Biennale Interieur Awards 2016: Spaces Category

Biennale Interieur is unlike any other design event in the world, focusing on highly curated content to captivate its visitors. The Biennial Interieur Awards play an important part in the creation of bespoke projects for the event. Biennale Interieur was delighted to receive 80 outstanding entries for this year’s edition.

For the second edition of the Spaces award, The focus for contestants was on the design of a bar environment, showing a strong connection between design and food concepts. This year, the anonymous entries were judged by an international jury composed of Frederik De Wachter: interior designer and co-founder of DWA studio, Rossana Hu: co-founder of Neri&Hu Design & Research Office and Design Republic, Aaron Taylor Harvey: environment design director at Airbnb, Costas Voyatzis: founder of Yatzer, and An Michiels of Biennale Interieur. This jury took up the difficult task of judging all the entries and selected five winning designs: Terra (Belgium), The Banquet Gauls (Italy), We are family (France), Nose Bar (Japan & USA) and Made / Found (Belgium). These will be constructed and open to visitors at Biennale Interieur 2016 – 14 to 23 October, Kortrijk, Belgium.

The Terra project is a concept imagined by Carolien Pasmans, Bram Aerts and Claudio Saccucci of Trans Architectuur en Stedenbouw in Ghent. The Terra project enchanted the jury members with a minimalist bar concept made of concrete blocks and a variety of mushrooms, growing in a centrally placed ‘field’, symbolising our coming together around nature and food. Chef Andrea Lazazzera’s menu features dishes with mushrooms and beer.

Le Banquet Gaulois is a concept by Matteo Ghidoni from Milan, and Jean-Benoît Vétillard from Paris. This concept presents a collective meal with a ritual character. The design features freestanding, colourful kitchen elements. A round seating element forms a barrier between kitchen and guests at the Banquet.

Bar Nose is a concept by Mayu Takasugi from Tokyo (JP) and Johannes Berry from South Africa. It is a minimalist concept inspired by the traditional Japanese Kōdō ritual. The Japanese team describes it as ‘a place of sensory rest’ where the experience of aromas will be among the main components.

The Made/Found is a concept by Jon Kleinhample and Maša Lončarič of Klein Agency in Antwerp. It captivated the jury with a strong concept around the contrast between ‘found’ and ‘man-made’ design. A series of old and forgotten tree stumps are juxtaposed with ‘digital wood’.

We are Family is a concept by Pauline Deltour, Anne-Laure Gautier and Gwenaëlle Girard from En Bande Organisée in Paris. It emphasises social values such as living together and sharing. On two large tables with benches for 50 people, a basic lunch will be served in the traditional briquet, a lunchbox-avant-la-lettre for miners.

Biennale Interieur 2016 will take place from 14 to 23 October 2016 in Kortrijk, Belgium.

Video: Interieur Awards 2016: Spaces Jury.