In the summer of 2013, ROCKWOOL held a European competition “Stone becomes art” to develop a new design for cladding panels based on ROCKPANEL stone wool. Architects, planners and designers, as well as students and creative associations were invited to participate. The main requirement was the creation of original facade slabs, "looking like a stone", but not imitating the real surface of the existing stone in nature, but offering its new, creative interpretation.
52 projects were sent to participate in the competition, including 17 works from Russia. Applications were judged by an authoritative jury: Heike Klussmann, professor of fine arts and architecture at the University of Kassel and co-leader of the BlingCrete working group, Berlin (Germany); Luc Nooijen, architect, Architecten Aan de Maas Maastricht (Netherlands); John Relou, ROCKPANEL Product Development Manager, Roermond (The Netherlands). The defining criteria for evaluating projects were the uniqueness and creativity of the design, aesthetic standards, feasibility, popularity in the ROCKPANEL communities on social media.
The results of the competition were announced at the recent inauguration ceremony for the new ROCKPANEL production line in Roermond, The Netherlands. The winner was Roman Baudisch, an architect-engineer from Hamburg with the Volcano project. The novel received the main prize of 5,000 euros and the inclusion of a new design in the ROCKPANEL product range, with direct reference from the author. The design will go into production in 2015. Here is how Heike Klassmann comments on the jury's choice: “The Volcano project convinces with its clear and consistent interpretation of volcanic rock. The source of inspiration for the author is an imaginary cutaway of the stone, on the other hand, it is an original allusion to the stone as the basis for the production of all ROCKWOOL products, including ROCKPANEL panels. The air inclusions in the stone, visible in the cut, create a dynamic, structured surface and open up a wide variety of stylization approaches. The deliberate combination of contour and surface, interior space and shell, positive and negative, emphasizes the contrast between 3D and surface effects in design. That is why the jury decided that this design should be implemented."
The second prize went to Puzzled by Marit Oto, Holland. Although an important detail in Puzzled's design could not be realized in production, the judges concluded that it was an extraordinary concept. The structure of the stone was artificially created using other materials and the methods with which they were processed. Combined with color, this design opens up a lot of possibilities. Thorough design development along with seeming simplicity testifies to the fact that "Puzzled" is a complex work that deserves second place in the competition.
The third prize-winners recognized the project "Golden Age", proposed by Ronnie Chopper and Franziska Adler (KollektivA), Germany. This design reflects the extreme complexity of the stone, as the fossils hold the memory of prehistoric times. The presented concept fulfills all the requirements of the competition: the design does not imitate stone, but creatively develops this idea. Citing this advantage, as well as the unusual golden shadows that sparkle when hit by the occasional sun, the jury chose this design for the third prize. Thus, the authors of the projects that took the second and third places received 3,000 and 2,000 euros, respectively.
