For the third consecutive year, Swarovski will collaborate with Design Miami/ for the 2017 Swarovski Designers of the Future Award.

The Swarovski Designers of the Future Award honours promising young designers and studios who epitomise the new directions taking form in design – with a notable platform and opportunity to present their work.

This is the third year that Swarovski and Design Miami/Basel have collaborated on this award.

The previous winners of the Swarovski Designers of the Future Award in 2016 were Anjali Srinivasan, Yuri Suzuki and Studio Brynjar & Veronika.

In 2015 Tomás Alonso, Studio Swine and Elaine Ng.

In the glamorous setting of the Giacomo Arengario restaurant, within the Museo del Novecento (ie The 20th century Museum) complex, the names of the winners of the “Swarovski Designers of Future Awards” were  announced

For 2017, three new names were  selected for their innovative approach to design and pioneering use of new technologies, including Los Angeles architect Jimenez Lai, London-based Dutch designer Marjan van Aubel and Takt Project from Tokyo

These promising young designers and studios were selected from around the globe for their innovative creative approach and pioneering use of new technologies, exemplifying new directions for design.

Alongside the Swarovski Designers of the Future installation at Design Miami/ Basel, Swarovski will present collections from its new home décor brand Atelier Swarovski Home in a ‘Curio’ exhibition within the core galleries of the fair.

Satoshi Yoshiizumi from Takt Project

Celebrating innovative design, the collections consist of various functional and decorative objects with a strong focus on mixing crystal with other materials.

The winners will present their work, which will include innovative surfaces, 3D crystal printing and solar cell technology at Design Miami/ Basel from 13-18 June 2017.

In this video below, Swarovski shows the winners’ aesthetic approaches and the dynamic commissions that will be presented at Design Miami/ Basel in June.

“This year we are delighted to evolve the Swarovski Designers of the Future project to create an exciting collaborative space which explores how crystal and innovative technologies can be used to bring together different design disciplines.

We look forward to seeing the creations of this talented, forward-thinking group of designers.” …………………. Nadja Swarovski

This year, the Austrian brand is altering the format of the exhibition by asking the designers to respond to a specific brief – ‘Shaping Societies’

Swarovski also adopted a new selection method for 2017, the award’s winners were selected by a jury of leading figures in the design world based on their exceptional approach to one of three fields: architecture, technology, and product design.

For the first time at Design Miami, the designers will integrate their unique pieces into one complete environment which will tell a single narrative of cutting-edge technology and the ability of imaginative advancements to shape societies.

The display will show an engaging mix of collections harmonizing socially driven endeavors and sensory-related science experiments in a conceptual and communicative space

While it is hard to imagine these very different practices sharing a common narrative to create a singular shared installation, it also epitomises the unchartered results of collaborative practices.

What we know so far regarding the installation is that Jimenez Lai will create the comprehensive architectural space for the installation, while trying to tell a story.

Within Lai’s narrative will exist Marjan van Aubel’s ‘living light objects’.

Aubel will work in tandem with Swarovski’s in-house experts on solar technology to develop this series.

Takt Project, in collaboration with Micron3DP Ltd will explore a series of table-top objects which will be crafted using 3D printed Swarovski crystal—something which has never been attempted before.

Takt Project  (Satoshi Yoshiizumi)

Tokyo-based Takt Project won in the “product design” category.

The studio is a multidisciplinary practice, with a focus on reinvention and socially driven endeavours.

Takt Project, will collaborate with Israeli start-up Micron3DP to produce a series of tabletop objects in 3D-printed Swarovski crystal – something which has never been attempted before.

Micron3DP are the inventors of high-resolution molten glass 3D-printing technology, pioneering a new manufacturing process of complex glass parts.

” To be able to work in such an important, innovative area as 3D-printing is so exciting for our studio “’ ……… Satoshi Yoshiizumi

Atsushi Honda, Yoshitaka Ito, Satoshi Yoshiizumi, and Takeshi Miyazaki collectively founded Takt Project, the multidisciplinary studio based in Tokyo.

Constantly reinventing the wheel, the team have created commodities that allow at-home users to modify retail purchases with 3-D components as well as special objects that alter ordinary acrylic storage boxes with a connecting bracket or lighting unit.

Takt Project looks to increase the possibilities of the usual by adding their own creative spin and novel interpretation to current perceptions

Marjan van Aubel

Marjan van Aubel, a Dutch designer working out of London who works with materials and objects to blend scientific precision with sensory awareness

Marjan will work with Swarovski’s in-house experts on solar technology to develop a series of living light objects.

” The combination of crystal and solar energy has the potential to be incredibly beautiful and forward-thinking,’ says Van Aubel. ‘Swarovski’s dedication to working within the boundaries of innovation and climate change is very important to me, and corresponds well with my focus on blending science with sensory responsiveness to develop aesthetic solutions for the future.” …………….  Marjan van Aubel

Specializing in solar power technology, London-based Dutch designer Marjan van Aubel works with materials and objects through the looking glass of science and chemistry.

A graduate of the Royal College of Art Design Products and the Rietveld Academy Design LAB, Aubel has collaborated with manufacturers, designers, and scientists and has exhibited at the V&A and the Design Museum in London, with permanent collections at MoMA New York and the Vitra Design Museum.

Her work is solution-based, conceived through researching scientific precision with sensory responsiveness to produce a series of inventive materials including foam porcelain and solar cells.

Jiminez Lai

Los Angeles-based architect Jimenez Lai, a storyteller who blurs the boundaries between design, art, architecture, sociology and technology, imagining other worlds and design through the stories he tells.

He intends to develop captivating surfaces using crystal, exploring design through storytelling.

Lai added that he would re-use the imperfect Swarovski crystals sorted out of production during quality control inspections for his “Terrazzo Palazzo”

“ I’m excited to bring an architectural perspective to this year’s installation. Working with crystal is a stimulating new challenge as it creates a visual quality that is unlike most other materials architects normally use.”  ………….. Jiminez Lai

“I mapped out how much time I spent on various activities throughout the day—eating, sleeping, sitting, etc.—and translated that amount of time into proportions for the design. So, for example, since the vast majority of my time is spent sitting, the majority of the structure can be used for sitting.”  ………….. Jiminez Lai

“If we think about ‘reduce, reuse, recycle,’ it actually costs more energy to recycle than reuse. With that in mind, I wanted to take the crystals that were not selected and make a terrazzo. It’s a very malleable architectural product.”  …………………. Jiminez Lai

Jimenez Lai, founder of Burea Spectacular, the architectural firm in Los Angeles, bases his designs in storytelling.

Developed from character traits, relationships, attitudes and curiosities, the stories are fused into cartoon narratives of theory, taste, and history to eventually evolve into architectural installations.

A master list of inspirations from sociology and graphic design to technology and politics propel Lai’s concepts, resulting in extravagant and visionary productions.

Jimenez Lai, founder of Burea Spectacular, the architectural firm in Los Angeles, bases his designs in storytelling.

Developed from character traits, relationships, attitudes and curiosities, the stories are fused into cartoon narratives of theory, taste, and history to eventually evolve into architectural installations.

A master list of inspirations from sociology and graphic design to technology and politics propel Lai’s concepts, resulting in extravagant and visionary productions.

Swarovski

Established in 2006, the Swarovski Designers of the Future Award seeks to offer the next generation of emerging talent the opportunity to introduce their work to the most formidable collectors, gallerists and international journalists in the industry, all the while encouraging the significance of technological and conceptual progression in product and furniture design.

Recipients are given the chance to achieve these ambitions by visiting Wattens, Austria, Swarovski’s historic headquarters, to explore and be inspired by the brand’s laboratories, archives, and cultural programs.

In discovering Swarovski’s rich heritage, along with gaining access to the scientific and aesthetic properties of its crystals, designers are capable of producing pioneering concepts and distinctive, innovative ideas

About Museo del Novecento

An outstanding example of architecture and, today, an impressive installation communicating directly with the city, since 2010 the Palazzo dell’Arengario has accommodated the Museo del Novecento.

This landmark building, designed by Griffini, Magistretti, Muzio, and Portaluppi, and was renovated by the Rota Group to host a richly layered collection of 20th century Italian art.

The Museo del Novecento, located inside the Palazzo dell’Arengario in Piazza del Duomo, hosts a collection of over four thousand works.

The Museo del Novecento was established on 6 December 2010 with the goal of spreading knowledge of 20th century art and offering a more comprehensive insight into the collections that the city of Milan has inherited over time.

Beside its core exhibition activity, the Museum is active in the conservation, investigation and promotion of 20th century Italian cultural and artistic heritage with the final aim of reaching an ever wider audience.

With an eye toward the city, the Museo del Novecento develops around multiple locations.

The Permanent Collection follows a chronological path where collective exhibitions alternate with solo art shows.

The grand spiral staircase inside the building welcomes visitors and introduces them to the visit of the Museum with the Il Quarto Stato (The Fourth Estate) by Pellizza da Volpedo. The bookshop and the restaurant are the Museum’s meeting places.

The Neon by Lucio Fontana represents a final embrace to the city. Reflecting Milan’s feverish cultural dynamism, the Permanent Collection is essentially the story of several private collections that have been brought together thanks to the generosity and passion for art of many private collectors.

Since its inception, the collection has been augmented by major gifts from artists, collectors and philanthropists who play an active role in the growth of the Museum’s heritage, which today reflects the rich trajectory of art from the early 20th century through the present.