Orlando, FL, April 6, 2006--Winners come and go from Charlotte Arena. But a permanent champ is the building’s tile mural, and it earned the Grand Prize in the prestigious Spectrum Awards honoring outstanding use of ceramic tile.
Mosaic artist Mike Mandel, of Watertown, MA, created the modern mosaic masterpiece and received the $10,000 cash prize and Spectrum crystal sculpture that were presented at the opening ceremony of Coverings, the world’s leading exposition and conference for ceramic tile and stone.
Mandel’s design, cited by the judges for its brilliance in “uniting modern computer technology with old world craftsmanship and art,” was on behalf of the Charlotte, North Carolina, Arts & Science Council and was installed by D&M Contract Flooring of Knoxville, Tennessee. More than 100 colors of unglazed porcelain and glass mosaic tile were used in the floor-to-ceiling composition that spans an interior wall of a lobby area at Trade and Fifth Streets in the arena.
Each one-inch square tile used in the mosaic was equivalent to an electronic pixel. The panels trick the eye, appearing to be billboards or other photographic posters until you move in for a closer look. The images are riveting, portraits of unsung athletes and sports players from throughout the decades.
For a joyous display about women and style within the unusual setting of a pseudo-public restroom, Cravillion Tile & Stone, based in Sheboygan, WI, received First Prize honors in the commercial category. It was installed at the nearby John Michael Kohler Arts Center and featured more than 120 tiles hand painted by artist Cynthia Consentino. Her fanciful representations of hats, handbags, bras, jewelry, combs and other girly items that have contributed to shaping the identity of women also decorated toilet bowls and sink basins.
An additional First Prize was awarded in the commercial category, going to Twin Dolphin Mosaics for a mosaic pavement in the atrium of the Southern Oregon University Library, Ashland, Oregon. Solid body porcelain tile was fractured into unexpected chip shapes and sizes then composed into a visual treat of color and pattern that reads attractively at all levels and in all lighting conditions. Ribbons of color weave in and out and follow a spiral movement, as well.
The two top prize winners in the residential category are both based in San Diego, CA. Taking home the First Prize and $2,500 cash award was Interior Design Imports for a home spa pavilion featuring extensive use of ceramic tile in combination with stone mosaic and vintage Spanish terra cotta pavers. Tile was used to create door surrounds and a dramatic arched shower entryway. Other credits on this project include contractor Kevin Greenslate, architect Andrew Wright and installer Bell Tile, all of San Diego.
Fitzgerald Tile Company was named winner of the Award of Merit for a home in La Jolla that is crowned with a Moroccan-style dome. A replica of the one built for San Diego’s Balboa Park Museum of Man for the 1915 World Exposition, this dome covers the master bedroom and the exterior is exquisitely tiled as authentically as any mosque. It is artful and a landmark among the local landscape. A smaller dome surface was tiled, as well, covering a fire pit. Sharing credits for this achievement are architect John Oleinik, designer Tom Zimerly and builder, Allen Gross.
The judges singled out two additional projects for Special Recognition Awards. The first, a community project at the Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, is a quartet of cheery murals all composed of ceramic tile. The character of the various tesserae—shiny, matte, iridescent, glazed, clear, rounded—is what helps to convey the personality of the designs. It’s a surface that invites a kid’s touch, and, of course, is easy to clean and maintain. Kudos for this project went to Sonia King Mosaics of Dallas.
The other Special Recognition Award was for Architectural Excellence, and it went to Michael P. Johnson, a two-time Spectrum Award winner. The judges found his current submission for a Scottsdale, AZ, home particularly noteworthy, remarking that, “Ceramic tile seems to have been a grounding element to the total design of the house.” For the wall covering of the living areas Johnson used 60-x-120 cm full body porcelain large format tiles in a single color to articulate a very contemporary, minimalist statement.
Conducted annually as part of Coverings, the Spectrum Awards celebrates creativity and achievement in the use of ceramic tile in residential and commercial projects. Serving this year as judges were renowned design journalist Wendy Goodman, whose masthead credits include interior design editor of New York Magazine, style editor of Departures and contributing editor of Elle Décor; and, Jennifer Adams, editor for the past nine years of both Stone World and Contemporary Tile and Stone magazines. They were joined by representatives of Coverings sponsors: Christine Abbate, Assopiastrelle (Tile of Italy); Bob Daniels and Shannon Woodmansee, Tile Council of North America; and Mary Anne Piccirillo, ASCER (Tile of Spain). The Spectrum Awards competition also is sponsored by the Ceramic Tile Distributors Association and the National Tile Contractors Association.
