Applications now open for competition recognizing design excellence in Detroit’s commercial corridors
Design Core Detroit has announced the official launch of Commerce Design: Detroit, a competition licensed from Montréal’s Bureau du design, that awards recently completed projects in Detroit’s neighborhood businesses that provide exposure to design excellence and businesses driving community growth. For these awards, design excellence means design that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but serves the needs of the business and is responsive to neighborhood and community context without respect to project size or budget. One of 60 projects announced in the unveiling of Detroit’s UNESCO City of Design Action Plan in April, Design Core has partnered with AIA Detroit, the local Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, to manage the competition with support from presenting sponsor Bank of America and additional backing from the Hudson Webber Foundation.
Commerce Design: Detroit is a competition aimed at raising awareness of—and access to—professional design services for neighborhood small businesses and celebrating the impact of commercial design projects on the communities in which these businesses reside. Developed over 20 years ago in Montreal—one of Detroit’s sister cities in the UNESCO network—the competition is now licensed in more than a dozen cities around the world. The competition will recognize projects, submitted jointly by the business owner and design team, that have been completed within the city of Detroit (including Highland Park and Hamtramck) within the last five years.
“The Commerce Design competition has proved to be incredibly successful in promoting very talented up-and-coming designers and in raising awareness of the importance and impact of good design for businesses and communities.” said Sylvie Champeau, project manager at the Montréal’s Bureau du design. “We look forward to discovering the creative work of Detroit designers and business owners and to witnessing the ripple effect they will have on the City of Detroit and its neighborhoods.”
The goals of this new program include:
- IMPACT: Recognizing design excellence on the merit of its impact in the neighborhoods and communities in which the projects are implemented.
- COMMUNITY: Advancing the notion of design as a force for positive change in all of Detroit’s vibrant and growing neighborhoods, as well as downtown.
- ACCESSIBILITY: Working to communicate the tangible value of professional design services for entrepreneurs, and to demonstrate how thoughtful design can support growth at every scale.
- COLLABORATION: Fosters a broad-reaching dialogue on the many interconnected relationships between and among various disciplines of design, including architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, urban planning, graphic design, and branding.
“We are thrilled to launch this competition as it truly embodies the goals laid out in the recently released Detroit City of Design Action Plan,” said Olga Stella, executive director of Design Core Detroit. “By highlighting Detroit designers and small businesses that are implementing tangible examples of inclusive design in Detroit neighborhoods, we can build local awareness and increase local demand for such projects.”
Applications are open now, and more information can be found on the Design Core website and the AIA Detroit website. Applications will remain open through the end of June, and both Design Core and AIA Detroit will host programming throughout the application window to promote applications for this round. Events will also promote a new resource, the Design Guide for Neighborhood Business, developed by Design Core, to serve as a tool to support small businesses and designers who may be undertaking projects that could qualify for future iterations of the competition.
“Recognizing and celebrating design excellence is at the core of what we strive for at AIA Detroit,” said Charlie Klecha, Managing Director, AIA Detroit. “We are excited to collaborate with Design Core on this program that raises awareness about the value that design can bring to small businesses and neighborhoods throughout Detroit.”
Ten winning projects, selected by a jury of experts, will be announced at a special Award Ceremony on Thursday, October 25, 2018, at the Garden Theater in Detroit. A People’s Choice vote will be opened at that time to allow the public to select their favorite from among the projects, and all 10 winning businesses will be featured in a Design Crawl Open House leading up to Small Business Saturday in November.
Programming and other announcements related to Commerce Design: Detroit will be shared through both Design Core and AIA Detroit communication channels. Questions about the competition and associated programming should be directed to the competition’s Program Manager, Charlie Klecha, at Competitions@AIADetroit.com.
About Design Core Detroit
Design Core Detroit champions design-driven businesses and their role in strengthening Detroit’s economy. It offers services to strengthen, grow and attract design businesses, increases market demand for design services, and tells Detroit’s design story locally and globally. Design Core is the steward of Detroit’s UNESCO City of Design designation and is a partnership of the College for Creative Studies and Business Leaders for Michigan.
About AIA Detroit
AIA Detroit, a Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, serves as the primary trade association for architects and allied trades in southeast Michigan, and seeks to facilitate broad-reaching and interdisciplinary programming in support of a collaborative, vibrant, and growing design community in the metro Detroit region.
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