Outstanding and visionary use of tile and stone in architecture and design will be recognized at Coverings 2009 with the annual presentation of the prestigious Spectrum and Prism Awards.

In issuing the call for entries, it was announced that the competitions for both honors-Spectrum for ceramic tile, Prism for natural stone-are open to international and domestic projects that best represent a mastery of the materials, overall creativity and imagination, plus installation competency. The awards have been a highlight of Coverings for most of the 20 years that the tile and stone expo and conference has been in existence. The 2009 show is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21 through Friday, April 24, at Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center. The Spectrum and Prism Awards ceremony is planned for the Wednesday evening of show week. More than 20,000 entry forms have been mailed, plus a downloadable version is available at http://www.coverings.com/spectrum-prism-awards.html, The deadline for submissions is Friday, January 30.

The Spectrum Awards will honor outstanding projects featuring ceramic and porcelain, as well as mosaic and glass tiles, with the possibility of winners in seven categories earning a total of $10,000. There will be both a Commercial and Residential First Prize for Ceramic and Porcelain installations, plus an Award of Merit in this materials category. For use of Mosaic and Glass Tile, both a First Prize and Award of Merit also will be presented. Additionally, the judges will be asked to decide two Special Recognition Awards in any of the following categories:  Green Achievement; Community Project; Architectural Excellence; Detail & Design.        

The Prism Awards will be presented in eight categories, with a total of $11,000 to be awarded. Up for grabs are First and Award of Merit Prizes each for Residential, Commercial and Institutional installations featuring extraordinary use of stone, along with two discretionary Special Recognition awards similar to the Spectrum criteria.

 To qualify, projects must have been completed between January 2005 and December 2008. Each submission must be accompanied by an electronic file; a pocket folder with an official entry form; a typed project description and identification information; and, high-resolution photography. The entry fee is $100 for a single project; $60 for each additional submission.

The 2008 Spectrum and Prism Awards are sponsored by Coverings and coordinated by the five sponsoring organizations of the show including ASCER (Spain’s Ceramic Tile Manufacturers Association), Confindustria Ceramica (Italian Association of Ceramics), CTDA (Ceramic Tile Distributors Association), NTCA (National Tile Contractors Association) and TCNA (Tile Council of North America).