Architectural Record has been recognizing fruitful firm-client collaborations for 17 years with its annual Good Design is Good Business (GDGB) awards to demonstrate how embracing design can benefit an organization’s bottom line. This year’s 10 winners include not only such singular projects as the City of Dallas Performance Hall by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and the New Orleans BioInnovation Center by Eskew+Dumez+Ripple, but also a variety of client-driven relationships that aim to reap long-term dividends. Shoe manufacturer Camper, for instance, has commissioned more than 20 top designers in over 30 years to create its imaginative shops and properties around the world; while Marc Jacobs International has been working with one firm, Jaklitsch/Gardner Architects, for the past 15 years as it’s grown from startup to stardom. Each corroborates the notion that design matters and seeks to raise the bar for its unique enterprise.
Two of the selected projects are located in Toronto, and are designed by established Canadian firms KPMB Architects and Diamond Schmitt Architects. The Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto (see CA, November 2012) is a significant and groundbreaking addition to the University of Toronto’s downtown campus, and Diamond Schmitt Architects’ Daniels Spectrum has quickly become the artistic, cultural and social hub of Toronto’s Regent Park neighbourhood, and a critical building block in its ongoing revitalization. Both projects included the significant involvement of Entro Communications, who designed and implemented placemaking graphics, wayfinding systems, as well as integral donor recognition systems.
The complete list of winning projects in the 2014 Good Design Is Good Business Awards follows:
Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto in Toronto by KPMB Architects
Daniels Spectrum in Toronto by Diamond Schmitt Architects
Camper Together in worldwide locations by various design teams
NASA Sustainability Base in Moffett Field, California by William McDonough + Partners
Marc Jacobs in worldwide locations by Jaklitsch/Gardner
21c Museum Hotels in Cincinnati, Louisville, and Fayetteville, Arkansas by Deborah Berke Partners
Dallas City Performance Hall in Dallas by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
New Orleans BioInnovation Center in New Orleans by Eskew+Dumez+Ripple
Convene 101 Park in New York by Gensler
City Green Court in Prague by Richard Meier & Partners
For more information on the winning projects, please visit http://archrecord.construction.com/features/gdgb/