The biggest global meeting of the natural stone industry, the 28th Marble İzmir Fair brings together talents who add art to stone with the 5th International Different Design Competition. Young designer candidates from 15 countries participated in the competition with a total of 72 unique projects they created using natural stone. The 28 projects of the designers, which made it to the finals as a result of the jury evaluation, will be implemented by the innovative companies of the sector and the award winners will be announced at the 28th Marble İzmir.
The world's largest natural stone and marble fair, Marble İzmir Natural Stone and Technologies Fair, organized by İZFAŞ and hosted by İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, is preparing to open its doors to its visitors for the 26th time between 29 - 2023 April 28. The 5th International Different Natural Stone Design Competition, organized as part of the fair, aims to increase the export of natural stone with products with high added value supported by design and architecture, and to reveal the innovative face of Turkish natural stone in the market. In their projects, the competitors designed decorative household items to be produced from existing natural stone or natural stone residues.
One thousand 72 projects applied
Young designers from 15 universities from a total of 58 countries, including Turkey, as well as the United States, Italy, Poland, Iran, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, applied with 72 projects. In the competition, in which many important names from academics to designers and industry professionals took part in the jury, 28 projects that made it to the finals were determined. The works with different designs from lighting products to tables, from special games to kitchenware and accessories were welcomed by the jury with great appreciation. At the designer-firm meeting held in Fuarizmir, young talents made design presentations to the leading manufacturers of the industry. As a result of the evaluation of the companies, it was decided to produce the 28 designs that made it to the finals.
Designer and company pairings are Resul Ekrem Zengin and Taha Yiğit Bekiroğlu - Alimoğlu Marble, Taner Vural - Goldmer, Zeynep Kevser Topçu - Ludi, Beyza Şenatile - Laodikya, Marta Sowinska and Monika Zaczkiewicz with their two projects Batı Ege and Sirmersan, Muhammet Taha Yılmaz - Çağrı, İnşirah Esra Ergün with her two projects Başaranlar and İzko, Şevval Şahin - Şenler, Samet Karaca - Gürmas, Hasan Basri Saltik - Kar Maden, Emine Kutlu - Megamer, Tuhan Aksoy - İzko, Erdener Atasayar - Alimoğlu Afyon, Elif Karaca - Kar Maden, Martyna Zak – Ebla, Magdelena Pelka – Şenler, Nihal Soykan with their two projects Megamer and Alimoğlu İzmir, Menekşe Ban – Gürmas, Kübra Taşkın – Çağrı, İlayda Yüksel Kırış – Aegean Antique, Elif Karaca – Başaranlar, Hadiye Özdemir – Eminoğlu, İlsu Uslu – Ludi, İnci Acar and Orçun Mert took the form of Tsarism - Granitaş, Abdullah Karadeniz - Laodicea.
The projects to be produced will be exhibited at the 26th Marble İzmir Fair between 29 – 2023 April 28. The best projects to be selected among the products produced will be rewarded. In the competition where the total prize amount is 220 thousand TL; In addition to awarding the first three projects, various awards such as Aegean Exporters' Association Special Award, company special awards, registration of designs and production of designs award will also be given. A 3D printer will be given as a gift to the university to which the highest number of students apply.
Academicians, designers and industry representatives on the jury
In the jury of the competition, İzmir University of Economics Fine Arts and Design Faculty Industrial Design Department Lecturer Dr. A. Can Özcan, Industrial Designer Adnan Free, Yeditepe University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Industrial Design, Dr. Faculty Member Ayşem G. Başar, Industrial Designer Ece Yalım, İzmir Mediterranean Academy Design Coordinator World Design Organization Turkey Contact İzmir University of Economics Lecturer Dr. Elif Kocabıyık, Interior Architect Esra Kazmirci, Senior Advisor Prof. Dr. Faruk Çalapkulu, Industrial Designer Fulden Dehneli, Designer Gökhan Karakuş, Designer Hakan Helvacıoğlu, Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Industrial Design. Faculty Member Koray Gelmez, Selçuk University Faculty of Fine Arts Department of Industrial Design Faculty Member Prof. Dr. M. Lütfi Hidayetoğlu, Industrial Designer Meltem Parlak, Head of Department of Warsaw Fine Arts Academy Prof. Dr. Michal Stefanowski, Haliç University Faculty of Architecture, Department of Industrial Design Lecturer Prof. Önder Küçükerman, Founder of Line Marble Remzi Boncuk, Founder of Aegean Antique Marble S. Sabri Bora, Gazi University Faculty of Architecture Department of Industrial Design Lecturer Prof. Dr. Serkan Güneş and Yaşar University, Faculty of Art and Design, Department of Industrial Design, Dr. Faculty Member Tolga Benli.