Lexus Design Award 2021: Leading Lights Of Global Design Selected As Judges And Mentors

TOKYO, Sept. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Lexus today announced its complete high-powered lineup of judges and mentors for the Lexus Design Award 2021, a global platform to support and nurture the next generation of creators.

Lexus is delighted to welcome two more design celebrities to the 2021 judging panel: leading young Chinese architect Dong Gong and Greg Lynn a highly influential American architect and CEO of Piaggio Fast Forward a robotics company.

Dong, who recently became a member of the French Academy of Architecture, has earned international acclaim for his creative works, including the well-known Seashore Library in China. Lynn is internationally recognized for using technology to reimagine the relationship of architecture and design with society. His wide-ranging works bring various interdisciplinary fields into an interconnected space where he can harness technology to experiment and innovate.

They join the panel's returning judges: the esteemed design influencer Paola Antonelli, senior curator in the Department of Architecture and Design of New York's MoMA, and Simon Humphries who heads Toyota & Lexus Global Design.

Using Lexus' three key design principles, Anticipate, Innovate and Captivate as judging criteria, the judging panel will seek to identify next generation talent as they evaluate the entries based on how well they employ these principles to build a Better Tomorrow.

Joining as a judge for Lexus Design Award for the first time,  Dong Gong commented, "I think the most exciting thing to be a juror will be I have the chance to see designs by young designers and especially not only limited to architecture field but also includes all the other areas of the design, it's about a process of engagement and interaction."

Greg Lynn added, "I am happy to join the jury for the Lexus Design Award as I am certain to learn a great deal from the vision and values of the participants, from the insight of the mentors, and from the perspectives of the other members of the jury. I have followed the award in the past and am impressed by the ability to connect design with cultural challenges. It is exciting to be involved with a program dedicated to discovering, mentoring and awarding talented young designers who focus on tomorrow. Now more than ever, there are so many challenges for design to address including social inequity, economic instability, climate crisis and a health pandemic so I am sure to be inspired. This will be a case where the pleasure will be all mine."

Finalists receive a priceless experience as the mentors provide direct, interactive guidance in developing prototypes that bring the mentees' ideas to life for the final judging. This year's newest mentor is the artist and designer Sputniko!, whose innovative video and multimedia installations address technology's impact on society. She joins the team of Joe Doucet, Mariam Kamara and Sabine Marcelis who will mentor the six finalists chosen from worldwide entries.

The prototypes of the six finalists' ideas will be displayed at the finale of Lexus Design Award 2021, scheduled to be held in April 2021. A single Grand Prix winner will be selected after finalists present their prototypes and ideas to the judging panel at the event under the eyes of global media and guests.

Entries for the Lexus Design Award 2021 will be accepted until October 11.

For more information on Lexus Design Award 2021, please visit:
https://discoverlexus.com/highlights/entries-open-for-lexus-design-award-2021
Official Hashtag: #LexusDesignAward

CALL FOR ENTRIES TO THE LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2021 COMPETITION

LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2021 PANEL OF JUDGES

PAOLA ANTONELLI
SENIOR CURATOR FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN AT 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. Following the XXII Triennale di Milano in 2019––Broken Nature, devoted to the idea of restorative design–– she has opened at MoMA the exhibition Material Ecology, on the work of architect Neri Oxman. 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––devoted to the role of design in the Covid-19 pandemic.

DONG GONG
FOUNDER / DESIGN PRINCIPAL OF VECTOR ARCHITECTS

Dong Gong founded Vector Architects in 2008. He and Vector Architects have been invited to various exhibitions including 2018 FREESPACE Venice Biennale, and won awards internationally including "100+ Best Architecture Firms" selected by Domus (2019); being nominated by Swiss Architectural Award (2018); the Overall Winner of Italian Archmarathon Awards (2016); "Design Vanguard" selected by Architectural Record (2014).

He has been invited as guest speaker and critic by universities, academic and professional institutions including Tsinghua University (China), University of Illinois (USA), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (Switzerland), Société Française des Architectes (France), etc. In 2019, the renowned architectural journal AV Monographs published a monograph of Vector Architects titled "Cosmopolitan Vernacular" (vol.220).

His representative works include Seashore Library, Seashore Chapel, Alila Hotel in Yangshuo, the Renovation of the Captain's House, Changjiang Art Museum, and Suzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum.

GREG LYNN
ARCHITECT AND CEO PIAGGIO FAST FORWARD

Greg Lynn is the founder and owner of Greg Lynn FORM and cofounder and CEO at the robotics company Piaggio Fast Forward. In addition to buildings he has designed high performance sailboats, high technology robots, as well as furniture and consumer products for Vitra, Alessi, Swarovski, and Nike. He has served on numerous corporate executive and advisory boards and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Canadian Center for Architecture.

He won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture and represented the United States in the American Pavilion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture twice.  He received the American Academy of Arts & Letters Architecture Award and was awarded a fellowship from United States Artists.  He is currently o. Univ. Prof. Arch. at the angewandte Wien and Studio Professor at UCLA. He was the Davenport Professor at Yale University, Professor of Spatial Conception at the ETHZ, adjunct faculty at Columbia University and visiting faculty at Harvard GSD.  He is the author of nine books.

SIMON HUMPHRIES
HEAD OF TOYOTA & LEXUS GLOBAL DESIGN

Simon Humphries is Head of Toyota & Lexus Global Design. He was appointed to oversee design for both brands in 2018.  As Head of Lexus Global Design Humphries 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.

Humphries joined the company in 1994. His many roles in leadership and advanced design include defining the signature spindle grille that has become an icon for the Lexus brand. In 2016 he became President of ED2 (Toyota Europe Design Development) where his team spearheaded development of mobility concepts such as the Toyota e-Palette concept as part of the brand's transition from "automotive company" to "mobility company." Humphries began his career in design in 1988 when he was awarded the Royal Society of Arts Bursary Prize for Product Design in the UK.  The award gave him the opportunity to work for Sony, which jumpstarted his passion for living and working in Japan. In his spare time Humphries enjoys carpentry and is restoring a 100-year old Japanese farmhouse. 

LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2021 PANEL OF MENTORS

JOE DOUCET
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 2017 Winner of the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award as Product Designer—the highest honor in his field. He is also Designer of the Year 2019 finalist by Dezeen, and a recipient of Fast Company's Most Important Design Companies of 2019.

MARIAM KAMARA
PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT, ATELIER MASOMI

Mariam Kamara is a Nigerien architect. In 2014, Kamara founded atelier masōmī, an architecture and research firm, tackling a wide variety of public, cultural, residential, commercial and urban design projects. Notably, The Religious-Secular Complex of Dandaji in Niger, a collaborative cultural project with Studio Chahar, won the 2017 Gold LafargeHolcim Award for Africa and Middle East, and the 2018 Silver Global LafargeHolcim Award for Sustainable Architecture. Kamara served as Adjunct Associate Professor at Brown University and is a recurring Architecture Critic at the Rhode Island School of Design (R.I.S.D.)

Kamara's work is guided by the belief that architects have an important role to play in thinking spaces that have the power to elevate, dignify, and provide a better quality of life. Since 2018, Kamara has been Sir David Adjaye's protégé under the Rolex Mentor Protégé program, and is a 2019 Laureate of the Price Claus Award, recognizing creatives having a positive impact on their societies.

SABINE MARCELIS
DESIGNER / FOUNDER, STUDIO SABINE MARCELIS

Sabine Marcelis is a Dutch designer who runs her practice from the harbor of Rotterdam. After graduating from the Design Academy of Eindhoven in 2011, Marcelis began working as an independent designer within the fields of product, installation and spatial design with a strong focus on materiality. Her work is characterized by pure forms which highlight material properties.

Marcelis applies a strong aesthetic point of view to her collaborations with industry specialists. This method of working allows her to intervene in the manufacturing process, using material research and experimentation to achieve new and surprising visual effects for projects both showcased in musea and commissioned by commercial clients and fashion houses.

Sabine recently won the prestigious Wallpaper awards 'Designer of the year 2020', The Elle Deco International Design award 2019 'Young designer of the year' and 'GQ Men of the year 2019' International Artist of the year.

SPUTNIKO!
ARTIST AND DESIGNER, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS DEPARTMENT OF DESIGN

Sputniko! is known for her film and multi-media installation works which explore the social and ethical implications of emerging technologies. She has presented her works in exhibitions such as the 2016 Setouchi Art Triennale, Milan International Design Triennale, Broken Nature (2019), Future and Arts  at the Mori Art Museum (2019). From 2013 to 2017, Sputniko! was an Assistant Professor at the MIT Media Lab, where she founded and directed the Design Fiction research group.  She is currently an Associate Professor of Design at Tokyo University of Arts.  To date, she has had pieces included in the permanent collections of museums such as the V&A and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa  

| ABOUT LEXUS

Lexus launched in 1989 with a flagship sedan and a guest experience that helped define the premium automotive industry. In 1998, Lexus introduced the luxury crossover category with the launch of the Lexus RX. The luxury hybrid sales leader, Lexus delivered the world's first luxury hybrid and has since sold over 1.5 million hybrid vehicles.

A global luxury automotive brand with an unwavering commitment to bold, uncompromising design, exceptional craftsmanship, and exhilarating performance, Lexus has developed its lineup to meet the needs of the next generation of global luxury guests and is currently available in over 90 countries worldwide.

Lexus associates/team members across the world are dedicated to crafting amazing experiences that are uniquely Lexus, and that excite and change the world.

| ABOUT LEXUS DESIGN AWARD

First launched in 2013, the Lexus Design Award is an international design competition that targets up-and-coming creators from around the world. The award seeks to foster the growth of ideas that contribute to society by supporting designers and creators whose works can help to shape a better future. It provides a unique opportunity for each finalist to work with a globally recognized designer as a mentor to create prototypes of their designs, and then exhibit them at one of the design calendar's most important events.

#LexusDesignAward

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Micholl Azenon
East Coast Communications
347-271-2869
[email protected]

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