Cool Gardens

An Outdoor Installation Competition

Cool Gardens is a public exhibition of contemporary garden and art installations that offers a shift of sensation for the summer—cooling—as a general theme for public projects in Winnipeg’s downtown. Cool Gardens brings architects, landscape architects, designers, artists, and the public together, celebrating the interface between architecture, urbanism, landscape, and design. The competition features locally, nationally, and internationally acclaimed artists and practitioners, highlighting the value of art and design in public space.

Benchmark

A Bench Design Competition

Storefront Manitoba and The Winnipeg Trails Association ask designers to put their skills to work and challenge the concept of a ‘common’ bench. This design competition looks for interventions that have the power to stop people in their tracks and provide a place to wait, rest, read and more. Our trails offer a multitude of trail experiences from wilderness pathways, rail trails, rural tracks, forested paths, historic canoe routes to logging roads, country roads, secondary highways, paved urban walkways, and downtown streets.

TableFor1200More

SfMB's Premier Fundraiser

TableFor1200More brings together architecture, design, and the culinary arts to create an evening of entertainment and stimulating conversation in an absolutely unique setting. At approximately 1200 feet long, TableFor1200More is a truly spectacular ‘pop-up’ outdoor dining experience at a surprise location announced shortly before starting. Dressed for a “Winnipeg White Out”, guests wear all white to provide a magical visual dimension to the evening. Meals are provided by local chefs Mandel Hitzer (Deer+Almond) and Ben Kramer (Chef Ben Kramer Custom Catering). TableFor1200More is organized as part of StorefrontMB’s mandate to raise awareness about the value of architecture, design, and urbanism.

Commerce Design Winnipeg

A Design Competition

The CommerceDesignWinnipeg contest rewards Winnipeg merchants for the exceptional quality of the interior and exterior design of their business and highlights the talents of designers. Every year it will honour merchants who have called upon practicing designers in architecture, landscape architecture and/or interior design to help them design or renovate their business premises.

The Winnipeg Design Festival

SfMB's Annual Design Festival

The Winnipeg Design Festival is an annual open and public event that aims to share, discuss, promote and celebrate design culture in Manitoba. The Winnipeg Design Festival builds interdisciplinary relationships and partnerships with industry, like-minded organizations and institutes that promote the value of design and the city. It also endeavours to connect professionals, designers, artists and industry with the broader community in order to foster design-based dialogue. Festival events are the primary mode of engagement and include lectures, forums, interactive installations, tours, and exhibits.

Frontlines

A Discussion Series

FRONTlines is an ongoing discussion series that aims to create a dialogue between the city’s design professionals, developers, and the public with a specific focus on Winnipeg’s built environment, its development, and the foreseeable possibilities for positive growth and experience of the city.

on_the_boards_

A Critique Series

On the Boards is an initiative aimed at strengthening our design community through camaraderie, sharing, discussion and critique of work at process-based dialogue [schematic stage] of current work. Exposing our processes to broaden each others understandings and effectiveness among peers. Architects, Landscape Architects, Interior Designers and Planners are encouraged to take part. Hosting is voluntary, rotating through professional offices.

Portal X

An Annual Architectural Installation at

The Winnipeg New Music Festival

Portal X is an inhabitable sculpture, instrument, and a metaphor that invites contemplation of the temporal and the infinite. The simple architecture of the X boldly marks a spot in space and time. Here, we are placed within the order of the universe but also witness the entropic trajectory of cultures; the loss of time (as we know it). Temporality and infinity intersect in Portal X as two chambers angled at 45 degrees from each other represent time and space further shaped by light and sound.

Bar Nano

SfMB's Mobile Micro Shot Bar

In support of micro establishments everywhere, and their value to the grain of the city, Storefront Manitoba presents Bar Nano, Canada’s smallest bar.  Bar Nano is an outdoor micro shot bar installation, transported to and from site by bicycle, and powered by battery, in support of the ideas of active living and sustainability.

Little Free Libraries

A Little Library Design Competition 

The Little Free Libraries Design Competition was presented by Culture Days Manitoba, Winnipeg Public Library and  StorefrontMB.  The contest was an invitation to local artists, architects and designers to design Little Free Libraries for Winnipeg neighbourhoods. Organizers aligned selected designs and their designers with Little Free Library ‘stewards’ in the community. Little Free Library is an international movement that promotes stewardship and active community involvement by engaging the public in reading and literacy in their backyard.  The Little Free Library program operates on a “take a book, return a book” principle, and now sponsors over 5,000 libraries in neighbourhoods worldwide.