For the better part of the past two decades, the DuPont Antron Design Award competition has recognized the efforts of those who, through the innovative use of carpet made with DuPont Antron Legacy nylon, manage to set exemplary new standards of creativity in commercial interior design. During a recent awards dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, DuPont honored its grand prize, category and merit winners for 2000.

Engberg Anderson Design Partnership of Milwaukee won the top award in the Public Spaces category and this year's grand prize, as well as $5,000 and a trophy, for the lively use of carpet in the design and renovation of the Milwaukee County War Memorial. The Engberg Anderson team chose three standard and three custom colors of Bentley Carpet Mills' modular Castle Bay carpet to create an abstract rectilinear floor pattern for the multipurpose facility, which is used as a venue for civic meetings, proms and wedding receptions.

To win the competition's Retail/Showroom category, The Environments Group collaborated closely with Krueck & Sexton Architects, Mast Design Group and Robert Nassar Design to overhaul the look of Herman Miller's Chicago showroom. Giving the project its distinctive look were a combination of Bentley Carpet Mills' Kings Road, New Stratford and Regis Place along with Double Entendre from Prince Street Technologies.

The Environments Group extended its winning streak this year by capturing the top prize in the Small Office category, as well. The firm was commissioned by SAP Labs in Chicago to create a new image for a company that recently underwent a merger and was in process of unifying two separate workforces. To promote collaboration among the company staff, flooring was used to create a flow from one area to another as a means of encouraging informal interaction and impromptu meetings. The design team paired Bentley Carpet Mills' Architecture carpet with Lonseal vinyl flooring to create the floor's dynamic look.

The top award in the Large Office category went to Santa Monica, Calif.-based Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum, which designed a facility for E! Networks. The firm sought to mimic the energy of the network through color, lighting and architectural elements. Enhancing these efforts was the black and gray New Stratford selection the designers obtained from Bentley Carpet Mills.

Two other projects were selected as merit winners. Jain Malkin Inc. earned the distinction for its design of a medical office in La Jolla, Calif. Atlas Carpets' Positano was used extensively in the project. Large Office merit winner Lehman - Smith + McLeish specified a selection from Constantine Carpet as part of its redesign of the Pittsburgh offices of law firm Kilpatrick & Lockhart.

Rounding out the this year's event was the presentation of the third annual Product Innovation Award, which is given to carpet mills that introduce dramatic new commercial carpet styles made with Antron nylon. In the broadloom category, Atlas Carpet Mills' Contour and Montery Carpets' Bukhara took gold awards, while Pacificrest Mills' Meridian took a silver award. Masland Carpets' Patagonia was also named a merit winner in the broadloom category. Prince Street Technologies' Farm selection won a gold award in the modular category.