The final tier of “Design ‘N Gather 2016” (DNG), the international mosaic design competition sponsored by Bostik and Artaic Innovative Mosaic concluded with another high note at the annual AIA Convention, May 19-21 in Philadelphia.
For months, hundreds of mosaic enthusiasts ranging from A&D professionals to budding designers of tomorrow had been submitting mosaic mural designs based upon the theme “The Essence of Las Vegas.” Semi-finalists and ultimately, the winner, were selected by an esteemed panel of judges, all with strong industry ties. The grand prize winner, Nicole Faith Kohri, had her creation “Delta Waves,” unveiled in front of 1,500 hospitality design professionals as a 20’ x 8’ backlit mosaic tile mural permanently installed on a very focal poolside wall at MGM Grand’s “Wet Republic” day club on May 5th during HD Expo’s famed Party by The Pool event.
Two weeks later at AIA in Philadelphia, Bostik sponsored the convention’s annual “The Party!,” the convention’s annual biggest bash which included one of Philly’s most famous sons, actor Kevin Bacon and his band, The Bacon Brothers Band, at the convention center’s Grand Ballroom. Prior to the band coming on stage, with nearly 3,000 architects and design professionals already in party mode, Scott Banda, director of marketing & business development of Bostik’s Consumer & Construction Business Unit and Dr. Ted Acworth, CEO & founder of Artaic Innovative Mosaic, kicked off the event by addressing the crowd. Basically, they quickly described their firms, talked about their collective efforts to resurrect mosaic mural design, one of the most time-honored architectural & design techniques in history and then, introduced Nicole Kohri to the appreciative audience. Ms. Kohri humbly thanked both Bostik and Artaic for the opportunity, and very professionally stated her intentions of becoming an architectural designer.
In the ballroom’s lobby, ten brightly-lit, free-standing, mosaic tile displays exhibited all semi-finalists’ work and of course, that of Nicole Kohri. “Together with Artaic, we want to give back to the design community,” stated Scott Banda. “Everyone loves mosaic design, but most of what they’ve seen during their lifetimes has been when touring historical sites. Artaic invented a computerized process where mosaic designs are incredibly assembled by robots in its Boston-based manufacturing center. This regimen is hundreds of times faster than the archaic, time-consuming process of putting little mosaic squares into place by hand. As a result, not only are finished designs delivered much more expediently and cost-efficiently… because they are computer-driven, repeat versions will be perfect every time.”
Inventor and scientist Dr. Ted Acworth added, “Our relationship with Bostik began when we started using Dimension RapidCure Grout, their unique formulation which contains 60 percent recycled glass content, in our productions. The product is easy to apply, highly durable and most of all, actually adds more luminosity to mosaic productions. For example, if a project contains glass mosaics, imagine another light source being incorporated: that’s what Dimension RapidCure offers.”
After the event, Artaic even went as far as to offer Nicole Kohri some “very cool project work.” Acworth concluded, “Bostik and Artaic want not only to bring back the popularity, appreciation and enthusiasm which comes along with true mosaic design. Together, we want to find highly talented, motivated young designers who see mosaics as their future. And if possible, we want to help them jump-start their design careers.”
To chronicle the timeline of this groundbreaking program, Bostik has produced which beautifully shows the people, the products, the procedures and, the professionalism all of which were integral components of DNG. It can be seen on their YouTube channel.
