PHILIPPE LAMARRE, 2008 RECIPIENT
The Mayor of Montréal, Gérald Tremblay, awarded the inaugural Phyllis Lambert Design Montréal Grant to graphic designer and publisher Philippe Lamarre. The $10,000 grant enables the recipient to document and distribute, via a collaborative website, the visual heritage of Berlin, Buenos Aires and Montréal, the three UNESCO Cities of Design. The official grant award ceremony took place June 12, 2008 at City Hall with Ms. Lambert, members of the jury and guests from the design community in attendance.
Collaborative website on vernacular graphic design
The vernacular graphic design documentation project envisioned by Mr. Lamarre aims to index and classify these visual symbols of the past and present, in turn promoting the architectural heritage of the cities involved as well as presenting and preserving their identities and specific natures.
Mr. Lamarre believes that vernacular graphic design, like architecture or urban planning, contributes to a city's personality. Vernacular graphic design includes official and commercial signage as well as any other visual element that leaves its mark on the urban landscape. Examples in Montréal include painted advertisements on brick walls and the Five Roses Flour sign - visual artifacts that, by way of the techniques with which they were created, their style or their content, embody the spirit of their times. Different cultures possess their own pictorial languages that blend typography and iconography in specific ways to guide citizens in their day-to-day activities.
The project, which will take place over a period of eight months, will include travel to Berlin and Buenos Aires, two member cities of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. The results of Mr. Lamarre's research and documentation will be showcased on a website, which will be the centrepiece of a collaborative project inviting users to post their own images of vernacular urban design in cities all over the world.
Philippe Lamarre, graphic designer and publisher
Philippe Lamarre is co-founder of Toxa, a multidisciplinary design studio, and of Urbania, a magazine whose quarterly themed issues are devoted essentially to Montréal and have been acclaimed for their daring tone and design. He is also the producer of the series Montréal en 12 lieux, aired on TV5. His professional practice is notable for its off-the-wall vision of the city, its innovative spirit and its creativity.
The members of the jury, Mirko Zardini, Director of the CCA, Monique Savoie, Director of the Society for Arts and Technology, and Marie-Josée Lacroix, Design Commissioner of Montréal and Director of Design Montréal, were unanimous in acknowledging the grant recipient's talent for exploring and making use of the non-conventional media favoured by his generation of creators to capture the soul of a city.
PHYLLIS LAMBERT
Phyllis Lambert - CC, GOQ, CAL, FIRAC, FRSC, FRIBA (Hon.), FAIA (Hon.), LL D
Phyllis Lambert, architect, is Founding Director and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) in Montréal, an international research centre and museum founded in 1979 on the conviction that architecture is a public concern. Based on its extensive collections, the CCA is a leading voice in advancing knowledge, promoting public understanding, and widening thought and debate on the art of architecture, its history, theory, practice, and role in society today.
Phyllis Lambert first made architectural history as the Director of Planning of the Seagram Building (1954-58) in New York City. She is recognized internationally both for her contribution in advancing contemporary architecture and for her concern for the social issues of urban conservation and the role of architecture in the public realm.
With a parallel commitment to intervention in the urban fabric, Lambert founded Héritage Montréal in 1975, and four years later was instrumental in establishing the Société d'Amélioration de Milton-Parc, the largest non-profit cooperative housing renovation project in Canada.
With major contributions to scholarship and architecture, as well as a tireless commitment to civic activism, Phyllis Lambert has been recognized with numerous awards and distinctions. She holds honorary degrees from over two dozen universities in North America and Europe.
Phyllis Lambert has received the highest civil honours in Canada as Companion of the Order of Canada and Grand Officier de l’Ordre national du Québec. France has appointed her Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and l’Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie has named her Chevalier of the Ordre de la Pléiade. Lambert is also an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
