WORKshop, Inc., Toronto, is pleased to announce the winners in Stage Two of the S-TOWER student design competition. The shoe tower design by Omri Menashe was selected by the jury as the winner with an award of $500. An award of $300 will be presented to the runner-up, Peter Sherratt. Mr. Menashe is a fourth-year, undergraduate student in the B.A. Architectural Studies program. Mr. Sherratt is a third-year, graduate student in the Master of Architecture program. The other three finalists were Nelson Cheng, the team of Nicholas Gosselin and Tyler Murray, and Xian Chi.

The three-member jury (Andrew Jones, Larry Wayne Richards, Robin Speke) was pleased with the Stage Two responses from the five finalists that submitted and recognized the tremendous amount of work that the various individuals put into their submissions. Although the jury felt that all of the finalists could have pushed their concepts further and struck a course that moved more aggressively and imaginatively away from the initial idea of Stage One, on the whole the competition was deemed a success, furthering the vision of the WORKshop.

Omri Menashe's winning project, titled "Tianbai Tower" (Tianbai meaning "sweet white" and related to porcelain ware used ceremonially in the Ming court), is based on banded elements that delineate space and structure artistic motifs. Menashe states that "The theme of 'Tianbai' is expressed in the central sinuous feature that acts both as surface and structure by alternating between two and three dimensions."  The jury concluded that his shoe tower displayed an impressive range of aesthetic and technical development and was captivating in its elegance and simplicity.

The runner-up project by Peter Scherratt, an extremely clever, sculptural construction made of plywood, crate-like components, included a pattern of delicate grooves on the ends of the crates.

The jury admired the basic functionality and flexibility of Scherratt's handsome design.

The winning and runner-up shoe towers, along with the other three finalists, will be displayed as part of the WORKshop's opening exhibition at 80 Bloor Street West during the late-fall and winter.