October 2, 2022

Confindustria Ceramica (the Italian Association of Ceramics) and the Italian Trade Agency are happy to announce that the 2023 Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition is now open for entries. With previous winners like Rockwell Group, Perkins&Will, and Snøhetta, this prestigious annual awards program celebrates the exceptional work of top North American architects, designers, and students who use Italian ceramic and porcelain tile in their projects to create innovative solutions that demonstrate a keen understanding of the material’s practical, aesthetic and sustainable benefits. Ultimately, an international jury of design experts will select winners and honorable mentions in four built project categories as well as a special Student category. Architects and designers based in the U.S. or Canada and students currently enrolled in a North American college or university are invited to submit their work through December 19, 2022.

Projects in each of the four built categories – Commercial, Institutional, Multi-Family Residential, and Single-Family Residential – can be new construction or renovations and must have been completed between January 2018 and January 2023. The jury will consider all styles and scales of projects located anywhere in the world, including, but not limited to: office buildings; spas; restaurants; stores and malls; hotels; religious buildings; schools or universities; apartment complexes and multi-unit housing developments; private residences; government or civic buildings; hospitals, labs, or doctor’s offices; museums and cultural institutions; transportation hubs; recreational and athletic facilities; and more. Each submission will be carefully weighed against several criteria, including the project’s overall design and sustainable attributes, the degree to which Italian tile enhances the setting, the amount of ceramic or porcelain tile from Ceramics of Italy member companies used throughout the project and the quality of the tile installation.

Carrying on the program’s tradition of recognizing and empowering the next generation of professional architects and designers, the jury will once again review submissions from students who create imaginative spaces using Italian tile. Individuals or groups of students are invited to submit their projects and ideas in the form of renderings, floor plans and/or sketches. Students must be enrolled in an accredited North American college or university at the time of submission to be eligible.

Winners and honorable mentions will be notified in February and publicly announced during the next edition of Coverings – the largest international tile and stone exhibition in North America – taking place in Orlando, Fla. April 18-21, 2023. Winners across all five categories will receive an expense-paid trip to Orlando to attend the show and present their projects in front of a large audience of design and trade media, manufacturers and tile industry professionals during the Ceramics of Italy Press Conference. Additionally, the four built project category winners will receive a five-day CEU trip to Bologna, Italy to attend Cersaie – the world’s largest exhibition of ceramic tile and bathroom furnishings – with a delegation of top design media September 25-29, 2023.

The competition guidelines, submission form and an archive of winning projects (pictured above is the 2022 Single-Family Residential category winner) from the past 29 years can be found on the Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition website. There is no fee to enter and multiple submissions are welcome.

The deadline for entries is December 19, 2022.