Iron Age Designs–provider of standard and custom decorative drain grates, tree grates, and other architectural castings for public and residential use—asked landscape architecture designers to create one of its newest product offerings as part of an inaugural design challenge.
The company turned to the members of Land8— a global forum that allows those in the landscape architecture profession to share their work and ideas–to design its next Site Furnishing Family, which includes of a bench, a bollard and a bin.
The winning design has been chosen and is currently scheduled for production, according to Iron Age Designs.
“We were bowled over by the level of talent and quality of entries the community at Land8 was able to produce for the design challenge,” said Iron Age Partner Dominique Watkins. “It is inspiring to see designs that reflect the unique insight of Landscape Architects themselves. There were so many great entries that picking a winner was no easy task.”
The company said the contest page received more than 23,000 visits and designers submitted 77 completed entries. Awards categories included Grand Prize, Student Prize and People’s Choice. The designers of the top three submissions received a cash award.
The Grand Prize winner is John Newman, RLA, Sydney, Australia, for a design inspired by the Australian plant, Xanthorrhoea australis. He will receive a check for $1,500 and 3% commission on all sales for 10 years.
The Student Award winner is Katarzyna Malarek, Warsaw, Poland, who will receive a $500 scholarship.
The People’s Choice award-winning entry received 472 votes. Marla Cirino and Anwar Morales, Miami, Fla., will receive a $250 Visa gift card for their Formato design.
“The Iron Age Design Challenge was the perfect way for our members to showcase their talents outside the typical work environment,” said Land8 founder Andrew Spiering. “We were thrilled with the level of involvement and how the designers reached out beyond the community to invite participation. There was a clear synergy between a manufacturer and the design community that reinforces Land8’s goal to connect people and our mission to build up the profession of Landscape Architecture.”
Contest judges included Mark Armstrong, president, Iron Age; Ted Jonsson, Iron Age representative, Park Pacific; Craig Diamond, lead designer, Iron Age; Richard Watkins, partner, Iron Age; Jonathan Howe, designer, Iron Age; Linnea Stein Perez, manager, Iron Age; Andrew Spiering, founder, Land8; and Lara Moffat, LM Creative. They considered constructability, versatility and design sensitivity. All prizes were courtesy of Iron Age Designs.
