09 Jul 2024
Now in its 14th year, AZURE’s annual AZ Awards celebrates the world’s most inspiring and innovative voices, guided by a jury of renowned practitioners. This year’s impressive field of submissions – received from 42 countries – was evaluated by Piero Lissoni, Tosin Oshinowo, Evan Jerry, Jennifer Keesmaat, Wanda Dalla Costa, Hector Esrawé, Julie Bargmann, Shirley Blumberg, Sidhartha Talwar, and Alex Holloway.
On Friday, June 21, AZURE celebrated all winners and finalists during a spectacular gala at Toronto’s Evergreen Brick Works, together with the architecture and design community and Guest of Honour, legendary landscape architect Julie Bargmann who also delivered an inspiring presentation on her work the night before.
Architect and artist Safoura Zahedi created a stunning installation called “Journey through Geometry”, a modular steel structure that transformed the space and created the perfect ambience for a fantastic event.
Winners received a stunning trophy designed by AZ Awards juror Evan Jerry, the founder of Halifax’s Studio Anansi. Evocative in form, existing somewhere between an elegant swan and an abstract anthropomorphic shape, the design of the striking marble piece was an organic process. Jerry worked with Portugal’s Studio Olivah, founded by Gisella Tortoriello, to produce the pieces. Olivah sources its materials from the waste produced by the stone industry, and its collaboration on Jerry’s trophy exemplifies the possibilities of upcycling.
The AZ Awards Gala is a popular design event where local and international architects and designers, sponsors, winners and finalists come together to meet and celebrate excellence in design. It’s a high-energy summer event that promises to be more spectacular than ever in 2025 as AZURE fêtes the 15th anniversary of its impactful and prestigious awards program.
