YING GAO, 2009 RECIPIENT
The 2009 Phyllis Lambert Design Montréal Grant was awarded to university professor and fashion designer Ying Gao. The $10,000 grant will enable Ms Gao to design “modulatable” garments, whose construction will be directly inspired by transformations in the urban environments of Berlin and Nagoya, both of which share UNESCO City of Design status with Montréal. In addition, the Ville de Montréal will contribute $5,000 to assist the recipient in promoting and disseminating her project.
The jury members were unanimous in acknowledging the relevance of the link between the research project and the chosen cities (Berlin and Nagoya), and in their enthusiasm for picking this candidate. Ying Gao has had a remarkable career thus far, having presented her projects in well-known venues in Montréal, Switzerland and Belgium, which demonstrates her desire to disseminate and share knowledge.
CREATING “MODULATABLE” GARMENTS
Ying Gao’s project proposal is for a study trip involving a reflection on the function of apparel. Her original and rigorous creative approach challenges the notion of garments as we know them. Her work investigates the modular nature of clothing and its construction by observing transformations in urban spaces. For this new project, the conceptual and esthetic framework of her designs will draw inspiration from the cities of Berlin and Nagoya, especially their impressive mass-transit systems. Ying Gao will be developing her project in collaboration with two Berlin-based designers as well as the Japanese industrial firm Amaike Textile Industry, inventor of the world’s lightest fabric.
The production phase of the project will extend over the next eight months. Ying Gao will present the outcomes of her research in Montréal by means of exhibitions, conferences, publications and teaching, and will also give presentations in Berlin (during Fashion Week) and Nagoya (Nagoya Design Do! Competition) in 2010.
YING GAO, UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR AND FASHION DESIGNER
Ying Gao is Director of the Exercices de style design laboratory and a professor at UQAM’s Graduate School of Fashion as well as its School of Design. In 2002 and 2003, she completed a double project that included two clothing collections, “Pékin” and “Accidents de parcours,” inspired by the traditional hutong architecture of Beijing as well as the city’s newer urbanization. Returning to Montréal in September 2003, Ying Gao tackled the projects “Cardigan météorologue” (2005) and “Indice de l’indifférence” (2006), in which she investigated the relationships between individuals, their cities and their climatic and social environments. Ying Gao created two new projects, “Walking City” and “Living Pod,” in 2007 and 2008. These involved two types of interactive garments, one inflatable and the other light-sensitive, developed as a tribute to the British architectural collective Archigram.
MEMBERS OF THE JURY
- Giovanna Borasi, CCA Curator of Contemporary Architecture
- Benoit Dupuis, MOAQ, Partner and Design Principal, ACDF
- Angela Grauerholz, Director of the Design Centre, UQAM
- Marie-Josée Lacroix, Director of Design Montréal, Ville de Montréal
- Mario Masson, Division Manager, Direction des grands parcs et de la nature en ville, Ville de Montréal
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.
