Announcing the recipients of the first-ever Winterhouse Awards for Design Writing & Criticism

NEW YORK, September 25, 2006. The Winterhouse Institute and AIGA are pleased to announce the recipients of the first Winterhouse Awards for Design Writing & Criticism—Thomas de Monchaux and Katherine Feo.

The awards, a joint venture between the Winterhouse Institute and AIGA, the professional association for design, seek to increase the appreciation of design throughout the design community, and for the greater public, by recognizing excellent writing about design, and by discovering new voices in design criticism and commentary.

Two types of awards were given:

The Writing Award, which was open to writers, critics, scholars, historians, journalists and designers in the amount of $5,000, was awarded to Thomas de Monchaux for his three submissions: “Constructing the Melnikov House,” “Solving for X: Dek: Calculating Idealism Among Young Architects” and “Here Come The Jets!: Notes on a Stadium.”

De Monchaux is a writer and designer. He has written for Architectural Record, I.D. Magazine, and The New York Times, along with journals such as 32BNY and N+1. He majored in art history and history at Brown University, and later studied architecture at Princeton. He lives and works in New York City and is currently assisting Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano of the firm LOT-EK at Columbia University’s “Housing Architecture Studio.”

The Education Award, which was open to undergraduate or graduate students whose use of writing, in the interest of making visual work or scholarship or cultural observation, demonstrates extraordinary originality and promise in the amount of $1,000, was awarded to Katherine Feo for her submission: “In Defense of Stupidity.”

Feo has just completed her M.A. in design history at the Royal College of Art in London. She received her B.A. in painting and social welfare from the University of California at Berkeley in 2002. Currently, she is working as a research assistant at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and is a visiting lecturer in the department of illustration at the University of Westminster.

The awards were judged by three distinguished writers, each of whom is renowned for exceptional writing about design and visual culture:

Kurt Andersen
Editor and novelist; host, PRI’s “Studio 360”

Julie Lasky
Editor-in-chief, I.D. Magazine

Meghan O’Rourke
Culture editor, Slate; poetry editor, The Paris Review

Awards will be presented at the Design Legends Gala on October 25, 2006, in New York City.

The awards were supported by the generosity of more than 50 benefactors, including schools and universities, design firms and individuals, media, and paper and printing benefactors. With their kindness, the awards are financially supported for the next five years.

“We were delighted with the enthusiasm we witnessed in this, our first year,” notes Winterhouse partner Jessica Helfand, who chaired this year’s judging. “We received more than 100 submissions, roughly divided between professionals and students, together representing an extraordinarily diverse set of observations about design and approaches to writing. I was particularly pleased with how many working writers are also working designers: both of the recipients, who were unanimously selected by this year’s panel, reflect this unusually comprehensive approach to design.”

Submissions for next year’s awards will be accepted starting in March 2007.

Benefactors
Individuals and institutions: Sean Adams, AIGA, Art Center College of Design, Michael Bierut, Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, Carnegie Mellon University School of Design, Brian Collins, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, The Cooper Union Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design and Typography, Meredith Davis, William Drenttel & Jessica Helfand, Milton Glaser, Alexander Gorlin Architects, Steven Heller, IDEO, Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology, Ellen Lupton & Abbott Miller, Debbie Millman, MIT School of Architecture & Planning, Clement Mok, Errol Morris, Murray Moss, North Carolina State University Graphic Design Department, Northeastern University Department of Visual Arts, Bruce Nussbaum, Parsons The New School for Design, Princeton Architectural Press, Chris Pullman, Rhode Island School of Design, Rockwell Group, Anthony Russell, School of Visual Arts, Snøhetta, Society of Publication Designers, Syracuse University Goldring Arts Journalism Program (a collaboration between Newhouse School, Newhouse School, College of Arts & Sciences, College of Visual & Performing Arts and School of Architecture), 2x4, Two Twelve Associates, University of Minnesota Design Institute, Rick Valicenti, Michael Vanderbyl, Lella & Massimo Vignelli, Armin Vit & Bryony Gomez-Palacio, Walker Art Center, Weisz + Yoes Architecture, Lorraine Wild

Media supporters: The Architect's Newspaper, Communications Arts, Dwell, Eye, How Magazine, I.D. Magazine, Log, Print, Speak Up

Printing and paper: Mohawk Paper, The Studley Press

About AIGA
AIGA, the professional association for design, is the oldest and largest membership association for design professionals engaged in the discipline, practice and culture of designing. Its mission is to advance designing as a professional craft, strategic tool and global cultural force. www.aiga.org

About Winterhouse Institute
The Winterhouse Institute, a project of William Drenttel and Jessica Helfand, supports writing and publishing projects that further the understanding of design and visual culture. www.winterhouse.com

For further information, please contact:
Liz Danzico
AIGA | the professional association for design
Tel 212 807 1990 Fax 212 807 1799
liz_danzico@aiga