A multi-function jacket that could provide valuable help to travellers in remote and arid locations has won the first Lexus Your Choice Award. The ingenious concept by Denmark-based Swedish designer Pavel Hedström was one of four winners in the Lexus Design Award 2023. It subsequently collected the most votes cast by members of the public who visited Lexus’ presentation of the winning prototypes at Milan Design Week in April.  Both those who viewed the exhibition in person and those who visited online were eligible to nominate their favourite.

Fog-X captured the award’s defining principles of design that can help secure a better future. It is a jacket that converts into a one-person shelter and has a section that can be raised to catch fog and turn it into drinking water. During the award’s mentorship phase, Hedström was able to expand the concept to include a mobile app to help users locate areas of fog. More details about Fog-X and the other winning design concepts are available at https://discoverlexus.com/stories/lexus-design-award-2023/

Lexus has today unveiled ‘Shaped by Air,’ an installation by the acclaimed New York-based artist and architect Suchi Reddy, the founder of Reddymade Architecture and Design.  The work is being presented alongside the prototypes produced by the four winners of the Lexus Design Award 2023 in a public exhibition taking place at Milan’s Superstudio space until April 23^rd. Both the installation and the Lexus Design Award express an overarching theme of shaping the future.

The presentation is the latest in a series of compelling, immersive visitor experiences Lexus has brought to Milan Design Week, partnering with visionary creatives including Philippe Nigro, Neri Oxman, Sou Fujimoto, Rhizomatics and Germane Barnes, among others. Reddy’s ‘Shaped by Air’ maintains this tradition. Her work is inspired by the Lexus Electrified Sport, Lexus’ vision for a future all-electric sports coupe, and the quality it projects of being shaped by the air around it.

Reddy’s artwork was first presented at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Miami (ICA-Miami) during Miami Art & Design Week 2022. It has been reimagined for Milan Design Week as a multi-sensory experience which visitors can move through. The light and airy installation celebrates a commitment to human-centred, carbon-neutral and impeccably crafted design that is shared by both the artist and Lexus.

Brian Bolain, Lexus’ Global Head of Marketing, said: “We are thrilled to continue our collaboration with Suchi Reddy in Milan, a city that has inspired so much ground-breaking creativity. We hope that by placing her human-centred approach to design in dialogue with the innovation of our Lexus Design Award winners, we will inspire visitors to imagine new futures. The Lexus Electrified Sport and Reddy’s interpretation of it, together with these award-winning prototypes, represents forward-looking design and expresses our ongoing commitment to craftsmanship and sustainability.”

The site-specific installation inside Superstudio invites guests to discover a to-scale interpretation of the Lexus Electrified Sport after travelling through a forest-like collection of composite shapes, suspended from the ceiling. Set at varying heights and finished in a vibrant shade of green, these subtly call to mind the cut-outs of French painter Henri Matisse. The sculptural steel and aluminium elements are made partly from recycled or re-used consumer materials. Punctuated by dappled light, they create an absorbing environment that evokes the natural world. An accompanying soundscape inspired by the wind further helps bring visitors into harmony with nature.

Suchi Reddy commented: “I am excited to partner with Lexus – a brand committed to uplifting artists and designers – on a new iteration of ‘Shaped by Air’. This immersive interpretation in Milan makes use of repetition, multi-sensory elements and three-dimensionality to create an emotional environment that envelops the body like a car.”

Reflecting Lexus’ commitment to Omotenashi––a concept that encompasses both hospitality and mindfulness––the Superstudio space invites visitors to rest in an upstairs lounge, where they can observe ‘Shaped by Air’ from a different vantage point. The lounge’s air is purified by Panasonic’s nanoe™ X, a technology that helps create a healthier in-car atmosphere in many Lexus models.

Digital audiences will be able to engage with ‘Shaped by Air’ through a partnership with Diorama, a Milan and Paris-based digital creative agency. Diorama has imagined the installation as a metaverse experience that complements the physical installation, but has a life of its own. This virtual extension is realised as a dynamic digital forest. Users can explore an abstract natural world from a completely new perspective, one that is filled with the rustling of leaves, currents of air and diffusions of light. Diorama has also produced an augmented reality journey that visitors to the Milan exhibition will be able to discover on-site, using a custom Lexus Instagram filter.

Lexus Design Award 2023 winners’ prototypes

Lexus’ exhibition also includes the final prototypes created by the winners of the Lexus Design Award 2023. The competition invited designers to submit concepts that anticipate the challenge of the future, address it with an innovative solution and captivate the imagination with exceptional design, while seamlessly enhancing the happiness of all.

The works express Lexus’ belief that design has the power to deliver positive change. Now in its 11^th year, the award celebrates up-and-coming talent from around the world. The panel of judges – Paola Antonelli, Karim Rashid and Simon Humphries, all internationally respected figures in their creative fields – selected the concepts that best represented the theme of ‘Design for a Better Tomorrow’.

Simon Humphries, Toyota Motor Corporation Chief Branding Officer, said: “We as designers have a unique responsibility to create answers to challenges, whether that is through innovative ideas, beautiful aesthetics or any other method that could offer a better future. From this point of view, the winning ideas were a clear reminder of the ‘power of design’.”

Ahead of their showcase at Milan Design Week, the winners were given a unique opportunity to collaborate and share ideas with four world-class creators who served as this year’s Lexus Design Award mentors: Marjan van Aubel, Joe Doucet, Yuri Suzuki, and Sumayya Vally. 

The winners have significantly evolved their prototypes through the mentorship process, transforming already beautiful ideas into practical, scalable and ambitious designs.

●        Pavels Hedström (Sweden, based in Denmark), designer of Fog-X, a jacket that transforms into a tent/shelter and can catch fog that turns it into drinking water.

●        Jiaming Liu (China), designer of Print Clay Humidifier, a sustainable, 3D-printed humidifier made with recycled ceramic waste.

●        Temporary Office, [Singapore (Vincent Lai) and Canada (Douglas Lee), based in USA], designers of Touch the Valley, a 3D topographic puzzle that helps visually impaired people learn about the physical environment through touch.

●        Kyeongho Park and Yejin Heo (Republic of Korea), designers of Zero Bag, a new clothing package that dissolves in water and contains a detergent that can remove chemicals from products while reducing plastic waste.

Sumayya Vally commented: “It was incredible to witness the winners’ hard work manifested in the work they presented. I believe that each of the projects is poetically and pertinently posing meaningful and urgent questions about our present world, and bringing into being a more beautiful and responsive future.”

The final prototypes are on view for the first time in Milan. Visitors are invited to explore the works and learn about how the concepts evolved through the mentorship process.

The Lexus Design Award also welcomes the public to take part in the Your Choice Award and vote for the idea they feel best represents ‘Design for a Better Tomorrow’. The voting is open to those visiting in-person and also online here.

Lexus has been at the forefront of pioneering electrification in the luxury market since 2005. With the presentation of the Lexus Electrified Sport, it continues to push the boundaries of technology and craftsmanship with an unwavering commitment to sustainability and a consideration for the evolving needs of transportation and lifestyles worldwide.  Suchi Reddy’s installation highlights the potential of electrification and, together with the work of the Lexus Design Award winners, underscores Lexus’ vision for a future that is human-centred, carbon-neutral, and focused on craftsmanship and quality.

NOTES TO EDITORS

EVENT DETAILS

Dates

Press day: April 17^th, 3 pm to 9 pm

Public days: April 18^th to 22^nd, 11 am to 9 pm and April 23^rd, 11 am to 6 pm

Venue

Superstudio Più (Day Light)

Via Tortona, 27

20144 Milan, Italy

Exhibition details

‘Shaped by Air’ installation by Suchi Reddy

Prototype works by the winners of the Lexus Design Award 2023

Online experience

‘Shaped by Air’ Metaverse Experience : https://discoverlexus.com/stories/shaped-by-air-at-milan-design-week-2023/

Shaped by Air AR Filter: https://www.instagram.com/ar/1378144106301649/ 

Lexus Design Award ‘Your Choice Award’: http://lexusdesignaward.com/vote

ABOUT SUCHI REDDY

Suchi Reddy founded Reddymade in 2002 with an approach to design that privileges the emotional quality of human engagement with space. Guided by her mantra “form follows feeling,” Reddy’s architectural and artistic practice is informed by her research at the intersection of neuroscience and the arts. Working towards a larger idea of “design justice,” she is dedicated to expanding our notions of empathy, equity, and agency—where the importance of design is recognized as an asset for the benefit of all, not just for some.

Reddy teaches at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, and Cooper Union’s Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture. She was the 2022 Walton Critic at the Catholic University of America, and the Plym Distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois School of Architecture, Champaign–Urbana in 2019, where her work focused on contemporary architectural experience through the lens of neuroaesthetics, neurophenomenology, and sensory design.

She sits on the board of the Design Trust for Public Space, Storefront for Art and Architecture, and Madame Architect; and she is a member of the Dean’s Board of Advisors at Detroit Mercy School of Architecture + Community Development.

ABOUT THE LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2023 WINNERS

Pavels Hedström　

Sweden, Based in Denmark

Pavels Hedström began his career as an architect after earning his Master of Architecture and Extreme Environments degree (architecture, design conservation) from the Royal Danish Academy. He explores how holistic approaches can be applied to existing ecosystems.

Fog-X　

Fog-X is a jacket that transforms into a tent/shelter that catches fog and turns it into drinking water. Through the mentorship programme, Fog-X has evolved significantly – both transforming from a heavy backpack to a light jacket/shelter and adding the creation of a mobile app for easy access to find fog. The idea became a solution incorporated in an everyday object.

Jiaming Liu

China

Jiaming Liu is an industrial designer who focuses on bringing fresh perspectives into people’s daily lives. He is currently exploring cross-cultural and sustainable design. He was born in China, where he completed his bachelor's degree, and recently graduated with a master's degree from Folkwang University of the Arts.

Print Clay Humidifier

Print Clay Humidifier is a 3D-printed humidifier made with recycled ceramic waste. After rounds of testing and prototyping with different materials and techniques, Jiaming landed on a 3D printing method and powdered ceramic (recycled from ceramic waste) that further improved water absorption efficiency. It is a non-electric, recycled and recyclable version of a common household device that is both functional and elegant.

Temporary Office

Vincent Lai (Singapore), Douglas Lee (Canada)

Based in USA

Temporary Office is a design team of Vincent Lai and Douglas Lee, graduates from University of California, Berkeley. They have worked on projects crossing the boundaries of architecture, public space, preservation and product design. With a strong focus on historical research and precedent, Temporary Office seeks to constructively respond to the ever-changing needs of our environment in a rational yet playful way.　

Touch the Valley

Touch the Valley is a 3D topographic puzzle that helps visually impaired people learn about the physical environment through the sense of touch. Taking feedback from user-testing, the puzzle’s playability was improved by the addition of small features, including magnet feedback, elevational grooves, and smoother edges – enabling people to enjoy immersing themselves in exploring and playing the puzzle without too much cognitive load.

Kyeongho Park & Yejin Heo　

Republic of Korea

Kyeongho Park & Yejin Heo are students majoring in industrial design at Hanyang University's ERICA campus in the Republic of Korea. They are concerned about social and environmental problems and explore user-centred solutions through design.

Zero Bag

Zero Bag is an eco-friendly packaging with paper detergent or baking soda film attached to an alginate water-soluble bag. Through the mentoring programme, Kyeongho and Yejin developed and articulated the potential use cases and target markets for this type of product. The idea for clothing packaging for the retail market evolved to include explorations for different industries, from clothes to food. The development process continues to evolve, as the designers embrace the myriad potential for their ideas.

This year, the four mentors are solar artist Marjan van Aubel, multidisciplinary designer Joe Doucet, sound artist Yuri Suzuki, and architect Sumayya Vally

In the past few weeks, the winners have worked individually with Vally, on research and narrative, and Suzuki, on design. All have commented positively on how their advice is helping them develop the potential of their concepts.

Pavels Hedström is preparing to travel to Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on earth, for the first test of his Fog-X prototype. This is a portable device that collects fog to produce drinking water. His idea of Fog-X came from the simple fact that water shortage is an issue of human rights. Many companies and industries are addressing this problem, but he wanted to see what he could do as an individual.

Pavels said: “A lot of things have happened in the past few weeks, but now I think we’re going to be pressing the pedal as I have a clearer direction for my work, thanks to the great support from the mentors.”

Jiaming Liu is an award winner with the Print Clay Humidifier, a 3D-printed object made from recycled ceramic waste. He was inspired by his childhood experience living in a concrete and hard clay building during hot and dry summers, where they used to pour water on the highly absorbent walls. His project is now being tested for the quality of its texture and structure.

Jiaming commented: “Sumayya made many good suggestions and gave me a better direction. Yuri pointed out how I needed to improve my storytelling. This is necessary because this project is very complicated so I need to brush up the narrative to tell the story behind it. They both gave me a lot of confidence to continue my work.”

Entering the award as Temporary Office, designers Vincent Lai and Douglas Lee are winners with Touch the Valley, a 3D topographic puzzle. The project came from a combination of their professional experience in making models for clients that needed to be transported and their personal interest in playing board games.

Following their mentorship experience with Yuri, Vincent and Douglas were able to give their project a new focus, directing it specifically towards visually impaired people. They said: “The sessions with Sumayya and Yuri were like wake-up calls for us that reminded us of a lot of important things, and we really appreciate them. Marjan made a lot of good suggestions, but we need time to consider making variations of the puzzles and testing them. If it works well, we would like to talk to her about we can make the puzzles better.”

Kyeongho Park and Yejin Heo are further researching how their award-winning Zero Bag – clothing packaging that dissolves in water and acts as a detergent – might be used in real-world industries and what materials would be appropriate in each case. Their work was inspired by a desire to find new ways of reducing waste from packaging.

They commented: “After the session with Sumayya, we are sure about the three directions of how Zero Bag can be used, but are not sure if they will persuade consumers. We would like to see how other people react, especially professionals. Yuri pointed out it’s really important to show the identity of Zero Bag again. The concept is very different from what people are familiar with, so in the coming few weeks, we are going to work on how to tell people about its unique qualities, to give our work a strong identity.”

All four winners will have their prototype designs given a high-profile public display as part of Lexus’s activities at the 2023 Milan Design Week, from 17 to 23 April*.

The Lexus Design Award 2023 winners will be on view at Superstudio Più, Via Tortona 27, Milan. A private viewing for media and guests will take place on 17 April prior to public opening. The space will also be showing Shaped by Air, a new art installation by Suchi Reddy inspired by Lexus design and craftsmanship.

LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2023, an international design competition dedicated to empowering and encouraging the next generation of creators, is open for entries until October 16, 2022.

Last September, Lexus held an orientation webinar, providing interested designers an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the award’s purpose and features, and learn about how to participate. The webinar included a session in which past award winners talked about their personal journey to success.

The webinar is available here: LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2023 | Orientation Webinar - YouTube

ABOUT LEXUS DESIGN AWARD

Launched in 2013, the LEXUS DESIGN AWARD is an international competition for up-and-coming creators from around the world. The Award seeks to contribute to society by supporting designers and creators whose work shows potential to shape a better future. Four winners gain a rare opportunity to prototype their designs under the mentorship of leading designers. The LEXUS DESIGN AWARD provides global media exposure to drive professional career advancement.

Lexus is pleased to announce the leading figures from the international design world who will serve on the judging panel and mentoring team for the 2023 Lexus Design Award. Once again, the award is being supported by some of the most accomplished and globally respected designers from across an impressive breadth of creative disciplines.

The team of judges sees the return of Paola Antonelli and Simon Humphries, who are joined for the first time by Karim Rashid. The Lexus Design Award also welcomes Marjan van Aubel, Yuri Suzuki and Sumayya Vally as new mentors, alongside the returning Joe Doucet. These seven judges and mentors will work together to help the award in its mission to support and nurture the next generation of creators to build a better tomorrow.

The Lexus Design Award 2023 judges

The global designer Karim Rashid's work crosses the spectrum from industrial design to interior design. With more than 4,000 designs in production in more than 35 countries, he is in high demand for collaboration with famous brands.

He said: "It is an honour to review such a vast body of work and ideas in the promotion of design as the definitive shaper of the future and culture. I encourage all designers entering the Lexus Design Award to find new languages, new semantics, new aesthetics, experiment with new material, and behavioural approaches. Competitions such as this were formative to my creative and professional growth, and I look forward to seeing the beautiful individuality and originality that will result.”

Paola Antonelli, senior curator of architecture and design at MoMA, New York, is a well-established figure in the Lexus Design Award story and someone with whom the programme’s goals resonate. Since the award was introduced in 2013, she has kept a watchful eye on its development while welcoming the stimulating experience of interacting with fresh talent. She will once again share her bold perspectives and insights as a member of the judging panel. Her deep concern with design's responsibilities and possibilities informs her perception of creative potential in the next generation of designers.

Simon Humphries, Head of Toyota and Lexus Global Design, will again serve as a judge, representing Lexus’ pursuit of Design for a Better Tomorrow.

The mentors and the mentorship programme

To achieve its goal, the Lexus Design Award has always put mentorship at the heart of its programme. This has evolved into a streamlined and expanded competition for 2023 that will begin with four award winners being selected by the judges to receive the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of being mentored in their work by world-renowned designers. They will receive personalised advice and guidance to help bring their project closer to maturity.

Joe Doucet, an award-winning multidisciplinary designer, has mentored emerging talent in the programme since the 2020 edition. He commented: “Being with the Lexus Design Award programme for three years as a mentor, I have gained some perspective on the unique benefits of its structure. From a mentor’s perspective, we get to watch the blossoming of talent before our eyes. I am so grateful to take this role in what is a truly rewarding experience where we all benefit by working and growing together.”

Doucet is joined as a mentor by Dutch solar artist Marjan van Aubel, whose innovative work integrates sunlight and technology for a sustainable future. Also new to the mentorship team are Yuri Suzuki, a Japanese sound artist and experience designer, and South African architect Sumayya Vally, whose current work is focused on expressions for African and Islamic hybrid identities.

Sumayya Vally commented: “I am honoured to be part of the Lexus Design Award team and to support and nurture the creative empowerment of the next generation. Listening to and drawing on voices of difference, to innovate design-led ideas, plays an important role in our future. Beauty and social justice are not mutually exclusive; beauty is social justice.”

Together, these creators will form a dynamic team to steer the next generation of creators. Their diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise will make the mentorship programme a deeper experience than ever. Lexus looks forward with confidence to collaboration between the mentors and the award finalists in pursuit of creating a better future. After three months of developing and reining their concept, the winners will present their work publicly in spring 2023.

Lexus Design Award 2023 orientation webinars

The Lexus Design Award 2023 is open for entries through to October 16, 2022. For those who are interested in entering, Lexus is holding an orientation webinar so they can gain a deeper understanding the award’s purpose and features, and learn about how to participate. The webinar will include a session in which past award winners talk about their personal journey to success.

Webinar dates and times are as follows: -

Friday 16 September, 17:00 CEST

Wednesday 21 September, 05:00 CEST

For details and registration, please visit https://forms.gle/UF4vipJrpW4YPsY39. For further information, please visit LEXUS DESIGN AWARD.com .

Official hashtag: #lexusdesignaward

LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2023 PANEL OF JUDGES

Paola Antonelli - Senior Curator, Department of Architecture and Design, MoMA, NY

Paola Antonelli is Senior Curator of Architecture & Design at The Museum of Modern Art, as well as MoMA’s founding Director of Research & Development. Her goal is to promote design’s understanding, until its positive influence on the world is universally acknowledged. Her work investigates design’s impact on everyday experience, often including overlooked objects and practices, and combining design, architecture, art, science, and technology. She has curated shows, written books, lectured worldwide, and taught in several schools, including Harvard and UCLA. Among her most recent exhibitions and books are Broken Nature, devoted to the idea of restorative design (conceived as the XXII Triennale di Milano); Material Ecology, on the groundbreaking work of architect Neri Oxman; and Never Alone, about interactive design and video games. She is currently working on several new sessions of her MoMA R&D Salons and on the Instagram series @design.emergency, conceived with design critic Alice Rawsthorn and devoted to the role of design in the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond. Alice and Paola’s book, Design Emergency, was published in May 2022.

Karim Rashid - Designer, Karim Rashid Inc.

Visionary and prolific, Karim Rashid is one of the most unique voices in design today. Over 4000 designs in production, over 400 awards, and operating in over 35 countries attest to Karim’s legend of design. His award-winning designs include democratic objects like the ubiquitous Garbo waste can and Oh! Chair for Umbra and interiors like the Morimoto restaurant, Philadelphia and Nhow hotel, Berlin. 

Karim has created noteworthy designs for clients Method and Pepsi, furniture for Artemide and Vondom, brand identity for Citibank and Hugo Boss, high-tech products for LaCie and Samsung, and luxury goods for Veuve Clicquot and Christofle, to name a few. Karim is a perennial winner of the Red Dot award, Chicago Athenaeum Good Design award, Interior Design Best of Year Award, and IDSA Industrial Design Excellence Award. Karim is a frequent guest lecturer at universities and conferences, globally disseminating the importance of design in everyday life.

Simon Humphries - Head of Toyota & Lexus Global Design

Born and educated in the UK, he started his career as a product designer in 1988 before joining Toyota Motor Corporation in 1994. At first, he worked in advanced design and in 2002 played a leading role in establishing and implementing the Toyota (Vibrant Clarity) and Lexus (L-finesse) design philosophies. After managing various projects in both advanced and production design, he was appointed president of ED2 (Toyota European Design Development), where his team spearheaded various projects to define Toyota’s transformation to a mobility company. In 2018, he was assigned to the role of head of design, overseeing both the Toyota and Lexus brands.

As Head of Lexus Global Design, he seeks to define Lexus' unique values in the form of a brand philosophy, incorporating a clear cultural reference to Lexus' Japanese heritage and building a design direction that is relevant to users around the world. In his spare time he enjoys carpentry and is restoring a 100-year-old Japanese farmhouse.

LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2023 PANEL OF MENTORS

Marjan van Aubel - Solar Designer, Marjan van Aubel Studio

Marjan van Aubel is a Dutch solar designer whose innovations integrate sunlight and technology for a sustainable future. Her studio, Marjan van Aubel Studio is an award-winning innovative solar design practice that brings solar energy into daily life. Designing for a positive future through combining the fields of sustainability, design and technology. 

The studio is creating lasting change through solar design, integrating solar power seamlessly into our environments such as in buildings and objects. With the goal to make solar power more accessible for everyone. Most notable works are Sunne, Current Table, Power Plant and the roof of the Netherlands Pavilion at the World Expo 2020 in Dubai. Marjan has collaborated with global brands such as Cos, Timberland, Swarovski with the aim of accelerating the global energy transition to solar. Graduating from the Royal College of Art (Design Products MA) in 2012 and the Rietveld Academy DesignLAB (BA) in 2009.

Joe Doucet - Designer/ Founder, Joe Doucet x Partners

A designer, entrepreneur, inventor and creative director, Joe Doucet is one of the most sought-after creative talents working in America today. His work deftly hybridizes function and visual appeal while conveying layers of meaning and message. Doucet believes that design and, more importantly, a designer’s thought process can play a larger role in innovation and problem solving, as well as aesthetics. He currently holds numerous patents for his designs and inventions.

Doucet’s work has been exhibited globally and has received numerous international awards, including a World Technology Award for Design Innovation and multiple Good Design Awards. Doucet was named the Winner of the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award as Product Designer—the highest honor in his field. He was also Designer of the Year finalist by Dezeen, and a recipient of Fast Company’s Most Important Companies in Design.

Yuri Suzuki - Artist and Designer/ Partner, Pentagram

Yuri Suzuki is an artist, designer and electronic musician. He explores sound and visual language through artworks and projects that examine the relationship between people and their environments, questioning how both visual art and sound evolve to create personal experiences. Suzuki has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally, including at Tate Britain, V&A, the Barbican and MoMA New York.

Central to Suzuki's practice is collaboration – he has worked with various musicians including will.i.am and Jeff Mills, as well as commercial clients such as Google and Roland, creating music-based products and digital experiences that explore the relationship between sound and technology. As a Partner at Pentagram London, Suzuki and his team work internationally pushing the boundaries between art, design, technology and sound, crossing the fields of both low and high technology.

Sumayya Vally - Architect/ Principal, Counterspace

Sumayya Vally is the principal of the award-winning architecture and research studio Counterspace. Designer of the 20th Serpentine Pavilion, Vally is the youngest architect to win this internationally renowned commission. With the Serpentine, she has initiated and developed a new fellowship program, Support Structures, which assists artists and collectives working at the intersection of art with social justice, the archive, and ecology.

In 2022, Vally was selected by the World Economic Forum to be one of its Young Global Leaders, a community of the world’s most promising artists, researchers, entrepreneurs, activists, and political leaders, and, as a TIME100 Next list honouree, has been identified as someone who will shape the future of architectural practice and canon. Having recently joined the World Monuments Fund, Vally serves on several boards through her interest in dynamic forms of archive, embodied heritage and supporting new networks of knowledge in the arts. As Artistic Director, Vally is currently working on curating the first Islamic Arts Biennale taking place in Jeddah in 2023.

Lexus is seeking innovative ideas that contribute to a thriving and a better future for all through the power of design and technology. Applicants will explain how their creative concept puts into practice the Lexus brand's three key principles: Anticipate, Innovate and Captivate. The design must anticipate global challenges to societies, envision inventive ways to reach a sustainable future, and seamlessly enhance the happiness of all. Lexus seeks engaging, insightful, and original designs that honor both form and function while offering actionable solutions to hasten the arrival of a brighter future for humanity in a variety of scenarios and situations.

"Over the past decade, environmental and other issues have ballooned along with the need for solutions. With the LEXUS DESIGN AWARD, we have welcomed and recognized emerging creators of foresight and creative brilliance who apply the power of design to the challenges of building a better tomorrow for all. I eagerly await the fresh talent and impactful ideas that debut at LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2023." Said Simon Humphries, Head of Toyota & Lexus Global Design.

A judging committee of elite, internationally recognized design experts will select four winners from among the entries based on the judging criteria. Winners will be mentored by leading creators in diverse design disciplines. Each winner will be allocated a research and development budget of up to 3 million Japanese yen as a design grant to cover not only prototype construction, but also other relevant expenses involved in refining their concept and design and supporting the individual’s creative development. This once-in-a-lifetime mentoring experience is at the heart of the LEXUS DESIGN AWARD's reputation for excellence. In the spring of 2023, the four winners will reveal their progress to judges and mentors by presenting their finished work for review.

After revealing their work, the award winners will have the priceless opportunity to consult one-on-one with the judging panel. In addition to receiving feedback on their work, the winners share their visions and receive advice on the career path and aspirational goals that would further their success as creators.

Mentors and judging committee members will be announced this fall.

For more information, please visit LexusDesignAward.com.   

Official Hashtag: #lexusdesignaward

CALL FOR ENTRIES TO THE LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2023 COMPETITION

ABOUT LEXUS DESIGN AWARD

Launched in 2013, the LEXUS DESIGN AWARD is an international competition for up-and-coming creators from around the world. The Award seeks to contribute to society by supporting designers and creators whose work shows potential to shape a better future. Four winners gain a rare opportunity to prototype their designs under the mentorship of leading designers. The LEXUS DESIGN AWARD provides global media exposure to drive professional career advancement.