Last October, we announced the winners of the Ceramics of Italy Exhibit Design Challenge, a two-month competition calling on architects to design a 3,000-square-foot rectangle for the Ceramics of Italy trade show pavilion. New York-based e+i studio dazzled jurors with their winning entry Piazza Ceramica, a whimsical topography of ceramic tiles that plays on the form and function of Italy’s stepped piazzas. Its dipping, valley-like structure garnered praise for its dynamism and versatility, and its striking contours pop in the sea of banal, conventional trade show boxes shown in the studio’s 3D renderings.

Yet nothing can quite compare to seeing a computer-generated vision come into built fruition. e+i studio’s realized design debuted at the Coverings show in Orlando, Florida this April, and what was once merely a digitally-generated idea became a bustling three-dimensional space illuminated with shimmering mosaics. More photos after the jump!

In order to meet the demands of the competition and create a reusable pavilion, e+i’s husband and wife team Eva Perez de Vega and Ian Gordon configured a structure that could be flat-packed and easily assembled and disassembled on site, “like a 3-D puzzle.” From April 17th to April 20th, the ingeniously prefabricated piazza invited a steady stream of trade show goers to sit in its café and bask in its colorful, ceramic-tile terrain of open space. The pavilion demonstrates the possibility of architecture, particularly small-firm architecture, to break open the corporate mold and build a truly astounding work of exhibition design.

For firms big and small, don’t miss our next design challenge: Design Jim’s Kitchen. Some months back, our friend Jim Richardson came to us looking for designers for help to rehaul his 120-square-foot galley kitchen into the social center of his Hell’s Kitchen apartment. Now, we’re  inviting architects to turn Jim’s Manhattan shoebox kitchen into a tasteful display of sleek, space-saving design. Not only will the winner’s design have the chance to go from rendering to realization, but they’ll take home a $5,000 prize. Additionally, second and third place finalists will each be awarded $1000, while all entrants will be eligible for a sizable 30% discount at GD Cucine. So help design Jim’s kitchen. Win money.

For more information, visit our competitions page.

by Architizer Editors

posted in Competition New Projects

tagged architectured, ceramics of italy, Competition, coverings, design, pavilion, studio e+i

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