Eugénie Manseau and Philippe Carreau, industrial designers, recipients of the 2012 Phyllis Lambert Design Montréal Grant
Montreal, November 22, 2012 – Élaine Ayotte, Ville de Montréal Executive Committee Member responsible for Culture, Heritage and Design, today presented the Phyllis Lambert Design Montréal Grant to Eugénie Manseau and Philippe Carreau of industrial design studio Dikini, during the Prix de Montréal pour les arts et la culture awards ceremony. The $10,000 grant will allow the recipients to take a study trip to Seoul, South Korea, where they will analyze various types of street furniture. Upon their return, they will conceptualize a prototype based on the Korean model incorporating services adapted to a North American urban context such as Montréal’s.
The Intervalles project
Ms. Manseau and Mr. Carreau design street furniture that they describe as “public interval objects”—or, if you will, moments to pause and wait that punctuate one’s path through the city. They plan to study the various ways in which these interval objects (bus shelters, public benches, Wi-Fi terminals, bike-share hubs) are used in Seoul, a “digital city” known for integrating new technologies to serve users.
This study trip will enable the pair to investigate the contributions of digital technology to the physical space of the city as well as study technological obsolescence in urban contexts. Following their research, they will conceptualize a model of public-interval typology incorporating services adapted to a North American urban context such as Montréal’s, based on the experience of Asian cities. The concept developed as well as the results of their approach will be detailed on a website.
About the recipients
Dikini is a collaboration between Mr. Carreau and Ms. Manseau. Born out of shared ideas and aspirations, their partnership took shape in 2010 when both returned to live and work in Montréal. Together, they are interested in design for the home as well as urban settings. They strive to be part of the beautification and improvement of living spaces in public environments.
Eugénie Manseau completed studies in Industrial Design at Université de Montréal in 2005. She began her career as an intern in exhibition design with the firm Toboggan. Initially interested in spaces and objects, she went on to explore a variety of design fields. Working in New York City, she set about designing everyday household products. As an assistant to Stephen Burks, she worked in a framework that encouraged experimentation; a spontaneous approach in which creativity was the central focus of all activity. With Birsel + Seck, she completed projects for clients such as Target, Johnson & Johnson, Moroso, Herman Miller and HP. At the same time,
she designed furniture for the collective St-Ely. In 2011, she took part in the exhibition From Québec – In New York City.
After graduating in Industrial Design from Université de Montréal in 2003, Philippe Carreau got his start at Hippodesign with Koen De Winter. From 2004 to 2010, he worked in Germany, first at the Institute of Integrated Design Bremen and subsequently with Noa Design in Aachen, where he developed sanitary, kitchen and office products for clients such as Franke, Hansa, Hoesch and WMF. His creations include the S01 and 805 series by Hewi, both of which won the Red Dot Design Award and IF Product Design Award. As Senior Industrial Designer and Project Manager with Focus Yacht Design in Bremen, he collaborated on the exterior and interior design of “super yachts,” including six 73-metre vessels built by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.
The members of the jury were unanimous in hailing the quality of the project submitted, which is a logical extension of Ms. Manseau’s and Mr. Carreau’s professional approach. Jury member Éric Daoust said: “The formal research project on street furniture in Seoul will enable the recipients to perfect their knowledge of user interfaces. The Ville de Montréal may well benefit from the outcomes of this research as well, enriching its own thinking on utilization of public spaces.”
The jury comprised Mélanie Baillargé, Art Director, Nolin BBDO; Éric Daoust, co-founder, Bosses Design; Albert Ferré, Acting Communications and Publications Director, Canadian Centre for Architecture; Pierre Fortin, General Manager, Partenariat du Quartier des spectacles; and Francyne Lord, Section Head, Bureau d’art public, Ville de Montréal.
About the Phyllis Lambert Design Montréal Grant
Awarded annually by the Ville de Montréal, the Phyllis Lambert Design Montréal Grant rewards the talent of a young Montréal designer (or design collective) with fewer than 10 years’ professional practice, and having demonstrated exceptional quality in studies and work as well as marked interest in the city. The grant is named in honour of Phyllis Lambert, a Great Montrealer and staunch defender of emerging designers. In awarding it, the Ville de Montréal seeks to underscore her remarkable contribution to the city’s international reputation and to the quality of life of its citizens, as well as the decisive influence she has had on the quality of urban planning, architecture, heritage and design in the city.
About Phyllis Lambert
Phyllis Lambert is Founding Director and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montréal. She is recognized internationally both for her contribution in advancing contemporary architecture and for her concern for the social issues of urban conservation, as well as the public role of architecture and the CCA’s programs.
The Prix de Montréal pour les arts et la culture is a festive and multidisciplinary event highlighting Montréal’s artists, both seasoned and emerging, and those who support them. By recognizing the best creative talents and artisans in the city’s cultural sector through a distinctive event, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, the Ville de Montréal and their partners wish to increase the impact of the prizes among Montrealers, while bringing together the cultural and business communities.
For more information about the Phyllis Lambert Design Montréal Grant, visit mtlunescodesign.com.