2009 Ottawa Urban Design Awards

I am happy to have recently discovered the Ottawa Urban Design Award in which the city encourages design excellence and innovation by honoring the people who made a difference in the capital.

The winners from the previous competition were:

Urban Infill Category

• 700 Sussex (Award of Excellence)
• 100 Murray (Award of Merit)
• 131 Queen Street (Award of Merit)

700 Sussex (photo : Alan Fleming Real Estate)

Public Spaces and Civic Spaces Category

• Corktown Footbridge (Award of Excellence)
• Lakeridge Square (Award of Merit)

Corktown Footbridge (photo : Ullysse)

Urban Element Category

• Confederation Boulevard Urban Furnishing (Award of Merit)

Confederation Boulevard Urban Furnishing (photo : City of Ottawa)

Special Jury Award Category

• Preston Square

Preston Square (photo : City of Ottawa)

Student Project Category

• Bikevine (Award of Excellence)
• International Congress Center (Award of Merit)
• Re-imaging the Rockcliffe Airbase
• Schlinoffitel

Bikevine (photo : unleashedlive)

In order to participate, your project must have been built between September 1, 2007 and September 1, 2009. The winning projects must :

• Demonstrate design and architectural excellence
• Demonstrate clear urban design intent
• Contribute to the wider appreciation of urban design
• Demonstrate a positive contribution to the public realm / quality of place
• Contribute to the city’s environmental and ecological health (e.g. LEED designation)
• Connect to their locality
• Be important to pedestrian and liveability issues
• Be innovative and trend setting
• Be open to transformation

The competition is open to urban designers, planners, landscape architects, architects, engineers, developers, contractors, consultants, owners, students and the general public who have contributed to Ottawa’s urban landscape.

All types of publicly visible/accessible urban development projects are eligible :

• Parks and Open Spaces
• Buildings (Residential, Mixed-use, Recreational, Commercial, Institutional and Industrial)
• Civic Structures
• Building Additions and Exterior Renovations
• Public Utilities
• Street Improvements
• Adaptive Reuse

Submissions must be delivered by 4 p.m. on August 20, 2009

I'm looking forward to see what Ottawa has to offer this year!

Style intern search… Time to vote!

Remember the paid internship opportunity of a lifetime? Three semi-finalists have now been selected and it's now time for you to vote for your favorite intern.



Will it be Ryan Louis from Scarborough, ON? Marti Bogue from Ottawa, ON? Or Reiko Caron from Montreal, QC?

Check out their profile online. You have until May 22 to cast your vote.

-----------------------
Calling all Canadians! Vote for your favourite Summer Style Intern candidate

WHAT: Samsung Electronics Canada and House & Home Media — two of Canada’s most innovative companies — have selected three semi-finalists in their search for a Summer Style Intern. After receiving hundreds of applications, a judging panel consisting of House & Home Media and Samsung employees narrowed down the applications to three semi-finalists who exhibit a flare for media, design and technology.

Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite applicant; one of the three people listed below will be offered a summer internship position with both companies. The intern will learn all facets of magazine publishing, lifestyle branding, marketing and advertising.

The successful applicant will also be put up in a fully-furnished, all expenses paid suite in a trendy Toronto neighbourhood, including an incredible line-up of Samsung products. The intern will be featured in a Canadian House & Home Magazine advertorial, which will highlight their intern experience, and share weekly blog posts at Houseandhome.com.

WHO: The three semi-finalists are:
Marti Bogue, a student at Mount Royal College in Calgary in the Applied Communications program in Public Relations.
Reiko Caron, a student at Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto in the Industrial Design program.
Ryan Louis, a student at The University of Western Ontario in the Media, Information and Technoculture program.

WHEN: Voting is open to the public until May 22, 2009.

WHERE: View finalists’ submissions and vote online at www.houseandhome.com/innovate.

Willingdon House

Another beautiful modern home in Ottawa! This one was redesigned by a London design firm and had a lot of unique luxury features, as stated in the listing. I love the closed in courtyard!




There are so many interesting design details such as the triangular windows, the glass railing and the rectangular track lighting. The beautiful walnut floor is heated. I like how the kitchen is almost invisible and blends in the open space. The "kitchen tower" which seems to house the ovens, looks like a fireplace. The furniture is light and fun.





I love the symmetry of this lounge and how the area rug relates to the walnut floor.





The playroom looks amazing. A proof that modern can also be kid friendly without primary colors all over the place. There's lot of room to play here!



Notice the wall sconces on the blue wall going over the table and along the bottom of the baseboard. This must look interesting at night.



I love the design in the kid bedroom too. It's kid friendly and modern. Notice the glass box shelves on the wall and the funky red floor lamp.




source: Dream Properties

Ottawa spring cleaning...brought to you by IKEA

One thing I don't like about spring is all the garbage that resurfaces on the streets and on the sidewalks. They're usually pretty dirty. I guess, it's inevitable but I cringe whenever I see someone throwing stuff on the ground either while walking or even while driving. Isn't this illegal in Ottawa?


source: Flickr (Ed Bilodeau)

There is hope. I recently came across a really good initiative by IKEA. It's the IKEA Ottawa's 4th Annual Spring Neighbourhood cleanup event! Basically IKEA will be cleaning up the neighborhood around their store, Sunday May 3rd. Here's an exerpt of their event :



Once again, IKEA Co-workers are cleaning up the neighbourhoods around the IKEA store. We think it's important to have safe and clean communities and we invite you, our customers and local neighbours, to join in to make this happen!

• Registration and FREE IKEA breakfast 9am-10am
• Participants will be entered into a draw for 1 of 10 eco-friendly IKEA prize packs
• Gloves & garbage bags are provided
• Event happens rain or shine

Register at the IKEA Ottawa Customer Service Desk OR Email our store Environmental Coordinator at errn@memo.ikea.com

Deadline to register is Tuesday, April 28th at 9pm

Kuddos to them! Hopefully this will inspire others (merchants and citizens alike) to do the same.

words of encouragement

I would like to share a very nice message I recently got from Katharine from GIRL ABOUT OTOWN, a fellow Ottawa blogger, showing off what Ottawa has to offer. Thanks again Katharine :)

Hi-

This is just a quick note to let you know how happy I am to see your blog and your design business up and running here in Ottawa. It’s about time people like yourself got the discussion rolling about Ottawa’s lack of design thinking, particularly as it relates to our public spaces.

While I am more of a vintage living/decorative arts enthusiast than a modern design lover, I totally appreciate the need to bring design thinking and a strong vision to the table when conceiving of spaces – whether they be personal, professional or public. So, I congratulate you on launching your business, and your blog.

I’ve been writing girlaboutOtown for almost a year, and have really tried to focus on empowering people to think differently about life in Ottawa, and to highlight those who take risks and live creatively (or help others to do the same). I think sometimes we (collectively ) can be too complacent in our cushy life here Ottawa, and it just kills innovation, so I’m trying to celebrate the people who thrive in our lesser known “creative economy”. I do try to keep it a bit sassy and fun too, and occasionally, I write about more personal reflections. I guess that’s the beauty of a blog.

Anyway, I just really wanted you to know that you’ve added a lot to an important discussion that is long overdue. Welcome to the blogsphere, and good luck!

Katharine
www.girlaboutOtown.com