Anglo-American Awards Spotlight International
Flair
by Janice Anne Costa
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND
Strikingly innovative, highly functional, richly colored and
textured, the internationally acclaimed designs that were honored
at the sixth annual Bathrooms & Kitchens Industry Awards, held
in Birmingham, England, spoke the universal language of beauty.
In a new category featuring design winners from England,
Ireland, the U.S. and Canada, Bathrooms & Kitchens Magazine a
leading UK-based kitchen and bath publication and strategic partner
of Kitchen & Bath Design News honored world-class designs and
their creators before some 730 of their peers. Additionally, the
2000 Bathrooms & Kitchens Industry Awards honored dealers for
their marketing, showroom and retailing efforts, and celebrated
some of the industry’s top manufacturers (see related Editorial,
Page 9).
More than 40 designers from all over the U.S. and Canada fought
for the chance to represent their country in the North American
portion of the Anglo-American Design Awards, with a wealth of
notable kitchen projects submitted that ran the gamut from
high-tech havens to cozy country hideaways to Asian-influenced
spaces.
Canadian Carolyn Walsh, CKD, won top honors with a striking, rustic
kitchen that incorporated a host of natural materials a design so
notable, it also took top honors in Category D of the NKBA Design
Competi-tion (see related story, Page 97).
Described by contest judges as “passionate” and “perfect,” the
kitchen integrated seamlessly with both the living area and the
environment in which the house was set, melding antique finished
distressed pine with granite worktops, hardwood flooring, rock and
adobe walls and a wood plank ceiling for a “naturally
beautiful” look and feel.
More proof that good kitchen design is universal, the U.S.
winner, Donald Gustason, from the Minneapolis, MN-based North Star
Services, was also a winner in the NKBA Design Competition, scoring
top honors in Category C (see related story, Page 95).
Gustason’s design incorporated contrasting use of exotic woods,
South American granite with a rich burgundy background and a
stunning yet highly functional central island which provides an
informal dining area for five.
UK winner Simon Taylor, a two-time winner of the contest’s
Kitchen Designer Award and a former Master Retailer, demonstrated
his ability to combine beauty and function with his dual-purpose
kitchen design. The clients had requested that the room function as
a family room by day and a center of the home in the evening quite
a challenge, since the existing room was tiny in comparison to the
rest of the home.
Taylor addressed space limitations by opening up the small room
into a glass and brick conservatory, which created a more open,
spacious feel, while helping to bring the attractive garden into
the home. A highly functional central island facilitated
entertaining by allowing the chef to prepare meals while
maintaining contact with guests.
The Irish winner, Dublin’s Barbel Raub, faced similar space
limitations, and was additionally challenged with a boxed-in waste
pipe in one corner, which made that end of the kitchen essentially
“dead space.”
She resolved this problem by planning a diagonal corner base
unit with ceramic hob and diagonal back panel, to which she fitted
a curved chimney extractor. This allowed the “dead space” to
function as storage, while the back panel hid the waste pipe and
allowed space for a tall unit with an oven and a microwave.
Judging criterion
The North American sector of the Anglo-American Design Awards was
judged in November at NKBA headquarters, where Bathrooms &
Kitchens editor Richard Moss chaired a team of U.S. judges,
including Kitchen & Bath Design News editor Janice Costa,
designer Alan Asarnow, CKD, CBD, CR, NKBA manager of professional
development Kelly Hayes and Bathrooms & Kitchens awards
producer Kevin Crook.
Judging for the UK and Irish winners took place at the end of
last year in England, and then the overall winner of the
Anglo-American design awards was named at the Birmingham awards
ceremonies, chosen by a team of judges led by Thomas Ritt, a top
kitchen designer from Germany.
Projects were first evaluated for safety of use and efficiency
of the working area; those designs that satisfied the first two
criteria were then marked for presentation of the project and the
contribution added by the designer’s skill.
Traveling awards
One of the truly unique aspects of the design awards was the
presentation of two “travelling scholarships.” Called the “Young
Kitchen and Bathroom Designers Awards,” these scholarships are
presented to two designers under the age of 30, who receive an
all-expense-paid trip to the U.S., where they have the opportunity
to work with a renowned American kitchen or bath designer to
further their skills and broaden their design perspective. Contest
judge Alan Asarnow, CKD, CBD, CR, of Ulrich, Inc., will be hosting
one of this year’s winners.
Jonathan Woodcock, winner of the Young Designers Award for
kitchens, and Katy Dixon, winner of the Young Designers Award for
Baths, will also be attending this month’s K/BIS as part of the
award.