Canadian Students Win Second and Third Place in the 2025 International FORM Student Innovation Competition

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada, May 12, 2025 — Formica Canada is proud to announce that for the sixth year in a row, three Canadian students rank among the winners of the 2025 FORM Student Innovation Competition. Stacy-Ann Matthews and Tara Hunt, from Yorkville University in Ontario, won second place for their creation entitled “Noyes Balance” while Grace Luong, from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, tied for third place with a student from Mexico for her design, “Solarium.” First place went to Leah-Marie Boake, from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, for her creation, “Playce.”

Architecture and interior design students from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico were invited to design a furniture piece exploring the theme Designing for Wellbeing. With the 194 submitted designs, students demonstrated how elements like colour, sound and patterns can positively impact how people live in and experience a space. Each design was required to incorporate three or more Formica® or FENIX™ products.

“The FORM Student Innovation Competition continues to generate tremendous interest among students and educational institutions across Canada. Canadian students submitted 82 entries and displayed remarkable creativity in how they interpreted the theme and demonstrated great rigour in the design of their projects,” said Christelle Locat-Rainville, Marketing Director at Formica Canada. “We congratulate all the students who participated this year, especially Stacy-Ann Matthews and Tara Hunt from Yorkville University in Ontario, who won second place, and Grace Luong from the University of Waterloo, who tied for third place. The quality of the projects submitted improves every year, and the skills of the next generation bode well for the future of our industry.”

Innovative designs focused on well-being

Grand prize: Leah-Marie Boake from the New Jersey Institute of Technology is the grand prizewinner for her entry “Playce.” An indoor children’s playhouse and desk combination, Playce is designed to encourage imaginative play in children, which is important for cognitive growth, social skills, emotional development and stress relief.

Second-place prize: Stacy-Ann Matthews and Tara Hunt from Yorkville University in Ontario, Canada, received the second-place prize for their piece “Noyes Balance.” The dynamic, multi-functional piece is designed to enhance wellbeing in home workspaces by promoting organization and disguising clutter.

Third-place prize: Andrea Vidal Alvarez from Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla in Puebla, Mexico, and Grace Luong from University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, tied for the third-place prize. 

Honorable mentions: In no particular order, the other top 10 finishers were:

• Sabrina Landry, Cégep de Trois-Rivières
• Mathilde Johnson, Cégep de Trois-Rivières
• Takeshi Harada, New Jersey Institute of Technology
• Zaida Vanessa Manzano Rivera and Adriana Munguía Chirino, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México
• Ava Cannedy, Purdue University
• Eduardo Regis Vázquez Carrasco and María Fernanda Castolo Aguilar, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla

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

About Formica Canada Inc.

Formica Canada Inc., part of the Broadview Materials family of companies, is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of innovative surfacing products for commercial and residential applications. Formica Canada is a proud partner of the Well Made Here program. For more information about Formica Canada Inc., its products, special programs and promotions, visit www.formica.com or call 1-800-FORMICA™.