Last meeting with the jury of this year’s Archiproducts Design Awards
28/09/2020 – Giorgos Tyrothoulakis and Evdokia Voudouri of Ark4lab of architecture, Giovanni Ottonello, Art Director, IED – Istituto europeo di Design/European Institute of Design and Lim Koon Park, founder of Park + Associates, weigh in during the eighth and last meeting with the jury of the current edition of the Archiproducts Design Awards.
The submissions deadline was on September 21.
While waiting to find out who will be the winners of the 2020 ADAs, the jury shared their expectations for this year’s products with the Archiproducts editorial staff.
Ark4lab of architecture – We believe that design is a constant search for the authenticity of materials.
Ark4lab, founded by George Tyrothoulakis and Evdokia Voudouri, is an architectural laboratory based in Thessaloniki (Greece) devoted to contemporary architectural design and research. Their projects are ‘obsessed’ with the search for authenticity.
What qualities should the award-winning products have?
We are looking for designs that will handle materiality in a way that can open new research horizons in the field of design based on usability. We also want to see designs that find solutions to contemporary issues.
What role should a Design Award play today?
A design award should be the basis and trigger for young and old designers to expand their horizons for now and for what is to come. It is a given that they capture the moment both of the present and the future.
What direction should contemporary design take and how can it evolve to meet the needs of the community?
We believe that design is a constant search for authenticity of materials. We believe that, by studying structures that have endured over time, it is possible to reach that goal. We believe that modern design should look to them to respond to the needs of people who may seem to change but who have common bases.
Giovanni Ottonello – I will recognize innovation, contemporaneity and sustainability. Let’s not forget – we have a planet to save!
Giovanni Ottonello obtained his degree in architecture at the University of Genoa. For two years, he was ambassador of culture in Tehran for World Design Day. He is Art Director at IED – Istituto Europeo di Design.
What qualities should the award-winning products have?
I definitely want to be surprised and find something that dazzles me and makes me smile. We do need a bit of lightness. I will recognize innovation, contemporaneity and sustainability. Let’s not forget – we have a Planet to save!
What role should a Design Award play today?
It has two roles. The first is to acknowledge the merit and vision of a creative who has been able to express – more than the others – that alchemy between form, color, material and function. The second is more subtle; it helps put designers into play, confront others, accept defeat and learn from it too.
What direction should contemporary design take and how can it evolve to meet the needs of the community?
In recent decades, design has abandoned function in favor of aesthetics and has lost its original meaning. I am placing my hope in ‘slower’ design in the future – meaning fewer pieces that are customized and of the highest quality. Design that finds perfect harmony between craftsmanship and technology. A bridge between our past (know-how) and the ‘machine’ that does not replace people but supports them. Design as experience. Truly sustainable design, not just words.
Lim Koon Park – I think good design should be relevant yet exude a sense of timelessness and resist constantly evolving trends.
Lim Koon Park is founder of Park + Associates in Singapore. The office seeks to create spaces that transcend visual stimulation and functional needs, as well as produce quality design that questions tradition.
What qualities should the award-winning products have?
I am looking forward to seeing products that have been designed with a clear creative process and that are thoughtfully crafted to resonate with users. It would be nice to see designs that provide seemingly “simple” and elegant solutions to difficult problems.
What role should a Design Award play today?
A design award should not simply honor creativity and aesthetics. It should also act as a catalyst to motivate and inspire designers to use the opportunity to address everyday issues.
What direction should contemporary design take and how can it evolve to meet the needs of the community?
I think good design should be relevant yet exude a sense of timelessness and resist constantly evolving trends. More importantly, we should recognize the importance of design that maintains a humanistic touch in this increasingly detached world.