Designers Saturday Awards Best Interior is instigated by Designers Saturday (DS) and the Norwegian Organisation of Interior Architects and Furniture Designers (NIL). The award serves to heighten interest in and promote the importance of interior architecture in the Norwegian public sector.
The nominated projects are chosen from the 2012 and 2013 NIL yearbooks. A total of 320 projects have been submitted; 120 have been selected for publication.
An interior is composed of both palpable materials and more immaterial elements that combine to express cultural identity and spatial feeling. The interior architect creates cost effective and user friendly solutions for housing, businesses, health care facilities, educational and cultural institutions.
Research has proven the importance of physical surroundings – for hospital recovery time, for wellbeing and performance at school, at the workplace etc. The intangible psychology of a room, spurring feelings, thoughts, and movement, is created through the use and combination of lighting, colours, contrasts, and spatial geometry. The interior architect is trained in using tools based on human perception and scale (anthropometry), working from the inside and out.
Key issues in today’s building industry are energy conservation and environmental concerns. The interior architect takes this into account by working with a thorough knowledge of materials, lighting, recycling, and long term solutions.
The interior architect often participates in user groups, helping to raise awareness of needs and requirements early in the planning process. An interior architect may also contribute to innovative ways of thinking by challenging preconceptions and stretching users’ imaginations. They use their expertise to renovate old or furnish new buildings, to create custom furniture, and design furniture for mass production.
Norwegian interior architects with the professional title MNIL plan, design, furnish, and implement interior solutions of all scales for offices, hotels, stores, restaurants, and more. Their work generates efficient and functional solutions, wellbeing and ambiance. Moreover, as professionals they have the knowledge and ability to integrate solutions for inclusive design in both the private and public sectors.
The focus of Designers Saturday Awards Best Interior is to encourage and recognize the professional interior architect and to promote the importance of outstanding interiors.
Criteria
The jury will emphasize projects that are based on a thorough analysis of user needs and where there has been a close and constructive interaction between contractor, end users, interior architect, builders, suppliers, and other involved parties. Interaction on all levels and between all involved persons leads to good solutions.
The prize will be awarded to interior architects in projects where interior architect and contractor have collaborated in creating an innovative and noteworthy interior with a holistic aesthetic expression, durable and lasting solutions, and where environmental concerns and inclusive design are taken into account.
Awards
Results will be announced at the Designers Saturday press luncheon, Friday afternoon. The awards ceremony will take place at Designers Night, the official Designers Saturday party on Saturday.
Jury
Assessing the work of colleagues in a small profession, can be challenging both ethically and personally.To eliminate possible conflict of interest and to ensure the jury’s expertise and integrity, jury members and leader are enlisted from countries outside of Norway. Well-known international names contribute to increased media attention.
Jury leader
Gitte Andersen, architect MAA, CEO/partner Signal Arkitekter, Copenhagen
Jury members
Jacob Sahlqvist, architect SAR/SIR/MSA Tengbom, Gbg,
Toni Kaupila, DipArch SAFA, Prof. Interior Architecture and Furniture Design, KHiO, Oslo
Ole Rikard Høisæther, editor Orfeus Publishing, Oslo
Anders Buchardt, PASAB Eiendom, Oslo
Designers Saturday Representatives
Linda Evensen, representative and coordinator
Eva Pedersen, Head of project, Designers Saturday Oslo
http://www.designerssaturday.no/
