A floating school in a Nigerian lagoon, friendly lamp posts, and a historic library chair are some of the 76 nominations for Designs of the Year 2014 just announced by the Design Museum in London.
Designs of the Year gathers together a year of cutting-edge innovation and original talent showcasing the very best in global architecture, digital, fashion, furniture, graphic, product and transport design.
Pro Chair Family, designed by Konstantin Grcic
This year’s nominees include international design stars Zaha Hadid, John Pawson, Stephen Jones, David Chipperfield and Miuccia Prada, alongside crowd-funded startups and student projects.
The broad reach of the competition allows for an overview of emerging trends and common themes from across different design disciplines. More than ever, designers are seeking to blur boundaries between the digital and physical worlds with new ideas, according to the Museum.
Iro furniture designed by Nagasaka for Established and Sons
Nominees in the furniture category are: the Bodleian Library Chair, designed by Barber & Osgerby; Iro, designed by Nagasaka for Established and Sons; the interior of the North Delegates’ lounge at the United Nations, designed by Hella Jongerius with Rem Koolhaas, Irma Boom, Gabriel Lester and Louise Schouwenberg; the Pro Chair Family, designed by Konstantin Grcic; Ripple, an ultra light timber table, designed by Benjamin Hubert; and the Simple exhibition at the ProjectB Gallery in Milan, designed by Phillippe Malouin.
Frac Centre designed by Jakob + MacFarlane
Nominees in the architecture category are: the Child Chemo House in Osaka, designed by Tezuka Architects; the Façade for Paul Smith in London, designed by 6a Architects; the Frac Centre in France, designed by Jakob + MacFarlane; the Frac Nord-Pas De Calais in France, designed by Anne Lacaton and Jean Phillipe Vassal; the Heydar Aliyev Center in Azerbaijan, designed by Zaha Hadid and Patrik Schumacher; La Tallera Siquerios in Mexico, designed by Frida Escobedo; the Makoko Floating School in Nigeria, designed by NLE; Mont de Marsan Mediatheque, designed by archi5; Museo Jumex in Mexico City, designed by David Chipperfield; Newhall Be in Essex, designed by Alison Brooks Architects; Praca Das Artes Performing Arts Centre in Brazil, designed by Brasil Arquitetura; St Moritz Church in Germany, designed by John Pawson; The New Crematorium in Stockholm, designed by Johan Celsing; and the Wa Shan Guesthouse in China, designed by Wang Shu.
The Makoko Floating School designed by NLE
All of the nominated designs go on display at the Design Museum in an exhibition open from March 26 through August 25. A distinguished panel of experts will choose a winner from each category and one overall winner, to be announced later in the year.
After the success of its first outing in 2013, the Visitor Vote will return, allowing visitors to the Design Museum to pick their favorite design from the exhibition as well.
New for 2014 is the Social Vote, which sees two nominations fight it out each day through the exhibition’s online Social Vote platform. Broadcast to over one million of the Design Museum’s Twitter and Facebook followers, the Social Vote allows people from all over the world to participate and crown a winner. Follow along with the #designsoftheyear hash tag.
