Montreal Architect to Design Innovative Winter Habitat at Ottawa’s First Winter Design Festival

OTTAWA, ON – The Winter Design Festival announced today Montreal architect Sylvain Bilodeau as the winner of Ottawa’s first ever Winter Design and Build Competition.

Bilodeau’s proposal was selected by a panel of design industry experts and community activists coming from the educational and professional stream of Architecture and Urban Planning.

Building on his experience in institutional projects, residential projects, and architectural competitions, Sylvain Bilodeau has a reputation of projects comprised of rigor, integrity, and personality.

Although still young, Bilodeau’s Montreal practice – Architecturama – has already gained attention through major design venues, including the International Symposium of Contemporary Art. It was there that his firm won an award in the Best of Canada Design Competition. He has also recently completed an architectural research residency in France. Sylvain Bilodeau and partners are licensed architects in Québec.

His WDF winning submission Loopdrop can be described as participatory, inviting interaction from both the public and the chilly winter weather. Instead of blocking ice-cold winds, Loopdrop will collaborate with the natural elements.

Visitors are invited to see Loopdrop come to life at this year’s Winter Design Festival, which will run February 1 through February 16, 2015 at Aberdeen Square in the newly renovated Lansdowne Park.

What is the Winter Design Festival?

Created as a platform to showcase ingenuity in Canadian design, the Winter Design Festival provides the Canadian Design industry with the opportunity to paint a vivid picture of winter through various artistic means.

The festival will consist of three components – Winter Design Festival Design & Build Competition, Winter Design Festival Oratory and Winter Design Festival Agora. All three of the festival’s components serve to inspire both the design community and general public to embrace winter by getting outside and experiencing all that the season has to offer.

Winter Design Festival is also brought to you by the City of Ottawa and the Government of Ontario.

Twitter: @wdesignfestival #WDF

Facebook: Winter Design Festival Website: winterdesignfestival.com Press contact:

Joanne Pitkin, Public Relations . 613-220-1077 . joanne@winterdesignfestival.com