The SaloneSatellite Awards for 2023 have been announced with six winning projects chosen from a hundred entries.
The 12th edition of the awards program showcased innovation of process and tradition, and championed the safeguarding of sustainable and community thinking. Projects by young designers from different countries of origin and provenance encompassed a variety of design approaches.
The First Prize was awarded to Japan’s Honoka for his Tatami Refab, combining reclaimed tatami material and 3D printing. Second Prize went to the Hong Kong-based Studio Ryte for its Triplex Stool, made using flax, a sustainable wood fibre. Third Prize went to Ahokpe + Chatalin, appearing at SaloneSatellite as Belgium is Design, for their Kudoazò hammock, made from recycled fabric spun in Benin.
This year’s three Special Mentions were given the Róng Design Award, consisting of a one-month residency at the Rong Design Library in Hangzhou’s Yuhang district in China, the promoter of the initiative. These were awarded to the Spanish Joaquin Ivan Sansone, currently living in Spain, for his cane Junki stool; to Korea’s Weonrhee, for the small Primitive Structure table, and Venezuelan-born Fragmentario, now living in the USA, for the Avocado Seed Brick project. All three were chosen for their evident pursuit of research, and will be supported in integrating Chinese crafts and traditional materials into their creative processes.
This year’s jury consisted of: Paola Antonelli, Senior Design Curator, Architecture & Design Director, Research and Development, MoMA, Beppe Finessi, Design Critic, Gianluca Gessi, President Gessi, Francesca Gugliotta, Design Editor, Francesco Librizzi, Designer, Claudio Luti, President Kartell, Steven Ma, Designer, Anna Moldenhauer, Editor-in-Chief Stylepark, Roberta Silva, CEO Flos, Marilena Sobacchi, Press Office Salone del Mobile.Milano.
Here is the full list of winners:
FIRST PRIZE
Honoka, Japan | “Tatami Refab”
3D printing and reclaimed poor materials come together in a versatile project that innovatively reintroduces traditional marks and culture into everyday life and the domestic spaces. Tatami is declining year by year. The Tatami Refab Project is a project that re-embeds Tatami into modern life using 3D printing technology.
SECOND PRIZE
Studio Ryte, Hong Kong | “Triplex Stool”
From lightweight to efficient structure; compactness to sustainability; the flax fibre Triplex Stool is an experimental furniture piece that responds to the nomadic lifestyle of the current era.
THIRD PRIZE
Ahokpe + Chatelin (Belgium is Design), Belgium | “Kudoazò”
A hanging bed designed and handwoven in Benin for European interiors. The fabric comes from unravelled yarn from sweaters that end up on African markets, the shape informed by the stripe.
SPECIAL MENTION
Joaquin Ivan Sansone, Argentina | “Junki”
The Junki bench is born from research into the material, creating a sturdy bench, thanks to the combined minimum force of each element. Showing the power of nature to resist. Simplicity is key to this object, which makes the most of the intrinsic properties of the material, in a viable, good-looking solution that emits a message of resilience.
SPECIAL MENTION
Weonrhee, Republic of Korea | “Primitive Structure”
In this project the designer has focused on two points. The first is the cycle of the material during the building process. The second is the primitive origins of her own culture. Culture of origin and contemporary design converge in a process that experiments with and reinvents primitive forms, adapting them to new demands.
SPECIAL MENTION
Fragmentario, USA | “Avocado Seed Brick”
The brick made with avocado seeds and a binder made from Sargassum algae is one of the applications of the research led by the designer on the properties and use of avocado seeds to balance material excesses and shortages. Harnessing the most diverse applications, it embodies contrasting places and resources in an ongoing, fruitful interaction that enriches the project as a whole, born of a simple seed.
For more information visit salonemilano.it/en/exhibitions/salonesatellite
