RICHMOND HILL, ON (Thursday, March 18, 2021) – Today, Volvo Cars Canada and the Interior Design Show Toronto are honoured to announce Montreal-based Tiam Maeiyat as the winner of The New Garage, a sustainable design challenge.
The highly regarded panel of judges for The New Garage includes Canadian architects and designers APPAREIL architecture, Kim Pariseau and Justine Dumas; MSDS Studio, Jonathan Sabine and Jessica Nakanishi, Campos Studio: Javier Campos, and from Sweden, Volvo Cars’ Head of Design, Robin Page. Maeiyat’s submission was chosen because the judges believed it best represented the design criteria. The design featured beautiful form and function, clean and modern Scandinavian aesthetics, and a sustainable connection to nature. Notably, the panel was impressed by all five finalists’ design submissions and want to recognize their thoughtful work and talent.
WINNER
'Parking-Parc' by Tiam Maeiyat upcycles the garage space into a new form of the family room. Linking inside and outside together with light and transparency, the design creates possibilities for quality family time, regardless of time or season. Inspiration and integration of the fully electric Volvo XC40 Recharge was interpreted through freedom and flexibility.
“I believe that freedom in form results in freedom in the way we live in the space,” said Tiam Maeiyat, R&D Creative Designer. “This freedom brings more opportunity, more attachments and more sense of belonging.”
Environmental considerations were at the core of Maeiyat’s garage design, in particular, through a green roof intended to provide a rainwater buffer, purify the air, reduce the ambient temperature, regulate the indoor temperature and save energy. To utilize daylight effectively, the design used a semi-transparent, photovoltaic glass façade and flexible solar panels.
“Tiam envisioned a garage space that seamlessly connects the indoors with the outdoors,” said Robin Page, Head of Design, Volvo Cars. “The design beautifully exemplifies the function, modern Scandinavian aesthetics and sustainable elements seen within the Volvo XC40 Recharge.”
As the winner of The New Garage Design Challenge, Maeiyat will receive a $2,500 cash prize; promotion in House & Home and Maison et Demeure; and his design vision for the New Garage will be showcased at the 2021 Toronto IDS.
RUNNER UP
‘Mainspring’ by Shirley Shen, Travis Hanks, John Roddick, Jorge Roman, Ana Cadena of Haeccity Studio Architecture in Vancouver, BC, turns the garage space into a car-sharing opportunity for the whole community. Using an impressive systems-based approach to rethinking the garage, the judges admired how the design created a conversation around the future of mobility and community, especially in urban areas.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
‘Nature House’ by Keillor MacLeod, an Industrial Designer from Toronto, ON, is inspired by the Swedish movement of Naturhus—a greenhouse encased in insulated glass to create a self-contained ecological system. The judges were drawn to the classic Scandinavian design and idea of creating a multipurpose space for the home that is connected to nature.
‘Restore’ by Sean Solowski, an Architect from Toronto, ON, is a pavilion that embraces technology and honours the natural environment, recharging both motor and mind in equal measure. A beautiful form that speaks to modern and clean Scandinavian design, the judges appreciated the level of refinement given to the design.
‘Modul’ by Jerry Liu and Jesse Basran, Design Partners BLA Design Group from Vancouver, BC, is a prefabricated, modular building that revitalizes suburban laneways while encouraging interactions between neighbours. A smart systems-based idea inspired by the density in cities, the judges respected the thought given to addressing issues of space, and how the design also looked at the garage from a manufacturing perspective.
MORE INFORMATION
For more information on the winner, and to view the finalists design submissions, visit IDS Toronto and IDS Vancouver."
ABOUT THE NEW GARAGE:
Launched on October 29, 2020, The New Garage aimed to empower conceptual thinkers, design thought leaders, and ultimately inspire all eligible Canadians to re-imagine the often-neglected garage space which, following stay-at-home conditions, has become a new frontier in design. With a two-month submission period for entries, the design brief challenged Canadians to re-think the garage and vehicle relationship into one that embodies livable, innovative and sustainable elements. The inspiration for the concept and design also had to complement the key features of the new XC40 Recharge, Volvo’s first pure electric compact SUV.
Survey Methodology:
*From September 8th to September 9th 2020 an online survey of 1,520 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Maru Voice Canada panelists was executed by Maru/Blue. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size has an estimated margin of error (which measures sampling variability) of +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been weighted by education, age, gender and region (and in Quebec, language) to match the population, according to Census data. This is to ensure the sample is representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
About Volvo Car Canada Ltd.
Volvo Car Canada Ltd. is a subsidiary of Volvo Car Group of Gothenburg, Sweden. VCCL provides marketing, sales, parts, service, technology and training support to the 36 Volvo automobile retailers across Canada. For more information please refer to the Volvo Cars Canada media website at: ww.media.volvocars.com/ca/en-ca.
About Volvo Car Group
Volvo Cars was founded in 1927. Today, it is one of the most well-known and respected premium car brands in the world with sales of 705,452 cars in 2019 in about 100 countries. Volvo Cars has been under the ownership of the Zhejiang Geely Holding since 2010.
In 2019, Volvo Cars employed on average approximately 41,500 (41,500) full-time employees. Volvo Cars head office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Cars head office for APAC is located in Shanghai. The company’s main car production plants are located in Gothenburg (Sweden), Ghent (Belgium), South Carolina (US), Chengdu and Daqing (China), while engines are manufactured in Skövde (Sweden) and Zhangjiakou (China) and body components in Olofström (Sweden).
Under its new company purpose, Volvo Cars aims to provide customers with the Freedom to Move in a personal, sustainable and safe way. This purpose is reflected into a number of business ambitions: for example, by the middle of this decade it aims for half of its global sales to be fully electric cars and to establish five million direct consumer relationships. Volvo Cars is also committed to an ongoing reduction of its carbon footprint, with the ambition to be a climate-neutral company by 2040.
