The 2022 FORM Student Innovation Competition invites architecture and interior design students in Canada and the U.S. to showcase their creativity through original furniture designs that feature the quality and diversity of Formica brand products. To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the competition, students this year will be asked to create their designs using Formica brand wood grain products as a nod to the traditional fifth anniversary gift of wood.
Students are given the freedom to create a furniture design for any setting and use—including residential and commercial environments—as long as it includes a wood grain laminate. To participate, students must submit a color rendering and project statement for their design that highlights their vision surrounding the wood grain product. Entrants have the chance to win cash prizes, earn national recognition and have their work showcased at NeoCon 2022. The competition is open from Sept. 7, through March 4, and winners will be announced in May 2022.
The panel of industry and design professionals who will judge the student submissions includes Cindy Allen, editor-in-chief, Interior Design Media, Sarah Kuchar, owner and creative director of Kuchar Studio, Dan Mazzarini, principal, BHDM and Renee Hytry Derrington, managing principal of design at Formica Corporation.
“We have been so inspired by the ingenuity and thoughtfulness of the hundreds of student design entries we’ve received during the past five years,” Hytry Derrington said. “We recently enhanced our collection of wood grain patterns in response to designer requests and can’t wait to see the creativity and passion students bring to this year’s theme.”
The grand-prize winner will receive a U.S. $2,000 cash award and their design will be fabricated and displayed during NeoCon 2022 in Chicago. The second-place winner will be awarded U.S. $1,000 and the third-place winner will receive U.S. $500. The top three winners also will be invited to attend NeoCon as guests of Formica Corporation for the opportunity to network with industry professionals, visit an outstanding exhibition and get a taste of the design community.
Inspired by the creativity of design icons
The 2022 FORM Student Innovation Competition is inspired by the original iteration of this challenge held in 2008, when the company invited 10 world-renowned designers and architects—including Jaime Velez, Zaha Hadid, Michael Graves, Bernard Tschumi and Massimo Vignelli, among others—to create works of art from Formica brand products. Their designs, which ranged from domestic pieces to conceptual sculptures, were then exhibited at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati.
In the spirit of the original challenge, the 2022 FORM Student Innovation Competition invites the next generation of designers to express their creativity in these original furniture designs, showing attention to detail, inventive design and a unique point of view.
An exceptional group of Canadian students in 2021
The 2021 edition of the competition attracted an exceptional group of Canadian students who distinguished themselves by a record number of participants, but also by the creativity and quality of the designs submitted. Two Quebecers, Bénédicte Laurent and Martin Gonzalez Godoy from the University of Montreal won first place and Simon Boudreau and Marc-Olivier Desjardins, also from the University of Montreal, received an honourable mention for their joint work.
Entries accepted Sept. 7, through March 4, and competition submissions can be emailed to designcontest@formica.com. For more information, including complete competition details, resources and rules visit www.formica.com/studentcompetition.
