Jake Oliveira's Sand-Cast Aluminum AZ Awards Trophy Embraces Imperfection

Industrial designer Jake Oliveira, founder of Jake Oliveira Studio and cofounder of Ourse, has designed the 2026 AZ Awards trophy. Cast in aluminum 356 at a foundry in Cambridge, Ontario, the trophy features sweeping cantilevers and visible traces of sand casting. The modular forms nest together into a larger self-supporting sculpture before being distributed to winners. Oliveira drew inspiration from sculptors Isamu Noguchi, Constantin Brâncuși, and Ruth Asawa, and aimed to create a tactile object that retains evidence of human making. He embraced the subtle variations between castings, hand-filing, palm-sanding, and waxing each piece individually. The trophy abstractly represents the letters A and Z, readable from multiple orientations. Oliveira emphasized an analog process, starting with physical studies in basswood and balsa wood, then 3D-printed prototypes tested by friends. He stated that amid AI-generated design, it is worth 'doing things the tough way.' The AZ Awards trophy has evolved over 15 editions, with past designers including Ini Archibong, Marie Christine Dorner, and Evan Jerry.