Back in 2016, brothers Rowan and Erwan Bouroullec bagged not one but two Wallpaper* Design Awards. As well as winning the much-coveted Designer of the Year Award, they took home the Best Domestic Design for the Serif TV. This year, the tables were turned and the brothers were part of the judging panel.
Fellow judges were artist Tom Sachs, architect Amanda Levete, actor-director Laetitia Casta and artist-designer Ramdane Touhami. The eclectic panel was matched by an equally diverse shortlist that ranged from Stelton coffee sets and Wary Meyers soaps to the city of Shenzken. The brothers, pictured above with this year’s Best Domestic Design winner the AK70 music player by Astell and Kern, were impressed by its perceived longevity. Its reassuring weight and clever oblique angle design teamed with the latest digital tech inside suggest that there’s still a place for a dedicated music player in our lives. (Photograph: Alexandre Guirkinger)
Designer of the Year was awarded to Jasper Morrison. In a 30-year career, the champion of functional but minimal furniture has also turned his hand to toasters for Muji and mobile phones for Samsung. Most recently he created the Bankside seating range (pictured above) for Tate Modern’s members’ room - and designed his first kitchen for Schiffini. “He’s really looking at a lot of the world”, said Erwan “he’s not a creator, he’s more”.
Blowing our minds in the Best New Private House category was winner Konieczny’s Ark. Created by architectural practice KWK Promes in Southern Poland, the angular concrete construction, looks like a boat listing on a wave of countryside. That distinctive tilt is not just for dramatic effect, but maximises the view and allows ground water to flow underneath. (Photograph: Jakub Certowicz)
Moving on from the tactic of exiting through the gift shop, museums have been getting in on the act of hosting dining destinations too. Best New Restaurant award winner, Odette is on the ground floor of Singapore’s landmark National Gallery. Conceived by London-based Universal Design Studio, the room is a calming palette of pale pinks and white, teamed with terrazzo, marble, brass and wood finishes. (Photograph: Jovian Lim)
An equally sensitive use of materials can be found at the winner of Best New Public Building. Designed by Hiroshi Sambuichi, the Naoshima Hall in Japan uses hinoki cypress and handmade washi paper throughout its interiors. Outside its distinctive roof is a modern take on the traditional irimoya hip-and-gable roof. The open top allows air to circulate through the building keeping the rooms below cooler during the hot summer months. Japanese architects “have got their own way of playing with light, thickness and material” said Ronan. (Photograph: Shigeo Ogawa)
For a full list of this year’s Wallpaper* Design Awards winners, visit: wallpaper.com/design-awards/2017
