The award, presented in 5 categories every two years, was created by Frame Magazine and NaiM / Bureau Europa, the autonomous branch of the Netherlands Institute of Architecture in Maastricht dealing with architecture and design in a European context.
The organizers of the award believe that interior design, despite the active development of this area in recent years, remains an underestimated specialty with a vaguely limited framework. To reverse this unfavorable situation, they founded The Great Indoors, celebrating “Excellent Completed Projects” in order to enhance the overall quality of interior design.
In the Serve & Facilitate category, which included various public institutions, the library of the University of Amsterdam was awarded to Bureau Ira Koers and graphic design studio Studio Roelof Mulder: most of its space is given to students for classes, and books are delivered from storage facilities located in other buildings on pre-orders via the Internet.
The Relax & Consume category, which includes service, leisure and entertainment enterprises, is presented by the Chinese restaurant Beijing Noodle No. 9 in Las Vegas by the Japanese bureau Design Spirits: the architects managed to find a balance between kitsch and abstract solutions, while creating an extremely pleasant space.
Among the shops, showrooms and exhibition stands in the Show & Sell section, Prada Transformer by Rem Koolhaas Bureau OMA was named the best: a transportable structure that can transform from an exhibition hall into an auditorium, and then into a fashion show, the jury of the award seemed a harbinger future, based at the same time on the heritage of the Russian architectural avant-garde.
“Redesigned office” for the advertising agency Gummo in Amsterdam, i29 Interior Architects won the Concentrate & Collaborate category, where the interiors of administrative and office buildings, conference centers, etc. compete. The solution of the Dutch architects is to use recycled building materials not only for practical but also for aesthetic purposes.
The best bureau of the year was the Swedish studio Guise, which was recognized for its commitment to an original formal approach even in projects with a modest budget, as well as a clear design methodology and expressive aesthetics.
This year 380 projects from 40 countries of the world nominated for The Great Indoors award.
