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      Dezeen Awards 2024 entries close tonight at 23:59 London time

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      Today is the last day you can enter Dezeen Awards 2024 before the entry deadline tonight 30 May at 23:59 London time!

      Our online entry form is simple and we’ve even made you a simple five-step guide to make sure you get your project in on time.
      1. You can enter Dezeen Awards 2024 by going to the start your entry page, logging in and creating an entry.
      2. Answer four questions about your project in 300 words or less. Keep it short and stick to the facts! We advise doing this on a Word Document to have your work backed up.
      3. Upload a main image and up to 10 gallery images. These must be JPEG and under 10 megabytes (MB) each, with a maximum resolution of 100 Dots per Inch (DPI) and a maximum size of 3,000 pixels on the longest side.

      4. Make sure you have completely filled in your account details and entry form. Please note VAT will be charged to EU companies at checkout if a valid VAT number is not entered.
      5. Press submit and then pay by card or PayPal.
      Do you still need help?
      All the information you need to enter can be found here. However, if you have more questions send an email to [email protected] and someone from the team will get back to you.
      Remember to subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to hear about the latest awards news!
      Dezeen Awards 2024 in partnership with Bentley
      Dezeen Awards is the ultimate accolade for architects and designers across the globe. The seventh edition of the annual awards programme is in partnership with Bentley as part of a wider collaboration to inspire, support and champion design excellence and showcase innovation that creates a better and more sustainable world. This ambition complements Bentley’s architecture and design business initiatives, including the Bentley Home range of furnishings and real estate projects around the world. More

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      Brick-wrapped lobby by Merge Architects wins Gold in Brick in Architecture Awards

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      Promotion: more than 9,000 red bricks form a curved volume within the interior of this mixed-use building’s lobby, which has been awarded Gold in the Commercial category at the Brick in Architecture Awards.

      The lobby, which forms the entrance to an office building at Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, has a brick curtain wall that was hand-laid.
      It was designed to create a visually striking yet functional circulatory zone, helping visitors and employees navigate the building’s wider offices, dining areas, wellness centres and community spaces.
      The lobby is lined with a curved structure made from 9000 individually-laid bricksWrapping around the perimeter of the interior, the brick-built surface incorporates a front desk, bench seating, lighting, an entry kiosk and a staircase. The project features brick manufactured by Interstate Brick and distributed by Consolidated Brick.
      Local studio Merge Architects designed the space and was implemented by mason company, JAJ Co Inc The designers said they chose to work with bricks as a building material with the goal of referencing New England’s local vernacular architecture.

      Digital signs are installed at evenly-spaced points in one areaThe project integrates interactive signage within hand-laid masonry, “overlaying the physical world with the digital”, according to the Brick Industry Association.
      A brick double-wythe screen paired with rectangular digital signs serves various functions: from conveying news and information about public events to displaying digital artwork.
      “This fusion of strength and transparency creates mesmerising patterns and textures as light filters through the brick, inviting admiration for the timeless elegance and contemporary allure that brick brings to architectural design,” said Trish Mauer of the Brick Industry Association.
      Balance is created by using opaque red bricks in tandem with translucent glass bricksThe structures are made by laying bricks in two different directions, creating a stimulating textural surface that encourages the interplay of light and shadow.
      “Course one moves tangent to the wall orientation, and course two moves along the north/south axis, allowing for a complex interplay of transparency and opacity as the curtain-like wall wraps the space,” the company continued.
      The curved form contains various furnishings and lighting systemsAt a certain junction, a gradient is created when the wall transitions between solid red bricks to translucent glass blocks of the same dimensions.
      The frosted bricks continue until they arrive at a glass-clad staircase. This element of transparency creates a light interface between the public space and the company’s office.
      Bricks were laid in two directions to create a layered effect”Combining transparency with solidity and low-tech materials with high-tech digital art, this lobby reinforces the company’s brand of integrating high tech with human-centric sensibilities,” the Brick Industry Association concluded.
      For more information about the project, please click here.
      All photography by Chuck Choi
      Partnership content
      This article was written by Dezeen for Brick Industry Association as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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      Gubi opens first UK showroom in London townhouse takeover

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      A Georgian townhouse filled with period details is now Gubi House London, the first dedicated showroom that the furniture brand has opened outside Denmark.

      Gubi partnered with Danish surface design studio File Under Pop to reimagine the listed building as a showspace for its collection, which includes furniture by designers such as GamFratesi and Space Copenhagen.
      Gubi House London occupies a listed Georgian townhouseA curated colour palette combines with material finishes including Spanish clay tiles and Italian lava stone to create four floors of rooms with a contemporary feel.
      “To be in a townhouse is a unique opportunity,” explained Marie Kristine Schmidt, chief brand officer for Gubi.
      Furniture is on display across four different floors”We could create something very domestic in feel. We have smaller rooms where we can create different experiences and we can tell different stories on each floor,” she told Dezeen.

      The showroom is located on Charterhouse Square, a garden square framed by cobbled streets, and will be open by appointment.
      Danish surface design studio File Under Pop oversaw the colour and material paletteGubi was founded in 1967 by furniture designers Lisbeth and Gubi Olsen, who later handed it down to their sons, Jacob and Sebastian Gubi Olsen. Jacob is still a shareholder and a member of the board.
      The London expansion was first mooted in 2020, not long after the once family-owned company was acquired by Nordic private equity group Axcel and the Augustinus Foundation.
      Furniture on show includes the Croissant Sofa designed by Ilum Wikkelsø in 1962Schmidt said the UK is a key market for the brand as it looks to expand its intentional profile.
      “London is a melting pot right now, particularly in the hotel and restaurant scene, so for us, it is a really important city to be in,” she said during a tour of the building.
      “I think there is a lot of untapped potential for us here.”
      A ground-floor dining room features hand-painted forest-green wallpaperEach floor of Gubi House London has its own character, drawing on different influences reflected in the materials and fabrics that feature in across the product collection.
      The ground floor, described as “boutique chic”, features a trio of spaces designed to emulate the sense of comfort and luxury of a boutique hotel.
      Also on the ground floor, a blue fireplace sits behind the Moon dining tableKey details include a fireplace colour-blocked in a deep inky shade of blue, which serves as a backdrop to the brand’s Moon dining table and Bat dining chairs.
      Also on display here are several reissued 20th-century lamps, including designs by Finnish designer Paavo Tynell, Danish architect Louis Weisdorf and Swedish designer Greta M Grossman.
      The first-floor rooms take cues from the 1970sTowards the rear, a room with hand-painted forest-green wallpaper serves as a dining space.
      The first floor takes cues from the 1970s, with an earthy colour palette.

      &Tradition designs entire apartment in takeover of Copenhagen townhouse

      Key pieces here include the Pacha lounge chair, a 1975 design by the late French designer Pierre Paulin, upholstered in a striped fabric and a cascading arrangement of the Semi Pendant lamps, designed in 1968 by Danish design duo Claus Bonderup and Torsten Thorup.
      This floor also includes a bar, which serves as a centrepiece in the smaller of the two rooms.
      The second floor was envisioned as a co-working environmentThe second floor was envisioned as a co-working environment, with furniture that emulates a contemporary bistro, while the uppermost level offers a more bohemian feel.
      “We wanted to create a space that is inspiring,” said Schmidt. “It wouldn’t be right for our brand to go into a commercial space.”
      Gubi House London is located at 12 Charterhouse SquareThe experience is different from the warehouse feel of Gubi’s Copenhagen headquarters, which occupies a former tobacco factory in the waterside Nordhavn area.
      “This is how we see Gubi in the context of the UK,” added Schmidt.
      “It was fun to play with a building that is so pleasant and give it a very fresh, modern, contemporary look.”
      In Copenhagen, Danish brand &Tradition took over a townhouse during design festival 3 Days of Design, while fellow Danish brand Hay unveiled its renovated Copenhagen townhouse in 2021.
      The photography is by Michael Sinclair.

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      Alessandro Mendini was an “atomic bomb of fantasy” says Philippe Starck

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      In this video produced by Dezeen for Triennale Milano and Fondation Cartier, Philippe Starck describes the “genius” of Alessandro Mendini following the opening of Io Sono Un Drago, an exhibition celebrating the designer.

      French designer Starck, who has contributed an immersive installation to coincide with the exhibition, emphasised the impact that Mendini has had on his own work, citing his sprawling approach to creativity.
      “Mendini is something special for me,” he said in an exclusive video interview with Dezeen. “His brain was an atomic bomb of fantasy, with no limits.”
      Starck’s installation accompanies a retrospective exhibition celebrating Mendini at Milan design week, presented by cultural institutions Triennale Milano and Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain.
      Titled Io Sono Un Drago (I am a dragon), the exhibition contains more than 600 pieces by Mendini across his 60-year career. ​​Mendini passed away at the age of 87 in February 2019.

      Mendini was a key figure in the radical design movementThe exhibition sets out to explore Mendini’s influence on 20th-century design and architecture, particularly in his multidisciplinary approach to creativity.
      “Alessandro Mendini was a key figure of the last century, not just for design but also for art and architecture because he was able to link all these disciplines and blur the lines between them,” explained Michela Alessandrini, curator for Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain.
      “He revolutionised the idea that design is a well-drawn object,” added Triennale Milano curator Nina Bassoli.
      “He worked with design as a tool for communicating art, poetry, literature, feelings.” said Bassoli.
      The exhibition brings together work from across the realms of art, architecture and designThe title of the exhibition comes from a drawing of a dragon by Mendini, with different parts of its body associated with different professions. Created as an allegorical self-portrait by Mendini, the image was highlighted by the curators as a representation of Mendini’s vast breadth of work across many different practices.
      “[When] talking about Mendini it is quite impossible to have a clear distinction between what is art, what is useful, what is object, what is designed,” said Bassoli.

      Triennale Milano celebrates Alessandro Mendini at Milan design week

      The exhibition is split into six thematic sections and opens with a section titled Identikit, which showcases a series of self-portraits Mendini created over the course of his life.
      Through the display of architectural models, furniture pieces, sculptures and artworks, the show explores themes such as Mendini’s architectural practice with the Atelier Mendini workshop, his experiments with postmodernism and radical design, and his research within design theory.
      Mendini created an optical illusion-like installation towards the end of his careerThree installations created by Mendini towards the end of his life also feature in the exhibition, and engage with the concepts of dreams and nightmares.
      Starck’s installation, titled What? A homage to Alessandro Mendini, is located in the Triennale’s Impluvium space, in accompaniment to the main exhibition.
      The audiovisual installation was designed to take viewers into a sensory journey through Mendini’s mind.
      The installation uses surreal visual projections and fragmented audio to immerse the viewer. Image by Delfino Sisto Legnani DSL Studio, courtesy of Triennale Milano”When you arrive in this room you receive Alessandro,” said Starck. “You receive his eyes, his face, his voice. I tried to create what I think is inside his brain.”
      “What I learned from Mendini is that the real geniuses are always kind,” he added. “There are no bad geniuses. If they are bad, they are not a genius.”
      The installation will be displayed until 13 October and was conceived, designed and directed by Starck.
      The exhibition was curated by Fulvio Irace, with exhibition design by designer Pierre Charpin.
      Io Sono Un Drago is open to the public at the Triennale Milano 13 April to 13 October. What? A homage to Alessandro Mendini runs from the 16 April to 13 October. See our Milan design week 2024 guide on Dezeen Events Guide for information about the many other exhibitions, installations and talks that took place throughout the week.
      Partnership content
      This video was produced by Dezeen for Triennale as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen’s partnership content here.

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      “Less is more is back” says panel during Gaggenau talk at Milan design week

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      Dezeen teamed up with kitchen appliances brand Gaggenau to host and film a talk about reduction in design with representatives from Zaha Hadid Architects, SOM and Industrial Facility during Milan design week 2024.

      Moderated by Dezeen’s editorial director Max Fraser, the talk explored how principles of reduction and essentialism in architecture and design can be employed to improve our lives.
      Titled Design by Reduction, the panel gathered contributors from different industries, with Zaha Hadid Architects associate director Johannes Schafelner representing architecture, Industrial Facility founder Kim Colin discussing industrial and product design, and SOM interiors lead Francesca Portesine representing interior design.
      Dezeen teamed up with Gaggenau to host a talk about reduction in design during Milan design week 2024Amongst the topics discussed by the panel was how the process and aesthetics of reduction in design can improve well-being through fostering simplicity in people’s day-to-day lives.
      Explaining the role of reduction in interior design, Portesine stated: “Generally, it is a very good thing that there is less rather than more to look at, to feel, to concentrate, to give importance to one element at a time.”

      “The balance of a space is created by simplicity, by reduction of materials,” she continued.

      Gaggenau launches nearly invisible cooktop that “allows the architecture to breathe”

      These comments were mirrored by Colin, who suggested that the role of the designer is to counter the complexity of the world by making a complicated world simple.
      “I don’t think we need to build in complexity – complexity is there in everything,” she said. “We really try hard to simplify things and make things easier. We deserve for things to be made more easily and more easily accessible.”
      She went on to describe how, in the field of industrial design, reduction can be used as a means to create products that fit holistically into the lives of users.
      “Often we try to quiet the noise. You can imagine a room full of products that are in the marketplace, shouting for your attention for you to buy them,” she explained.
      “They want you to buy them,” she continued. “But then what happens when you live with them? You’re living with a bunch of things that are shouting at you.”
      The talk coincided with the launch of Gaggenau’s new Essential Induction cooktopSchafelner described how reduction in architecture allows architects to design and build more efficiently, mitigating both the cost and environmental impact of buildings.
      “When we talk about reduction, it’s all about efficiency,” he said. “It’s really minimising the design, minimising the structure to have a better product.”
      He went on to describe how artificial intelligence (AI) can assist the architect in working more efficiently.
      “AI will also help us,” he stated. “There are now new tools which automatically give you realistic images in one second.”
      “It’s a much more intuitive workflow. And in the future, this will definitely help us to be more efficient.”
      Gaggenau exhibited new products in an installation at Milan’s historic Villa Necchi CampiglioAddressing the question of how principles of reduction can help to build a more sustainable future, Colin posited the return of the principle of “less is more.”
      “Using less material, less time, less effort, less shipping – less is more is back,” she claimed.
      “It should be easy to make as well as easy to live with. They should go hand in hand.”
      The talk took place in the conservatory of Milan’s historic Villa Necchi Campiglio, where the brand created an immersive installation called Elevation of Gravity to showcase its appliances.
      The panel featured representatives from Zaha Hadid Architects, SOM and Industrial FacilityAmongst the brand’s new launches was the Essential Induction cooktop, which has been designed to integrate into a kitchen worktop seamlessly.
      Covertly integrated induction hobs are integrated into a conductive Dekton stone countertop, indicated by a small LED light. The only other visible element of the cooktop is a performance dial located on the side of the countertop.
      The Essential Induction cooktop was designed to break down barriers between spaces used for cooking and living in the kitchen, and the principle of reduction at play in its design informed the topic of Dezeen’s talk.
      The photography is by Giovanni Franchellucci.
      Partnership content
      This video was produced by Dezeen as part of a partnership with Bentley. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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      Airbnb creates rentals based on famous places and movies for guests

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      Rental platform Airbnb has announced the addition of its Icons program, a category that provides a range of international experiences including a stay in the house from Pixar’s Up and an overnight in the Musee D’ Orsay in Paris.

      The first 11 Icons experiences include recreations of houses from popular culture, such as the floating house from Pixar’s film Up, and visits with celebrities, such as a night out with comic Kevin Hart.
      Airbnb has created 11 “extraordinary” experiences for its new Icons category. This photo and top photo by Ryan LowryOf the 11 Icons, house rentals include a full-scale model of the house from Pixar’s Up, which is suspended by a crane during a breakfast picnic, to a stay in the clock tower of Paris’s Musee D’ Orsay, which was transformed into a bedrom by French designer Mathieu Lehanneur and will be available for the opening of the upcoming summer Olympics.
      The experiences will be awarded to guests through a selection process, with approximately eight additional Icon experiences being rolled out throughout the year to join the first batch. Each Icon is free or under $100 (£80).
      The category includes recreations of houses from popular culture and experiences with celebrities. Photo by Ryan Lowry”Icons take you inside worlds that only existed in your imagination – until now,” said Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky. “As life becomes increasingly digital, we’re focused on bringing more magic into the real world. With Icons, we’ve created the most extraordinary experiences on Earth.”

      The launch follows the platform’s release of recreations of Barbie’s Malibu Dreamhouse and Shrek’s swampland cottage, as well as previous overnight experiences in an Ikea showroom and the last remaining Blockbuster.
      Rentals include an overnight stay at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. Photo by Frederik Vercruysse”These experiences captured people’s imagination and they allowed people to step into someone else’s world,” said Chesky. “And at its best, this is what Airbnb does. And what it’s always been about.”
      To create the spaces, the brand employed a variety of strategies. In the case of the Up house, it was built from scratch, while other properties were renovated or outfitted with a particular theme such as the X-Mansion from the X-Men movie series or Prince’s Purple Rain house.
      The rental was designed by Mathieu Lehanneur and will be available during the opening of the summer Olympic Games. Photo by Frederik Vercruysse”The Up house is one of the most iconic homes in any film ever,” said Chesky. “You’re gonna be able to stay in Carl and Ellie’s home and it will feel like you’re stepping inside the movie.”
      “This is a real house we built from scratch. We had to literally paint every detail in the home to match the exact Pantone colours used in the film, from the roof tiles to the siding,” he continued.
      The rentals include houses built from scratch or outfitted in a particular style. Photo by Max MiechowskiFor the X-Mansion, the team searched for a home in Upstate New York that looked like an approximation of the house from the movie series and then covered the interior in comic-strip style illustrations by artist Joshua Vides.
      According to Airbnb VP of design Teo Connor, it took approximately two weeks for Vides and his team to hand-paint each room.
      For the X-Mansion from the X-Men movie series, the interior was painted with comic-style illustrations. Photo by Holly Andres”Each Icon has a different timeline because they’re all so unique, so different,” Connor told Dezeen. “[There was] a huge amount of effort to bring these things to life and I think it really shows.”
      “With these types of things, we’re really wanting to immerse you in a world and for it to feel authentic,” she continued.

      If designers don’t embrace AI the world “will be designed without them” says AirBnb founder

      Other Icons include a stay at the Ferrari museum in a custom-made circular bed that is surrounded by various Ferrari models and a visit to Bollywood star Janhvi Kapoor’s “childhood oasis” in India.
      To visit the various experiences, travellers must submit a written entry through Airbnb during a timed submission period. 4,000 guests will be selected and awarded a “golden ticket” to attend the experiences over the coming year.
      Other experiences include a stay in Prince’s house from the movie Purple Rain. Photo by Eric OgdenThe brand also released several updates in order to make booking and organizing group trips easier for travellers, including multiple users being able to message the host and a ranking system when selecting a rental together.
      Last year, Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky warned against designers failing to embrace AI and announced a program that called to designers and creatives to rent out their spaces for supplemental income.
      The photography is courtesy of Airbnb.

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      Dezeen Events Guide launches digital guide to NYCxDesign 2024

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      Dezeen Events Guide has launched its guide to NYCxDesign 2024, highlighting the key events in New York City from 16 to 23 May.

      The festival celebrates its 12th anniversary with a programme of exhibitions, open showrooms, tours, talks, design fairs and product launches.
      Located across neighbourhoods in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, around 200 events are taking place across eight days, spanning architecture, design, art, fashion and technology.
      Use our interactive map
      This year’s guide also features a curated map with the key events of the festival, helping you navigate your way around the city.

      Click to use Dezeen’s map for NYCxDesign 2024There is still the opportunity to feature in the guide
      There are three types of listings still available:
      Standard listings cost £125 ($160) and include the event name, date and location details plus a website link. These listings will feature up to 50 words of text about the event.
      Enhanced listings cost £175 ($225) and include all of the above, plus an image at the top of the listing’s page and a preview image on the Dezeen Events Guide homepage. These listings will also feature up to 100 words of text about the event.
      Featured listings cost £350 ($450) and include the elements of an enhanced listing plus a post on Dezeen’s Threads channel, inclusion in the featured events carousel on the right hand of the homepage for up to two weeks and 150 words of text about the event. This text can include commercial information such as ticket prices and offers and can feature additional links to website pages such as ticket sales and newsletter signups.
      For more details about partnering with us to help amplify your event, contact the team at [email protected].
      About Dezeen Events Guide
      Dezeen Events Guide is our guide to the best architecture and design events taking place across the world each year.
      The guide is updated weekly and includes events, conferences, trade fairs, major exhibitions and design weeks.
      The illustration is by Justyna Green.

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      Hemingway Design and James Shaw create furniture from recycled clothes for Traid

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      Local studio Hemingway Design collaborated with designer James Shaw to transform a London store interior for charity retailer Traid, which features colourful furniture created from leftover second-hand clothes.

      Hemingway Design renovated Traid’s Shepherd’s Bush branch as part of a wider rebrand for the retailer to mark its 25th anniversary, including its visual identity.
      Hemingway Design has redesigned the Traid store in Shepherd’s Bush, LondonTraid sells donated clothing and accessories in 12 stores across London to fund global projects that tackle the issues caused by producing, consuming and wasting textiles.
      As part of the Shepherd’s Bush store refurbishment, Hemingway Design worked with Shaw to create furniture out of poor-quality clothes salvaged from the Traid sorting warehouse that the retailer deemed unsellable.
      James Shaw created furniture and lighting made from recycled clothesShaw, whose practice centres on repurposing waste materials, created curved pendant lighting from the leftover clothes, which were shredded back to fibres and combined with a plant-based binder.

      The designer applied this method to make the rest of the furniture. One piece is a low-slung bench for trying on shoes, upholstered with a yellow, green and blue patchwork of old denim jeans and corduroy trousers.
      Shaw designed the bench’s lumpy legs in his trademark extruded HDPE plastic, finished in the same colours as the patchwork seat.
      This included changing room door handlesElsewhere in the store, boxy pinewood changing room doors feature multicoloured handles created from the leftover clothes, defined by a speckled appearance thanks to the combination of shredded fibres.
      Silver scaffolding previously used for a different purpose in the original shop layout was used to create a “staff picks” clothes rail positioned at the front of the store.
      The designer combined shredded fibres with a plant-based binder. Photo by James Shaw”To align with Traid’s manifesto of reducing waste and prolonging the lifespan of items, a fundamental objective of the refurb was to reuse and repurpose existing fixtures and fittings within the store where possible,” explained Hemingway Design.
      British designer Charlie Boyden created chunky pastel-hued plinths from other offcuts and materials salvaged from the strip-out. They display merchandise in the shop window illuminated by more of Shaw’s clothing-based pendant lighting.
      Existing silver scaffolding was used to form a “staff picks” clothes railSwirly linseed-based oil-stained pine also characterises the geometric cash desk, fitted with an accessible counter and positioned in front of an existing timber stud wall painted in bold pink.
      Next to the counter, bespoke bright green Unistrut shelving creates additional space for hanging clothes and displaying shoes.

      Previously unrecycleable clothing made into Fibers Unsorted textile

      According to Hemingway Design, Traid has put 228 million garments back into use to date, saving 622,059 tonnes of carbon dioxide and 105.3 million cubic metres of water.
      “The charity retailer maximises the potential of the clothes you no longer wear, demanding change from a throwaway, fast fashion culture that continues to destroy this planet,” said the studio.
      Charlie Boyden designed display plinths using off-cutsShaw recently applied his extruded plastic designs to another store renovation in central London for shoe brand Camper, which includes a jumbo foot sculpture.
      Hemingway Design previously created a minimalist but colourful logo to celebrate 100 years of the Dreamland amusement park in Margate, Kent.
      The photography is by French & Tye unless stated otherwise. 

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