Lighting Up the Gesù Contest | Announcing the winners

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The announcement was made, the ideas bubbled and the jury finally decided. Mathieu Koch, David-Alexandre Côté and Steve Blanchette, three Montreal designers, have won the first prize in the ideas competititon for the illumination of the Gesù facade for their sensitive proposal, entitled "Rencontre sur les marches de l'église".

As part of the contest organized by the Quartier des spectacles Partnership, the Gesù and Design Montréal from the City of Montreal, the jury chose from among 37 entries submitted by a wide array of creators (architects, designers, students, etc.) from three continents. The entry from BCK design, a firm founded by UQAM environmental design graduates Mathieu Koch, David-Alexandre Côté and Steve Blanchette, drew the attention of the jury with its evocation of the soft and fragile glow of candlelight. They were awarded the $10,000 first prize in the contest.

Le 2^e prix avec une bourse de 5 000 $ a été décerné à Martin Labrecque et Jean Laurin, spécialistes en éclairage de Montréal, pour leur proposition Deux mondes, un lieu. James Long et Athena N. Anders, architectes de New-York, se sont quant à eux mérités le 3^e prix avec une bourse de 3 000 $ pour Light shadow dream. Selon les membres du jury, ces deux projets se distinguent par la théâtralité mise en oeuvre pour révéler le génie du lieu.

The $5,000 second prize went to Martin Labrecque and Jean Laurin, both Montreal-based lighting designers, for their submission “Deux mondes, un lieu”. James Long and Athena N. Anders, architects from New York, won the $3,000 third prize for “Light Shadow Dream”. The members of the jury recognized the distinctive theatricality with which both of these submissions revealed the spirit of place present at the Gesù.

As a site of activity in both the artistic and the spiritual domains, the Gesù brings together a diverse public. So that this public could become a valued participant in the project, the Lighting Up the Gesù exhibition was open to visitors from January 20. An impressive number of people took the opportunity to vote for their favorite submission, with 1,000 of the 13,000 total visitors choosing to fill out a ballot and make their voice heard.

For more information on the winning proposals and the contest, click here.