1st Place La Reine tower in Beirut, Lebanon

Sassuolo, 25 July 2012 - A brief overview of projects representative of the evolution of contemporary architecture, where ceramic has been able to carve out an increasingly incisive leading role. This is the final list of winners of the second edition of the Quinquennial Tile Award, the international award organised by Fincibec in partnership with the magazine Ottagono and dedicated to designers of living spaces who, in projects made between 2007 and 2011, used Monocibec, Century or Naxos materials, the three commercial brands of the Group.

• First Place went to the project for La Reine tower in Beirut (Lebanon). Monumental in terms of volumes and located on the sea front of the Pearl of the Middle East, La Reine residential complex features circular lines and cascade balconies and is fitted with all the latest mod-cons. Style, elegance and maximum attention to privacy distinguish all the indoor areas, including the bathrooms, made with Naxos' Ghibli, Fun, Marble Hill, Satin and Greenway series.

• Second Place went to the Ambio Creative Center in Beijing (China). An elegant building and well designed in every respect, intended for events and training courses for architects and people working in the building industry. This project used Monocibec's Enigma series and Naxos' Marble Hill, Sunset, Ghibli and Samarkanda series.

• Third Place went to the Streamlight building in London (UK); the Anthemus Sea Beach Hotel & Spa project in Sithonia (Greece) came fourth and a project called "Volumi ad incastro" on the restoration of a house in Montereale (L'Aquila, Italy) came fifth.

The panel that selected and examined the projects was composed of Vittorio Borelli, CEO at Fincibec Spa, Aldo Colonnetti, Scientific director at the European Institute of Design, Laura Rinaldi, Architect, Alessandro Lolli, Editorial director of the magazine Ottagono and Sofia Cortellini Klein, CEO at KleinRusso.

The winner will win a Fiat 500, while projects that came second to fifth will receive a Diamond Chair by Harry Bertoia manufactured by Knoll. All participants who sent works admitted to the award will receive a free annual subscription to the magazine Ottagono.

Cersaie 2012 and, more specifically, a prestigious soiree by invitation only held during the trade show will be the exceptional stage to officially celebrate the winners and take a glance at the third edition of the Quinquennial Tile Award.

About Fincibec Group
Fincibec Group is one of the international leaders in the production and trading of floor and wall tiles. Founded in 1960 at Sassuolo (Modena), it currently employs 450 employees and has an annual turnover of 80,000,000 euros. It operates in domestic and international markets through three commercial brands: Monocibec, Century and Naxos. In addition to the long-standing head office in Via Verrazzano, which is now the Marketing Area logistic platform, Fincibec has three manufacturing plants in Casiglie, Solignano and Roteglia di Reggio Emilia and another logistic platform in Solignano, with a total annual capacity of 8,000,000 square metres.