Dezeen Awards judges looking forward to "tsunami of amazingness” as deadline approaches

Dezeen Awards judges including Adam Nathaniel Furman and Arthur Mamou-Mani have described what they're hoping to see from entrants ahead of the 2 June entry deadline.

"I have a feeling it's going to be like a tsunami of amazingness," said Furman, a designer based in London. "I was also planning to allocate quite a lot of time to just let myself sink into all the submissions."

"Rewarding design towards a better world encourages the future generation to think this way" added French architect Mamou-Mani.

The architect, whose Burning Man temple Galaxia was highly commended in the small building category last year, remembers "writing the description of the entry and talking about what the project meant more than what it was" and "why it was a project that matters."

Mamou-Mani believes that rewarding design that is sustainable and beneficial for the planet will encourage the future generations to "channel their creative energy towards topics that matter".

Furman and Mamou-Mani made the comments during a live conversation as part of a VDF x Dezeen Awards collaboration. Dezeen Awards winners and judges including Sevil Peach, Studio Drift and Talenia Phua Gajardo joined Dezeen's founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs for a special edition of our Screentime series.

The experimental relay conversation also featured British architect Sarah Izod and experience designer Nelly Ben Hayoun.

Winning Dezeen Awards was "absolutely fantastic for the team"

London based interior designer Sevil Peach says that winning interior designer of the year 2019 at Dezeen Awards was "absolutely fantastic for the team". The London-based architecture and interior design studio was crowned interior designer of the year at Dezeen Awards 2019.

"I think it's a validation of one's efforts, maybe talent, and it's a reward of the team's hard work," says Peach. "Our clients like the idea of us winning an award because it becomes a validation for them as well."

"I would have seriously never thought this, it was a super big surprise"

"I was very surprised when we won the designer of the year award, you're just working, working, working and whilst the perception of other people is changing, but you don't really notice that yourself."

"I would have seriously never thought this, it was a super big surprise," said Studio Drift's Lonneke Gordijn.

The Amsterdam-based design studio that won both the designer of the year and lighting design of the year award with their project Franchise Freedom in 2019, explained how meaningful the recognition was whilst it also confirmed a shift in the design community.

"What I liked about winning these awards was that, for me, it felt like a shift, an indication of where design is going," explained co-founder Ralph Nauta. "I would have expected to maybe see a more traditional practice win."

Studio Drift specialises in experiential sculptures, installations and performances.

"You have to put yourself in the shoes of the person reading your submission"

London-based experience designer Nelly Ben Hayoun, who judged Dezeen Awards alongside Philippe Starck and Virgil Abloh last year, explained how putting effort into an awards entry is vital.

"You cannot just write your entry from your own perspective with words that only make sense to you," said Hayoun. "You really do have to make the effort to unpack everything."

Enter Dezeen Awards 2020

You can enter Dezeen Awards 2020 until Tuesday 2 June, so you still have plenty of time to complete your entry!

If you run into issues or have questions drop us a line at awards@dezeen.com or visit our how to enter page for more information.

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