The result of first phase of Salão Design Casa Brasil 2013, the leading furniture design award in Latin America, was announced by the jury: 122 entries were selected for to the next phase. Now, competitors have to send the products prototypes for evaluation until June 26. The award, held by the Furniture Industry Association of Bento Gonçalves (Sindmóveis) for 25 years, aims to integrate creativity and technological innovation with furniture and accessories through design.    The prizes in this edition will total R$ 175,000 for the student, professional and industry classes. The judging panel consists of  five renowned professionals and representatives of national and international organizations: journalist Maria Helena Estrada, professors Ivens Fontoura (PUC-PR) and Gabriel Simón Sol (Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana – Mexico), designer Leonardo Lattavo from Rio de Janeiro and architect Ilse Lang from Rio Grande do Sul.   According to the judges, on average, the projects entered in the competition had better quality compared to previous editions of the award. For judge Ivens Fontoura, there was a smaller number of project speculations, that is, entries that would hardly have any technical implementation. In his opinion competitors have innovated in the use of materials, and presented new technologies and patterns of usage. The result was a balanced debate among members of the judging committee. "A jury is a marriage where the spouses do not choose each other. We noticed, based on the cohesion of our evaluations, that the proposals have improved," he says.   Fontoura also emphasizes that the primary goal of design is to offer people better life quality providing more comfortable objects that use less energy and raw materials to be manufactured. However, the jury also took into account the emotion caused by the project entered. "A good object is one that is noticeable among others, that stands out and makes the beholder feel empathy," he says.   Salão Design Casa Brasil 2013 received 776 entries, of which 15% were selected for the next phase. According to judge Leonardo Lattavo, this first analysis was based on information that included the project, and three-dimensional and photographic analysis. These technical criteria were added to the historical memory of the judges, which allows the connection of the proposals to global design references and even the identification of attempts to copy. One of the criteria taking into consideration was the level of the project details - if there was a satisfactory description of the parts and assembly. "There were projects with great potential, but so incomplete that they were disqualified," he pointed out.    Sponsored by Impress and Berneck, Salão Design Casa Brasil 2013 will have seven categories: Furniture for Bedrooms, Furniture for Dining and Living Rooms, Furniture for Kitchens, Laundry Rooms and Bathrooms, Outdoor Furniture, Home-Office and Office Furniture (including furniture for commercial and public areas), Home Utensils and Lighting. In addition to the cash prizes given to the above-mentioned categories, the products also compete for other traditional trophies: Master Teacher Award, Alternative Woods Award and the new Ecodesign Award, a trophy added for this year’s competition.    A list containing the selected entries will be available as of March 25 at www.salaodesign.com.br/blog. The award winners will be chosen on July 8 and 9 and the award ceremony will be held during Casa Brasil 2013. The award winners products and the entries selected for the second phase will be exhibited at the fair, which will take place from August 13-16, at Parque de Eventos in Bento Gonçalves.