Improving environmental quality as well as social and economic development: The Promoting Office of Shenzhen (a UNESCO City of Design) and the Shenzhen Creative Culture Center (SCCC) invite designers from the 34 member cities of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network to submit applications for an Award recognizing the success and talent of young designers.
The competition aims, among other things, to encourage exchanges among young designers from various countries, co-operation among the various UNESCO Creative Cities, and the sharing of experiences and ideas in the development of creative and cultural industries.
Under the theme Recovery: The Power of Design, the Shenzhen Design Awards for Young Talents (“the Award”) will reward the efforts of young designers who, through their creativity, have contributed to improving environmental quality as well as social and economic development—more specifically, making cities more liveable. The Award also seeks to promote design as an accelerator for recovery of local economies.
As a UNESCO City of Design, Montréal, through its Bureau du design, collaborate in the Award selection process.
To be eligible, a contestant must be a design professional or student aged 35 or younger whose main office is located in Montréal or enrolled as a full-time student at a Montréal university-level institution. There are two submission categories, one for professionals and the other for students.
The judging process will take place in two stages:
- In the First Stage, a local jury will select five projects by Montréal designers (one student and four professionals) for nomination.
- In the Second Stage, which is anonymous, an international jury will choose the winners from among the candidate designers nominated by each city.
Winners of the Second Stage will share the following prizes awarded by the City of Shenzhen.
Professional category
Grand Award (maximum three winners):
$30,000 US per winner
Merit Award (maximum ten winners):
$5,000 US per winner
Student category
New Star Award (maximum five winners):
$5,000 US per winner
The Montréal jury tasked with nominating five candidates for the Shenzhen Design Award for Young Talents consists of the following members:
- Mickaël Carlier, Founder and President, Novae
- Chantale Ladrie, Interior Designer, Lemay
- Juliette Patterson, Architect and Landscape Architect, Catalyse urbaine
- Louis-Philippe Pratte, President and Founder, À Hauteur d'homme
- Ron Rayside, Architect, Senior Partner, Rayside Labossière
The international jury that will select the Award winners will consist of seven members from different countries and having complementary design expertise.
- Ugo Camerino, Founder, Ugo Camerino Architects
- Michel Dallaire, President and Founder, Michel Dallaire Design Industriel Inc.
- Dr. Masayuki Kurokawa, Architect, Designer, Entrepreneur, Kurokawa Masayuki Architecture Studio
- Xiaodu Liu, Founding partner, URBANUS
- Freeman Lau, Partner, Kan & Lau Design Consultants
- Michael Michalsky, Fashion designer
- Pr. Min Wang, Dean, School of Design at China Central Academy of Fine Arts
Candidates must submit an application. Elements to submit are listed in this document . There are no fees for submission of entries.
Any questions or requests for clarifications must be addressed via e-mail to Véronique Rioux, Industrial Designer and consultant at @email
Application must be submitted to the following address no later than September 13, 2013, at noon Montréal time.
Bureau du design – Ville de Montréal
Prix Shenzhen de la relève en design
303, rue Notre-Dame Est, 6e étage
Montréal (Québec)
H2Y 3Y8