Volvo Cars Canada and the Interior Design Show Toronto have revealed the shortlist finalists for the New Garage sustainable design challenge.
The New Garage Design Challenge aimed to empower conceptual thinkers, design thought leaders, and ultimately inspire all eligible Canadians to re-think the garage and vehicle relationship into one that embodies innovative, beautifully designed and sustainable elements. Submissions from across Canada were accepted between October 29th – December 31st, 2020.
“We were all agreeably impressed with the diversity in design thinking across the entries,” said Robin Page, head of design, Volvo Cars. “The interpretations were clean and modern, Scandianvian-inspired, but also imaginative in the ways they re-framed the space to embrace nature and address more liveable functions.”
The finalists are:
Jerry Liu and Jesse Basran, design partners, BLA Design Group from Vancouver.
The New Garage design, ‘Modul,’ is a prefabricated, modular building that revitalizes suburban laneways. It creates a compact multi-functional space for vehicle parking, storage, home office, and other stay-at-home activities, while encouraging lane activation and interactions between neighbours.
Keillor MacLeod, industrial designer, Keillor MacLeod from Toronto.
MacLeod’s design is inspired by the Swedish movement of Naturhus to create living spaces surrounded by plants. The garage becomes a greenhouse, encased in insulated glass, to create a self-contained ecological system.
Tiam Maeiyat, R&D creative designer, PNH Solutions from Montreal.
‘Parking-Parc’ upcycles the garage space into a new form of the family room. Linking inside and outside together with light and transparency, the design creates possibilities for quality family time, regardless of time or season.
Shirley Shen, Travis Hanks, John Roddick, Jorge Roman, Ana Cadena from Haeccity Studio Architecture in Vancouver.
Haecity Studio Architecture’s New Garage design, ‘Mainspring’, turns the garage space into a car sharing opportunity for the whole community. By creating a communal garage, all other existing garages in the neighbourhood have the opportunity to be transformed into a new space that invests in mentally and physically recharging activities.
Sean Solowski, architect, MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects from Toronto.
‘Restore’, is a pavilion that embraces technology and honours the natural environment. A reinterpretation of the traditional garage as a space that recharges both motor and mind in equal measure.
The winning submission will be announced in March 2021 and the winner will receive a $2,500 cash prize and be showcased at the 2021 Toronto IDS.
