Canadian students win first prize at Formica’s 2021 FORM Student Innovation Competition

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada, May 25, 2021 — Formica Canada is proud to announce that, for a second year in a row, Canadian students are the winners of the FORM Student Innovation Competition. Bénédicte Laurent and Martin Gonzalez Godoy, second year Industrial Design students at the Université de Montréal, set themselves apart with their “Toboom” design, a multiuse piece of furniture for children.

Now in its fourth year, the competition invites interior design, architecture and furniture design students across the U.S. and Canada to create furniture using Formica® Brand products. A record total of 244 entries from more than 35 universities across the U.S. and Canada were submitted under the theme of “Design for the Next Generation,” which called for students to interpret their design vision for a variety of post-pandemic commercial settings using products from the 2021 Specialty Collection by Formica Corporation. The winning students will receive cash prizes and the “Toboom” design will be created and showcased at NeoCon, Oct. 4-6, 2021, at the Mart in Chicago.

“This year again, the quality of the designs and the number of entries speak for themselves! We are very proud to report that the FORM Student Innovation Competition attracted 102 entries from across Canada. In their projects, the students demonstrated a great deal of care, creativity and talent,” said Christelle Locat-Rainville, Marketing Director at Formica Canada. We are particularly delighted that students from our country distinguished themselves and won, for the second time in a row, the first place of the competition.” 

“This North American competition was created to stimulate creativity and promote the talent of the next generation of architects and designers. The participation of each student is a great learning experience, and I am convinced that the winners and all the participants of this 2021 edition will be strongly stimulated by their performance.”

The winning designs were chosen by a jury of influential industry professionals, including Alda Ly, founder and principal, Alda Ly Architecture & Design, Cheryl Durst, executive vice president and CEO of IIDA, Cindy Allen, editor-in-chief of Interior Design Media, Renee Hytry Derrington, managing principal of design at Formica Corporation, Sarah Kuchar, owner and creative director of Kuchar Studio and Vern Yip, award-winning designer, TV host and author.

The top-of-class “Toboom” design 
Bénédicte Laurent and Martin Gonzalez Godoy, students in Université de Montréal’s Bachelor of Industrial Design program were awarded the top prize for jointly designing “Toboom”, a multiuse piece of furniture for children. 

In the future, teleworking parents will need places for children that are versatile and allow for independence. This design encompasses an area for children to work, play, relax and have storage, and is designed with fluidity and dynamic curves; the absence of corners makes it safe for children and enhances cleanliness. The piece’s duality can be seen in its integrated seat and writable surface for flowing creativity. It also features a slide for expelling energy and encouraging playtime. This design uses Formica® Laminate in Enamel, Solar Orange and Buff Elm as well as Formica® Writable Surfaces. 

Second and third prizes
Maria Rodriguez of Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded second prize for her “Portal Desk” design, which rethinks the design of modern workspaces. Ryan Todys, from Milford, Ohio, was awarded third prize for his “You, Me and a Tree” bench design. This design connects people to nature and is meant to welcome all with an interchanging space for a live tree, allowing for more social distancing between patrons. 

Two Canadian students receive an honorable mention
Simon Boudreau and Marc-Olivier Desjardins from the Université de Montréal received an honorable mention for their “ILO” desk design, as did Eva Lloyd from North Carolina State University for her “LiveCycle” table design.

For more information about the winning students’ designs, please visit www.formica.com/studentcompetition.