition journalists are free to contact the following competition coordinators:
-
JORI
Design Competition
Jeannick Breine - Attaché to the president - Coordinator of the International Design Competition
Tel: +32 (0)56 31.35.01
sit@jori.com -
Trimedia
Design Competition
Matthias Meersschaert - Coordinator of the PR-activities
Tel +32 (0) 2 713 07 35
mmeersschaert@trimedia.be
For more info and pictures, visit our website : www.jori.com/sit
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