Italian Trade Commission Bestows Annual Tile Awards

Five architecture firms were selected by an international jury to receive top honors.

by Mairi Beautyman -- Interior Design, 7/24/2008

Think tile is only found in the bathroom? Think again. Honoring innovative uses of Italian ceramic tile by North American architects, the annual Ceramic Tiles of Italy Design Competition is presented by the Italian Trade Commission. This year -- the program's 15th anniversary -- five firms were selected by an international jury to receive top honors.

Categories included Commercial, Residential, and Institutional architecture. A Legend Award was also bestowed to an individual deemed to have a lasting commitment to tile.

Want more Italian tile? Head to Cersaie, the International Exhibition of Ceramic Tiles and Bathroom Furnishings. The fair will be held September 30-October 4 in Bologna, Italy at the Bologna Fairgrounds.

A complete list of winners is below.

Commercial
BKA Architects

BKA Architects made the luggage brand’s logo the highlight of the floor at the Samsonite Corporate Headquarters.

Institutional
Richard Fleischman + Partners Architects

Proving you can never have too much tile, Richard Fleischman + Partners used the material to clad the majority of the surface area at a nine-building campus for the Department of Labor's Cleveland Job Corps Center.

Residential
Division1 Architects
Koji Tsutsui

Two winners came out in this category. Division1 Architects was awarded for its clever use of tile for the Roberts Residence, and Koji Tsutsui was selected for his contemporary industrial Designer house.

Legend Award
Michael P. Johnson of Michael P. Johnson Design Studios

Architect and two-time Ceramic Tiles of Italy Design Competition winner Michael P. Johnson of Michael P. Johnson Design Studios scooped up the coveted Legend Award. The jury praised him for two minimalist projects, the Bradley Residence and the Ellsworth Residence.

From top: The Industrial Designer House by Koji Tsutsui; the Samsonite Corporate Headquarters by BKA Architects.