Toronto's stackt market has just won an international award for its innovative design.

Fast Company, an American business magazine that focuses on technology, business and design, announced the winners of its 10^th annual Innovation by Design Awards, and stackt has taken the top prize for Retail Innovation and an honourable mention in General Excellence.

Stackt market opened in April 2019 on a previously vacant 2.6-acre plot of city-owned land at Front and Bathurst Streets. The market consists of about 120 repurposed shipping containers transformed into retail, food, beverage, service, experience and community spaces.

The Fast Company award is one of the most "sought-after design awards in the industry," stackt said in a press release.

"Stackt was designed and built to redefine how underutilized land can work in conjunction with a goal of building culture through community-driven initiatives," added Matt Rubinoff, founder of stackt. "It's an honour for stackt to be recognized and to receive these prestigious awards."

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Fast Company notes several reasons why stackt took the award, including flexible leases for up-and-coming businesses, its unique new form for retail in the face of e-commerce and the pandemic, its easily converted and reconfigured shipping container spaces, and its affordable retail spaces.

The judges for Fast Company awards include designers from a variety of disciplines, business leaders from some of the most innovative companies in the world, and Fast Company's writers and editors.

Entries are judged on: functionality, originality, beauty, sustainability, user insight, cultural impact and business impact.

"Design is not just a beauty contest," said Stephanie Mehta, editor-in-chief of Fast Company.

"It's something that can change the world and create solutions in a time when we face pressing global issues such as systemic racism, climate change and a global pandemic. Many of these entries showcase these challenges while providing hope for the future through their steadfast commitment to elevate design."