Design Anthology Awards 2019: Announcing the Winners

Following months of submissions, short-listing and deliberation by an esteemed panel of industry experts, the results are in. Here is the complete list of winners of our inaugural Design Anthology Awards

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In the five years since we launched Design Anthology, we’ve defined what we stand for and what our core philosophies are. Among them is our sincere ambition to create a platform for showcasing, celebrating, supporting and promoting original design in Asia and by Asian designers. And much like our motivation for starting Design Anthology magazine, we felt there remained an appetite for something different in the design awards landscape.

As an extension and evolution of the magazine, the Design Anthology Awards are an opportunity for us to be change agents in a more tangible way. For the awards to be truly meaningful, they required judges who are the best in their respective fields, with an even representation of genders and a balance of countries and regions. For the winners, we’ve chosen prizes we hope will benefit their careers in meaningful ways.

In addition to those prizes, together with our generous venue sponsor The Murray we’ve launched the Design Anthology Education Fund. This is a charity dedicated entirely to providing grants for design education in Hong Kong, and our hope is that in the future the grants will expand in size, scope and beyond the borders of Hong Kong. The awards and related events are the first of many fundraising platforms for the charity.

We’d like to extend our sincere gratitude to the judges, for their belief in our vision, but equally so for their time and commitment. The level of detail and rigour with which they assessed the shortlisted entries exceeded our highest expectations.

We’re also deeply grateful for the support of our sponsors, without whom the Design Anthology Awards would not have been possible, nor would they be the success we hoped for. 

And finally, thank you of course to the designers and nominators. The response was overwhelming and the entries of the highest calibre. To the finalists and winners, a resounding and heartfelt congratulations!

Text / Suzy Annetta

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Learn more about all the finalists and winners in our 64-page stitch-bound Awards publication, now available to purchase

Watch the full ceremony at awards.designanthologymag.com/gallery

Products

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The Finalists

Accessories

• Templates Watch by Michael Young
  Shenzhen CIGA Design Co., Ltd

• ESCAPE Luggage
  Studio Gooris Limited

• PR/01 Speaker
  NATIVE UNION

• JIA Hand-Drip Coffee
  Studio Shikai

Furniture

• Tripodal Stool
  Studio Adjective Limited

• The Roundish Armchair
  Maruni Wood Industry

• GRACEFUL REINA Series
  camino × ViiCHENDESIGN

Lighting

• Kelopak
  Ong Cen Kuang

• Ripple Lamp
  Poetic Lab + Studio Shikai

• Linear Task Light
  Singular Concept

Textiles

• Horsehair Collection
  Ausara Surface & Textile

• Lake Under The Forest
  Aya Kawabata Design

• SUPERTEXTURES
  Tiffany Loy

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The Winners

Accessories

Hand Drip Coffee Set for JIA Inc.
Studio Shikai

The JIA hand drip coffee set fuses Eastern design language with Western lifestyle. Comprising two types of double-walled ceramic drippers, server, dripper sit, ring and coffee grinder, the set is designed to provide everything needed to brew the perfect cup of coffee.

Furniture

Graceful Reina Series
Camino and Vii Chen

From Taiwanese designer Vii Chen comes a series of tables and chairs for camino that are unified by their curvaceous contours, clean lines and elegant finish. The series is inspired by the sense of beauty in classic Western skirt frames and the graceful gestures of ballerinas.

Lighting

Kelopak
Ong Cen Kuang

A product of a commitment to extensive experimentation, artisanal craftsmanship and a passion for lighting that was sparked by the region’s ubiquitous paper lantern, Kelopak represents what the studio creates best: sculptural and poetic lighting that uses surprising materials, in this case the zipper.

Textiles

SUPERTEXTURES
Tiffany Loy

Designed in Singapore and made in Finland, SUPERTEXTURES is a collection of woven rugs in four distinct designs, all of which are an exploration of the dynamics between weave structure, material properties, colour and texture.

People

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The Finalists

Ambassador

• Tony Chi

• André Fu

• Kengo Kuma

Architect

• Ma Yansong

• Andra Matin

• Mun Summ Wong

Emerging Designer

• Frank Chou

• Olivia Lee

• Elaine Yan Ling Ng

Female Designer

• Vii Chen

• Rachaporn Choochuey

• Naoko Takenouchi

Industrial Designer

• Naoto Fukasawa

• Oki Sato

• Gabriel Tan

Interior Designer

• James JJ Acuna

• Frank Leung

• Ed Ng

Vanguard

• Bill Bensley

• Joyce Wang

• Kenya Hara

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The Winners

Ambassador

Kengo Kuma

Japanese architect Kengo Kuma is at the forefront of a small group of Asian architects working internationally. His firm Kengo Kuma & Associates represents Japan and Asia with groundbreaking works, while Kuma himself influences designers all over the world and is a role model for aspiring architects in Japan and the rest of Asia. Kuma's work is distinctly Japanese, and in every design he distills and refines the best of the nation’s aesthetics and culture.

Architect

Mun Summ Wong

Singaporean architect Mun Summ Wong co-founded WOHA with business partner Richard Hassell in 1994. In the decades since, the firm has completed more than 50 projects throughout Southeast Asia, China, India and Australia, including residential towers, public housing estates, mass transit stations, hotels and cultural institutions; the duo’s contribution to Singapore’s cityscape in particular has been undeniable.

Emerging Designer

Elaine Yan Ling Ng

Elaine Yan Ling Ng is a British-Chinese ‘materialologist’ and the founder of The Fabrick Lab, Hong Kong’s first textile laboratory, which brings together textiles, electronics, biomimicry, interiors and installations.

Female Designer

Naoko Takenouchi

Japanese-born Naoko Takenouchi is one half of Singapore-based integrated design firm Takenouchi Webb. The firm, which specialises in hospitality projects, was established in 2006 and has had a profound effect on the design scene in Southeast Asia.

Industrial Designer

Oki Sato

Oki Sato is the chief designer of eminent Milan- and Tokyo-based design studio nendo. Having established the Tokyo studio in 2002, Sato launched the studio’s Milan outpost in 2005. The year after he was named one of The 100 Most Respected Japanese Designers by Newsweek.

Interior Designer

James Acuna

For more than a decade, James Acuna has worked on a range of lifestyle and workplace projects in Hong Kong, China and the wider Asian region, honing his skills at renowned firms Woods Bagot, Ronald Lu & Partners and LWK&Partners. In 2015, the designer founded JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio in Hong Kong and Manila, which specialises in bespoke designs for lifestyle-oriented clients.

Vanguard

Joyce Wang

Focusing on luxury hospitality and residential design, Joyce Wang’s Hong Kong- and London-based studio has amassed an impressive global portfolio since its inception in 2012. Wang’s goals are to push cultural and geographical boundaries and in doing so become known as an Asian designer capable of setting new standards globally.

Places

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The Finalists

Adaptive Reuse

• Office project, Bangkok
  Creative Crews Ltd

• Office project, Shanghai
  MONOARCHI

• Song Art Museum
  Vermilion Zhou Design Group

Commercial Spaces

• Batubata Office
  Studio Air Putih

• Khromis
  A Work of Substance

• Wantou (Anhui Investment) & Vanke Sales Center
  Karv One Design

Cultural, Arts & Educational Spaces

• ArtisTree
  via architecture limited

• f22 foto space
  LAAB Architects

• The Book Stop Project
  WTA Architecture and Design Studio

Hospitality Spaces — Dining

• Boy’N’Cow Meat Boutique
  ANP (A&Partners)

• Origin
  A Work of Substance

• Ta-Ke
  Steve Leung Design Group

Hospitality Spaces — Hotels

• Amanyangyun
  Kerry Hill Architects

• Kosmos
  THE_SYSTEM LAB

• Treewow Villa / Hotel
  MONOARCHI

Residential Living — Interiors, Compact

• 28 Aberdeen Street
  via architecture limited

• Stark House
  Park + Associates Pte Ltd

• Vintage Vibes
  the monocot studio

Residential Living — Interiors

• Artists Retreat Pittugala
  Palinda Kannangara Architects

• SalaAreeya
  CHAT architects

• Sanga Mandala House
  budipradono architects

Urban Redevelopment

• Garden Restroom
  LAAB Architects

• Kowloon Bay
  Steensen Varming

• Kunming Project
  Kokaistudios

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The Winners

Adaptive Reuse

MONOARCHI Office, Shanghai
MONOARCHI

Rather than take a space in a commercial building, Rotterdam- and Shanghai-based architecture firm monoarchi chose to redesign a heritage-listed courtyard house in Shanghai’s French Concession, one still housing residential tenants.

Commercial Spaces

@Batubata Office, Jakarta
Studio Air Putih

When architecture and interior design firm Studio Air Putih came to design an office for its own team, it chose a curious location in Serpong, west of Jakarta. The designers saw the primarily residential surroundings as scattered and disorganised, and it was this environmental context that drove their concept and design of the office, which mirrors the surrounding structures’ moderate size and spread-out positioning. 

cultural, arts & educational spaces

f22 foto space, Hong Kong
LAAB Architects

Hong Kong is blessed with a growing number of gallery spaces, but only a small minority are dedicated to the photographic arts. In this context, the founders of f22 foto space aim to cultivate contemporary photography as an art form in Hong Kong, as well as to bring local and international photographers together as a community.

Hospitality spaces — dining

Boy’N’Cow Meat Boutique, Bali
A&Partners

Located in the heart of bustling Seminyak, Bali, Boy’N’Cow Meat Boutique specialises in aged meat. Design studio A&Partners took its lead from these aged elements when considering materiality in the design.

hospitality spaces — hotels

Amanyangyun, Shanghai
Kerry Hill Architects

When construction began on a dam in Jiangxi province, Ming- and Qing-dynasty villages and forests were threatened by rising waters. The client decided that a rescue was in order, and duly documented, disassembled and transported to Shanghai a chosen few houses along with 700 camphor trees. These would become the core of Aman’s fourth China property.

residential living — interiors

Casablancka Residence, Bali
Budi Pradono Architects

The starting point for this project was a transformation of traditional Balinese buildings known as taring, temporary bamboo structures used for special occasions and characterised by the clear separation between floor, wall and roof structures. In the transformation, the design team at Budi Pradono Architects aimed to bring users close to nature on the sloping site through open volumes and strategic use of materials.

residential living — interiors (compact)

Everton Park, Singapore
The Monocot Studio

What started as a request from the owner of this 90-square-metre apartment to incorporate some vintage furniture became a project to remodel it into an open space in which mid-century design could shine.

sustainability

T·CAFÉ, Hong Kong
LAAB Architects

Hong Kong’s T·PARK is a sewage treatment facility and public education centre focusing on waste and sustainability, which was a key driver of the design for its on-site cafe. Reclaimed wood forms the centrepiece of the design, with the team utilising discarded wood from the Wan Chai Pier, the second iteration of which was demolished in 2014.

urban redevelopment

Garden Restroom, Hong Kong
LAAB Architects

Situated in Hong Kong’s historic Tsim Sha Tsui neighbourhood is Salisbury Park, a public space that needed new facilities to match its recent overall renovation. In their design for the park’s new restroom, the team at LAAB Architects sought to respond to the garden setting and historicity.