Solutia Announces Winners of World of Color Awards(TM)

ST. LOUIS and DUSSELDORF, Germany, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- St. Louis-based Solutia Inc. (NYSE: SOA) has announced the winners of the first annual Solutia World of Color Awards(TM): Inspired by Vanceva(R).  The international competition pays tribute to architects, interior designers, furniture designers and other industry professionals who have demonstrated innovative and liberal use of Solutia's Vanceva(R) color interlayers for laminated glass in their work between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2009.  Photographs of the winning projects are being showcased this week at the company's stand at Glasstec, the world's largest glass event held in Dusseldorf, Germany.

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An international jury of five celebrated industry professionals reviewed a worldwide portfolio of architectural project submissions, and awarded two winners and two honorable mentions in the Exterior and Interior categories.  Entries were judged on the creative use of glass with laminated color interlayers, aesthetics, and degree of attention paid to the overall benefits and technology of laminated glass.

WINNERS:

Exterior Division Winner

Architect Pitupong Chaowakul, of Thisdesign Co., Ltd. Thailand, won the Exterior Division award for "Harbor Mall," a new shopping center in the coastal city of Laem Chabang, Thailand, a popular tourist destination.  The blue-green vertical color palate of the Harbor Mall facade was inspired by the movement and feel of the waves in the nearby Gulf of Thailand.  From inside the building, shoppers experience the changing colors of waves as they gaze through the gradient color system into the sunlight.  From the exterior, the building's marine colors beckon tourists who have come to enjoy the sea.  The design awards jurors gave Harbor Mall glowing remarks, calling it "site specific work that thoughtfully integrates color and glass."  Another juror celebrated the work as an "exceptional project with bold glass, which adds not only to the interior and exterior of the building, but to the built environment."  

Architects: This Design Company LLC

Glazing Contractor: Thai Techno Glass Company  

Exterior Division Honorable Mention

Celebrated Montreal artist and architect Hal Ingberg received the honorable mention for his public art installation "Papa" in the Exterior Division.  The peaked structure is made up of a series of vibrantly colored glass panels that add brilliance to an ordinary intersection in the heart of Canada's capital region in Quebec.  A glass wall reaches a 14.4 m height at the southwest corner of the park, and Ingberg notes, "(the work) performs as a gateway to the city and its park."  The installation spirals downward to 2.4 m, inviting pedestrians and cyclists to sit and contemplate the ever-changing play of sunlight through the transparent colored glass. The dramatic use of colored laminated glass walls and spirals assures "Papa" as not only a major public art installation but also a standard for the future of Canadian design.  The jury applauded the work as "a sculpture, high-impact and simple – a very bold statement."  

Architects: Hal Ingberg Architecte

Glass Laminator: Prelco

Glazing Contractor: Vitreco

Interior Design Division Winner

The first place award for the Interior Division was awarded to designer Patricia Urquiola for "The Spa at Mandarin Oriental" in Barcelona, Spain. The jury called the space an "elegant, architectural interior."  Subtle use of colored laminated glass emits a soft emerald glow around the spa pool and the simple lines achieve a serene and relaxed environment.  Urquiola notes how the finalized design is perfectly integrated in the surroundings, interacting with patrons to engage them in a 'true oasis' of tranquility."  Another juror called the work "restrained, tasteful, yet adventurous."  

Architect: Patricia Urquiola

Glass Laminator: Control Glass (Union Vidriera)

Interior Design Division Honorable Mention

Designer Peter Saville and architect David Adjaye collaborated on the new London headquarters of Kvadrat, a Danish textile company. A stunning staircase, set in a two-story industrial space, is like a bolt of lightening running the entire length of the space.  It is framed by colored glass panels, which cast colored shadows over the concrete walls as the light changes throughout the day.  A stunning spectrum of colored laminated glass interlayers, ranging from rich violet hues to light and airy blues, brings light and beauty to a desolate office space.  The jurors commented on the clarity of the project, calling it "a strong statement made with few notes and careful editing."

Architect: David Adjaye

Glass Laminator: Barretts Group

The Jury:

The jury for the first annual Solutia World of Color Awards(TM) consisted of an international mix of celebrated industry professionals in both the architectural, interior design and color marketing industries.  The judges included: Shashi Caan, founder of the  Shashi Caan Collective in New York City & the United Kingdom; Fermin Vazquez, founder of  b720 Arquitectos in Barcelona and Madrid, Spain; Andrew Moor, principal of Andrew Moor Associates in London and author of The Colour of Architecture; Jeeyong An, principal of GinsengChicken Architecture, a New York office for progressive architecture; and Denise Turner, international colorist and founder of Color Turners in California.

The Vanceva(R) Color System by Saflex offers architects and designers unparalleled creative freedom to incorporate color into glass and glazing systems using tinted interlayers which are laminated in between two pieces of glass.  A palette of 15 colors can be combined in up to four layers to produce more than 3,000 transparent, translucent and opaque glass colors.  This gives designers unparalleled flexibility to create custom colors and one-of-a-kind aesthetics.  Vanceva color interlayers also offer all the benefits of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayers for laminated safety glass, including security, solar, sound insulation and UV protection.  The Solutia World of Color Awards(TM) competition is an international recognition program open to all industry professionals.

Corporate Profile

Solutia is a market-leading performance materials and specialty chemicals company.  The company focuses on providing solutions for a better life through a range of products, including: Saflex(R) polyvinyl butyral interlayers for glass lamination and for photovoltaic module encapsulation and Vistasolar(R) ethylene vinyl acetate films for photovoltaic module encapsulation; LLumar(R), Vista(TM), EnerLogic(TM),  FormulaOne(TM), Gila(R), V-Kool(R), Huper Optik(R), Sun-X(R) and Nanolux(R) aftermarket performance films for automotive and architectural applications; Flexvue(TM) advanced film component solutions for solar and electronic technologies; and technical specialties products including Crystex(R) insoluble sulfur, Santoflex(R) PPD antidegradants, Therminol(R) heat transfer fluids and Skydrol(R) aviation hydraulic fluids. Solutia's businesses are world leaders in each of their market segments. With its headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, the company operates globally with approximately 3,400 employees in more than 50 worldwide locations. More information is available at http://www.solutia.com/ .

SOURCE Solutia Inc.