Alexandria, VA. Mar. 25--Coverings, the leading showcase for ceramic tile and natural stone floor coverings, has selected Michelle Griffoul Studios as the $10,000 Grand Prize winner of the 2004 Spectrum Award for creativity and achievement in the use of tile in residential and commercial design.
The winning project was "The Harper Pool," at a private residence in Daytona Beach, Florida, designed by Dosha Porta of Michelle Griffoul Studios. The entire pool, pool deck, pool bath and stairs were all part of the remodel, while the spa and waterfall into the pool were new construction completed at the same time.
The design goal was to create a pool and spa area that was textural, colorful, visually stimulating and fun. The large fat quarter round was specially designed for the pool coping and glazed in four colors to keep the theme of movement continuous throughout the pool. On the decorative side are 140 fish, crabs, shells, octopi and a variety of other sea life, plus a six-foot long mermaid and a coral glaze designed specifically for this pool.
"Our judges agreed that what makes 'The Harper Pool' so impressive is that its extensive tile design and beautifully executed installation demonstrates an innovative and creative use of novelty details and materials," says Tamara Christian, Coverings’ show director and president, National Trade Productions.
Other Spectrum Award winners include:
· First Prize, Residential: Santa Fe Design Studio for "Fallen Leaves, A Handmade Tile Fireplace," in Minneapolis, Minnesota, designed by Eric Rattan. In keeping with the residence’s Arts and Crafts theme, Rattan chose to create handmade, oxide-enhanced stoneware leaf tiles and burnished them to a deep, reddish-brown to fit comfortably within the cherry wood fireplace surround. Moss green slate was used for the floor to contrast the reddish-brown dominating the walls, windows and doors.
· Award of Merit, Residential: Atlantic Tile and Marble, Inc., for The Columns at an Italian villa mansion in Sarasota, Florida. Project team members included Architect/Designer Wm. Thorning Little, PA, and Installer Atlantic Tile and Marble, Inc. The columns were designed in such a way that from any viewing angle one would not see the same pattern repeated, thereby showing the full array of hand painted tiles used at any one viewing point. In total, 288 pieces were cut, mitered, re-stained and expertly installed to form an illusion of wrapped colorful ribbons around the columns.
· First Prize, Commercial: Michelle Griffoul Studios, for "Harbor Restaurant and Longboard’s Bar and Grill" in Santa Barbara, California. At the entry of the restaurant, shoals of fish and other ocean life, set in a blue mosaic sea, create movement that welcomes patrons through the doors and into a magical ocean realm. The estuary of sea creatures flows through the front doors to the restaurant to the downstairs bar and into the restroom floors. Approximately 50,000 handcrafted pieces of tile with more than 30 different glaze applications were used.
· Award of Merit, Commercial: Mees Distributors, for "The Spirit of Baseball," in Cincinnati, Ohio. Project team members included Architect/Designer Berberich Design; General Contractor the Hunt Construction Group; and Installer Siemering Tile. At the main gates to the new Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, two glass mosaic panels depict two pivotal eras in Cincinnati baseball: "The First Nine" and "The Great Eight." The murals were comprised of Sicis Murano Smalto glass tiles of varying sizes.
· Special Recognition for Community Service: Artist and therapist Lorin Kummer, for "The Spirit of Renewal" for the Non-Profit Art Center Chelsea Center for the Development of the Arts (CCDA) in Chelsea, Michigan. Project team members included the Chelsea Center for the Development of the Arts, Michigan Association of Community Arts Agencies, Ruth Mott Community Foundation, and bricks donated by Fendt Builders Supply, Inc. Troubled by ongoing tragedies in Chelsea, Michigan and around the globe, Kummer engaged the local community in an artistic partnership that used tile, broken glass and mortar to create a spiral mosaic and glass sculpture for healing, hope and renewal. Approximately 45,000 pieces of tile and glass were individually laid and set on fiberglass mesh. During the creation of this mosaic, 250 community volunteers found healing ways to work together and develop a life mosaic of hope for display at the CCDA. Inspired by the design and courage of the community, Coverings has made a $1,000 donation to the CCDA.
