Ceramics of Italy Launches 2025 North American Tile Competition
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NEW YORK, NY -- Confindustria Ceramica (the Italian Association of Ceramics) and the Italian Trade Agency are pleased to announce that the 2025 Ceramics of Italy North American Tile Competition is now open for entries. The Tile Competition – which honors the best projects by architects and interior designers that utilize ceramic and porcelain tile from Ceramics of Italy brands – was created through the merger of two historic Italian ceramic tile competitions; the Design Competition for the North American market, which has existed for over 30 years, and La Ceramica e il Progetto (Ceramics and Design), the architecture competition held in Italy for the past 11 years. The new competition honors projects carried out in Europe and North America in alternate years. The 2025 edition will award projects from North American architecture and design firms, with built-category winners receiving a CEU-trip to Bologna, Italy for Cersaie 2025, cash prizes up to $5,000 and a trip to Coverings 2025 in Orlando, FL, where they will be honored at a dedicated awards ceremony during the show.
The 2025 cycle invites North American architects, designers and students who use Italian ceramic and porcelain tile to submit projects that demonstrate a keen understanding of the material’s practical, aesthetic and sustainable benefits. The international jury of design experts will select winners and honorable mentions in four built project categories – Residential, Non-Residential, Urban Design, Design & New Applications – and a special Student category; carrying on the program’s tradition of recognizing and empowering the next generation of professional architects and designers. Individuals or groups of students are invited to submit their projects and ideas in the form of renderings, floor plans and/or sketches. Students must be enrolled in an accredited North American college or university at the time of submission to be eligible. Projects in each of the four built categories can be new construction, renovation or architectural restoration projects that have been completed between January 2020 and September 2024 and utilize Italian ceramic tiles produced and marketed by companies licensed to use the Ceramics of Italy label under their own brand names.
The international jury is chaired by Louisa Hutton, architect and founder of the Berlin-based practice Sauerbruch Hutton, and consists of Domitilla Dardi, historian and design curator at MAXXI in Rome, Luca Molinari, architect and professor of architectural theory and design at the University of Campania, Steve Clem, architect at the Atlanta and Tampa-based practice TVS and Emilio Mussini, chairman of the promotional activities and trade fairs commission of Confindustria Ceramica. The jury will examine the submitted projects based on the project’s overall design and sustainable attributes, the degree to which Italian tile enhances the setting, the amount of ceramic or porcelain tile from Ceramics of Italy member companies used throughout the project and the quality of the tile installation.
Winners and honorable mentions will be notified in March and publicly announced during an award ceremony at the next edition of Coverings - the largest international tile and stone exhibition in North America - taking place in Orlando, FL, from April 29 to May 2, 2025. Winners across all five categories will receive a trip to Orlando to attend the show and present their projects in front of a large audience of design and trade media, manufacturers and tile industry professionals during the Ceramics of Italy Press Conference. Additionally, the four built project category winners will receive cash prizes up to $5,000 and a CEU-trip to Bologna, Italy to attend Cersaie - the world’s largest exhibition of ceramic tile and bathroom furnishings - with a delegation of top design media from September 22 to 26, 2025.
The competition guidelines, submission form, and an archive of beautiful winning projects can be found on the Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition website, www.tilecompetition.com. There is no fee to enter and multiple submissions are welcome.
The deadline for entries is February 14, 2025.
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