Call for Submissions / A’ Design Award & Competition 2020 – 2021

© Yan Chen

The A’ Design Awards & Competition 2020-2021 is currently open for submissions! Until September 30, participants can submit their designs for regular submissions. Winners will be announced on April 15, 2021, and we will make sure to share our favorites on ArchEyes.

The A’ Design Award & Competition has a philanthropic goal to advance society by pushing the frontiers of science, design, creativity, and technology forward by creating incentives for innovators to come up with better ideas. Besides, the award has immense benefits for participants. Upon entering the competition, designers receive a preliminary evaluation of their work, letting them know how the design will rank. All entries are peer-reviewed and juried by an international panel of academics, design professionals, and press members. There are over a hundred categories to choose from, including specialized design awards such as the Disposable and Single-Use Product Design Competition or the Cybernetics, Prosthesis, and Bio-Engineering Design Competition.

We’ve rounded up some of our favorite designs from the previous year’s competition to help kick-start your submission!

Samaranch Memorial Museum by Archiland

© Yan Chen

• Designer: Archiland, HAO design（New York）, COWI, Kragh & Berglund and TADI
• Winner Category: 2019 – 2020, Gold A’ Architecture, Building, and Structure Design Award Winner
• Inspiration: The original intention is to build a green building that commemorates Mr. Samaranch and inherits the Olympic spirit. It was transformed through the five Olympic rings: the main building presents two intersecting circles, and the other three circles transform into a sunken courtyard. The “8” shape commemorates the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The “S” shape stands for “Samaranch”; the third is that the shape symbolizes Infinity and eternity.

Interpretation Centre of Romanesque Exhibition Centre by spaceworkers

© Fernando Guerra FG+SG

• Designers: Henrique Marques, Rui Dinis, Rui Rodrigues, Rui Miguel, Sérgio Rocha
• Winner Category: 2019 – 2020, Gold A’ Architecture, Building, and Structure Design Award Winner
• Inspiration: Based on the concepts of Romanesque architecture in Portugal, the building aims to be a transitional element between the present and the distant past. In a simple way, the volumetric proposed contains the principals of unity within diversity, appearing under the form of several volumes with different heights and dimensions, demonstrating the diversity that Romanesque buildings have left us. Therefore, each volume ceilings reinterprets one of the roof types used in Romanesque architecture.

BaseCamp Lyngby Student Housing by Lars Gitz Architects

© Illustrator Lars Gitz Architects, Common building, 2017

• Designers: Lars Gitz Architects,  Jon Clausen, Nevena Milosevic, and Kim Clausen
• Winner Category: 2019 – 2020, Gold A’ Architecture, Building, and Structure Design Award Winner
• Inspiration: The context inspired the concept and the organic form. This part of the city has a very natural and green character that the building is in harmony with. The idea was to bring students closer to nature and motivate them to interact with it. The project had to satisfy the low-cost sustainability demand. A trapezoid repeatable shaped module that rotates differently within the same radius was invented, creating the round organic shaped structure. The structure is uninterruptedly running through the site, creating a walking path in nature on top of the building.

House for Parents Residence by Masakatsu Matsuyama

© Toshihisa Ishii

• Designer: Masakatsu Matsuyama
• Winner Category: 2019 – 2020, Silver A’ Architecture, Building, and Structure Design Award Winner
• Inspiration: As a traditional daily custom in this island, people gather and stay under the shadow of large trees. We aimed to create architecture that celebrates the culture of the region and leads to re-emerge the spirit of traditional life on the island. The space under the large roof, which is supported by thin steel columns, provides a shady and cool, comfortable interior that suite the severe climate on the southern island.

Hg Door Lever Handle by Kawajun

© Kawajun

• Designer: Kawajun
• Winner Category: 2019 – 2020, Silver A’ Furniture Accessories, Hardware and Materials Design Award Winner
• Inspiration: The designer wanted to challenge the aesthetic value of conventional lever handles. The goal was to design and produce a hardware piece worthy of being one of the most iconic lever handles in the world. With this, the designer approached the lever handle as though it were a sculpture. The triangle was chosen as the design’s foundation due to its bold nature.

Pluto Task Lamp by Heitor Lobo Campos

© Gantri Inc

• Designer: Heitor Lobo Campos
• Winner Category: 2019 – 2020, Gold A’ Lighting Products and Lighting Projects Design Award Winner
• Inspiration: Pluto was inspired by telescopes, which use tripods and dynamic but stable forms. But instead, I sought to design a light that focuses on the earth instead of the stars.

Sada Bike Hubless Foldable Bike by Gianluca Sada

© Frozen Light studio

• Designers: Gianluca Sada and Luca Scudieri
• Winner Category: 2019 – 2020, Platinum A’ Vehicle, Mobility, and Transportation Design Award Winner
• Inspiration: Demanding mobility-related service has its consequences on society: street congestion of metropolitan hubs is the everyday challenge commuters have to face, and it is a source and stress and delays. «You never change things by fighting against the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete.» R.Buckminster Fuller Promoting and enabling virtuous behaviors for smart mobility, intermodality, sustainability for the environment are the values driving Sada Bike

Riposo Coffee Set by Mikhail Chistiakov

© Kirill Kobyzev/ Art Director Iurii Solovev

• Designer: Mikhail Chistiakov
• Winner Category: 2019 – 2020, Silver A’ Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware, and Cookware Design Award Winner
• Inspiration: The concept is based on an approach to classical subjects from functionalism and strict geometry. This project was inspired by the manifestos of the Russian avant-garde, the German Bauhaus, and constructivism: what is functional and convenient is also beautiful.

Project Yellow Visual IP Design by Yu Chen

© Yu Chen

• Designer: Yu Chen
• Winner Category: 2019 – 2020, Silver A’ Computer Graphics and 3D Model Design Award Winner
• Inspiration: Project Yellow is a comprehensive art Project that constructs the visual concept of Everything is Yellow. According to the key vision, large outdoor displays will be made in various cities, and a series of cultural and creative derivatives will be produced at the same time.

Hera Sailing Yacht by Nicola Mondini

© Nicola Mondini, 2019

• Designer: Nicola Mondini
• Winner Category: 2019 – 2020, Bronze A’ Yacht and Marine Vessels
  Design Award Winner
• Inspiration: Hera is a concept sailing yacht inspired by J-Class vessels, the single-masted racing sailboats built in the 1930s to compete in America’s Cup. This concept is a futuristic interpretation that celebrates these peak racers through innovative materials and innovative shapes.

Registration to A’ Design Award & Competition 2020-2021 is open now.
The deadline for regular submissions is September 30, 2020. Results will be announced to the public on May 1, 2021.