Shaw Contract Group Names 9th Annual ‘Design Is’ Winners

Shaw Contract Group has named the six winners of its 9th annual Design Is… awards, which honor designers and architects who enhance design concepts through innovative and high-impact solutions. The five judges selected winners from 356 entries and 25 countries based on projects which address design and business challenges with beauty, innovation, and impeccable design practices.

This year’s judges panel comprised Amy Sickeler, director of design at Perkins+Will; Wendy Watts, associate VP of interiors at CannonDesign; John Peterson, founder and president of Public Architecture; Christopher Chan, director at Moore Ruble Yudell; and moderator Reed Kroloff, director of the Cranbrook Academy of Art and Museum.

“This program is so much more than the awards aspect,” says John Stephens, VP of marketing at Shaw Contract Group. “This process allows us to interact with numerous industry experts—to engage in a greater conversation and to challenge one another to redefine the boundaries of design. This has a direct, positive impact on the built environment,” he says.

Each winning firm will receive $2,000 to donate to a cause of their own choosing. Once funds are distributed on behalf of the 2014 winners, a total of $108,000 will have been awarded to educational organizations with an emphasis on design.

Winners also recieve promotional and marketing materials, an advertising campaign, and will be featured on Shaw Contract Group’s Vimeo channel.