THE DESIGN PRIZE: designboom presents the 3rd golden madonnina award!

when the world’s most prestigious creative forces converge beneath magnificent architectural masterpieces to celebrate design excellence — magic happens. the 2017 and 2018 editions of THE DESIGN PRIZE — the annual award program initiated by designboom and abitare — brought together a radiant roster of industry luminaries in recognition of extraordinary achievements, and little sparks of beauty and delight. if you’re thinking, another design award? — you’d be right — but in a world of set society rules, entry fees, and elites, THE DESIGN PRIZE is daringly different.

experience the glamour of the THE DESIGN PRIZE 2018 gala at teatro alla scala

THE DESIGN PRIZE recognizes the extraordinary achievements over the past 12 months. since its inception, the award program has become the most noble prize: there is no self submission, and no fee to enter! instead, we simply ask world’s most esteemed creatives —‘what, in your opinion, was the most remarkable project this year (in different disciplines)?’

from backstage to center stage, THE DESIGN PRIZE is created from the inside out, and calls upon a worldwide scientific committee of designers, journalists, curators, critics, lecturers, scholars and institutional figures to help draw up the nominations. this international network of professionals present a ‘LONGLIST’ of nominations, with selections distributed across 10 award categories that recognize design culture at its core. these voices create an essential litmus test of the industry at large. an esteemed panel of judges then carefully chooses the ‘SHORTLIST’ of winning nominees. furthermore, the introduction of a public vote award dedicated to projects with a significant social impact last year furthered the initiative’s ethos of openness and inclusivity.

THE DESIGN PRIZE was presented in partnership with the city of milan, was energised by edison* and produced by PRY.

kazuyo sejima of SANAA was awarded EX-AEQUO winner for lifetime achievement

in its inaugural year in 2017, THE DESIGN PRIZE debuted during the most important event on the design calendar — milan design week. at a star-studded, VIP gala event hosted at the extraordinary gerolamo theatre — milan’s ‘miniature la scala’ — the year’s most impactful projects and brilliant ideas were awarded the golden madonnina statuette — a contemporary reinterpretation of the famous madonnina statue that sits atop the city’s duomo. winners were crowned across 10 interdisciplinary categories: social impact; distribution; communication; artistic realm; exhibition; experimentation; design curator/design critic; best design newcomer; best designer; and lifetime achievement.

antonio aricò was chosen to reinterpret the statuette for THE DESIGN PRIZE 2018

prizes were handed over by representatives of the city of milan, milan’s polytechnic university and jury members. visionary victors took to the stage, such as christo and jeanne claude for ‘floating piers‘ in the category of social impact, olafur eliasson for ‘little sun‘ and ‘little sun diamond‘ in experimentation, and marc newson for his lifetime achievement. notable industry figures — like ma yansong (MAD architects), naoto fukasawa, tom dixon, william sawaya and paolo moroni, richard hutten, didier faustino, bethan laura wood and many more — celebrated late into the night.

the award’s inaugural edition was held at gerolamo theatre in milan

a year later, THE DESIGN PRIZE returned to milan design week in spectacular style, with a glamorous gala event this time actually housed inside the prestigious ‘teatro alla scala’. protagonists in the field of architecture, art and design came together to celebrate the award program’s second edition, and the stellar lineup of nominees and winners did not disappoint. EX-AEQUO winners enzo mari and kazuyo sejima of SANAA were honored for their lifetime achievement, fondazione prada for its exhibitions in venice in miami, and ‘the shed‘ by diller scofidio & renfro and rockwell group for the first ever public vote in the category of social impact. prizes were handed over by representatives of the city of milan, la scala theater and jury members.

now, let’s take a look at the winners…

2017 jury members: silvia botti, editor-in-chief of abitare; birgit lohmann, editor-in-chief of designboom; cristina tajani, councillor for employment policy, economic development, university and research at the municipality of milan; curators alexandra cunningham cameron, ingeborg de roode (stedelijk museum); curator maria cristina didero; land art/architecture studio ensamble; architect ma yasong (MAD architects); and jeffrey schnapp (founder and director of metaLAB harvard).

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

winner: marc newson

shortlisted:
naoto fukasawa
konstantin grcic

all images © designboom

BEST DESIGNER

winner: ronan & erwan bouroullec

shortlisted:
michael anastassiades
yves béhar

images: courtesy of michael anastassiades | © designboom | © designboom

BEST DESIGN NEWCOMER

winner: muller van severen

shortlisted:
zaven
faye toogood

images: courtesy of florim | by ringo gomez | by rory van millingen

SOCIAL IMPACT

improvements in the public realm, like public spaces, mobility, and infrastructure

winner: floating piers by christo and jeanne claude

shortlisted:

paper partition system, earthquakes in 2016 in camerino and amatrice by shigeru ban architects

smithsonian national museum of african american history and culture by david adjaye associates

DISTRIBUTION

shop design, retail, and packaging design

winner: VALEXTRA pop-up intervention flagship store milan by snarkitecture

shortlisted:

aesop stores (worldwide)
RED valentino by india mahdavi

images: © paola pansini | © valextra | courtesy of RED valentino

COMMUNICATION

including branding, advertising campaign, print and online magazines

ex-aequo winners:

ravi naidoo for design indaba
better shelter refugee project, a collaboration with UNHCR, funded by the IKEA foundation

shortlisted:

céline’s spring/summer 2016 ad campaign by juergen teller

images: courtesy of design indaba | © better shelter | © céline

IN THE ARTISTIC REALM

(limited) design and art editions

winner: philippe malouin for the speed of light at the miami design district

shortlisted:

bethan laura wood for her design/art craft projects
didier faustino with cosmogonie for hermès’ ‘haute bijouterie’ collection ‘HB-IV continuum’

images: courtesy of bethan laura wood | courtesy of philippe malouin | courtesy of didier faustino

EXHIBITION

concept and spatial design

winner: AL_A architecture /amanda levete for the architecture of the MAAT lisbon

shortlisted:
alejandro aravena , for the biennale venezia ‘reporting from the front’
taku satoh, 21_21 design sight, tokyo for the ‘design anatomy’ exhibition

images: © designboom | © designboom | courtesy of 21_21 design sight

EXPERIMENTATION

research, education, labs

winner: olafur eliasson for ‘little sun’ and ‘little sun diamond‘

shortlisted:

dirty art department, education program for design and applied art
formafantasma, andrea trimarchi and simone farresin for objects and installations

all images courtesy of the artists

DESIGN CURATOR/DESIGN CRITIC

exhibition; design event; design week

winner: aric chen, design and architecture curator, M+ museum HK

shortlisted:
alice rawsthorn
andreas angelidakis

images: courtesy of alice rawsthorn | © designboom | courtesy of the walker art center

2018 jury members: architect stefano boeri; designer jasper morrison; co-founder and chair experimentadesign guta moura guedes; carlo ratti, director of senseable city lab at MIT massachusetts institute of technology; libby sellers, design historian and curator; architect alex mustonen (snarkitecture) ; architect kjetil thorsen (snøhetta) ; and ingeborg de roode, industrial design curator of stedelijk museum.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

ex-aequo winners:

enzo mari

kazuyo sejima (SANAA)

shortlisted:

ross lovegrove

all images © designboom

BEST DESIGNER

winner: india mahdavi

shortlisted:
luca nichetto

tokujin yoshioka

images: courtesy of luca nichetto | © designboom | © designboom

BEST DESIGN NEWCOMER

winner: pretziada

shortlisted:
sabine marcelis

studio swine

images: courtesy of gallery s. bensimon | © designboom | by emiliano granado

SOCIAL IMPACT

winner: scewo, a wheelchair that can climb stairs

public voting winner: the shed, by diller scofidio & renfro and rockwell group

shortlisted:

SESC 24 maio social cultural center, a cultural and educational project by paolo mendes da rocha & MMBB

images: courtesy of diller scofidio + renfro / rockwell group | by julius hatt | © nelson kon

DISTRIBUTION

winner: aesop stores worldwide

shortlisted:

acne studios, the brand’s new flagship stores in san francisco and milan feature a ‘cleanroom atmosphere’

maison kitsuné, for their new york showroom by designer matthieu lehanneur

COMMUNICATION

winner: alice rawsthorn, for ‘a brief history of design’ on instagram

shortlisted:

PIN UP magazine, founded by felix burrichter

BASE DESIGN, communication agency

IN THE ARTISTIC REALM

winner: studio drift, for ‘franchise freedom’ flying sculpture in miami, in collaboration with BMW

shortlisted:

ron gilad, as the new art director of the historical italian company danese milano

leandro ehrlich, for the pop-up exhibition ‘sous le ciel’ at le bon marchè in paris

EXHIBITION

winner: fondazione prada, for ‘the boat is leaking. the captain lied.‘ (VENICE) & ‘the prada double club‘ (MIAMI)

shortlisted:
yves saint laurent museum, by studio KO

louvre abu dhabi, by jean nouvel

EXPERIMENTATION

winner: jane withers, for ‘water futures’ research program

shortlisted:

mischler’traxler, for ‘countryside reloaded’ at BIO 25 – the biennial of design

neri oxman, for exploring the intimate relationship between design and biology

images: delfino sisto legnani & marco cappelletti – MAO 25 | courtesy of A/D/O | courtesy of neri oxman

DESIGN CURATOR/DESIGN CRITIC

winner: paola antonelli for ‘items: is fashion modern?’ at MoMA

shortlisted:
URBANUS for its curation of UABB /URBANISM AND URBANIZATION

NGV TRIENNIAL, melbourne, featuring the work of over 100 artists and designers from 32 countries

with THE DESIGN PRIZE 2019 just around the corner, we’ll be calling for nominations from the scientific committee soon. stay tuned to designboom, and the dedicated THE DESIGN PRIZE instagram, for news and updates as we lead up to the initiative’s exciting third edition.

*edison — committed to building a future in which energy is sustainable — is currently working on the design and development of innovative solutions for the sustainable management of energy, environmental and economic resources. in collaboration with architects, companies, the service sector and the public service, the company is also co-developing the smart cities of today and the future.

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THE DESIGN PRIZE is energised by edison

edison, one of the largest energy companies in italy, has been a partner and promoter of the initiative since its inception in 2017. this year, edison continues its collaboration with THE DESIGN PRIZE, the international award dedicated to project culture, which is also a virtuous expression of co-planning based on the efficient use of resources for the construction of a sustainable future. edison brings its unique experience, know-how, and 130-year-long history in the energy sector to the design prize, helping foster a horizontal approach to design. together with the leading professionals and architects, edison proposes intelligent solutions for cities and people in favor of a more evolved and sustainable lifestyle.