Since 1983, the DuPont Antron Design Award competition has singled out the efforts of those who have set new standards of creativity in commercial interior design through the innovative use of carpet. The 1999 edition of the annual contest was no exception, as DuPont honored this year’s grand prize, category and merit winners during a recent dinner gala at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.

Minneapolis-based design firm Partners & Sirny Architects and brand identity designers Duffy Design captured the grand prize, as well as $5,000 and a trophy, for the striking use of carpet in the renovation of the Zelo Italian restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. Working closely with Lees Carpets, the design team developed the custom-patterned ModaVation carpet, made with DuPont Antron Legacy nylon, that graces the floor of the popular eatery.

The Zelo installation and design also earned top honors in the Hospitality category of the competition. Portland, OR-based BOORA Architects Inc. and Atlas Carpet Mills won in the Public Spaces category for the renovation of Seattle’s 38-year-old Cinerama theater, and Kansas City, MO-based HNTB garnered the Retail category prize for the Sprint ION communications showroom featuring Bentley Mills’ Kings Road carpet. All category winners also received $1,000.

Four interior design firms were also recognized as merit award winners. In the Small Office category, Santa Monica, CA-based Gensler and Monterey Carpets won for the design of an informal office space commissioned by the Econ One economic research firm. DMJM Rottet of Los Angeles and Lees Carpet took merit honors in the Retail category for the showroom design at Steelcase Wood Furniture.

In the Hospitality category, Minneapolis-based Architectural Alliance and Masland Contract Carpets won a merit award for the Scandinavian-flavored design of Restaurant Aquavit of Minneapolis. San Jose, CA-based Reel Grobamn & Associates, Atlas Carpet Mills and Monterey Carpets took merit award honors in the Large Office category for their work on the Philips Silicon Valley Center.

Rounding out the awards announcements was the presentation of the second annual Product Innovation Award to Pacificrest Mills, recipient of gold and silver awards in the broadloom category for its Visions carpet, and Mannington Commercial Carpet, a gold award winner in the modular/6’ category for its Canyon loop pattern.