The Design that Educates Awards (DtEA) investigate the educational potential of architecture and design. The ability to communicate the implemented solutions and features is the main theme of the awards. Such an informational layer of design and architecture provides an important (yet not fully explored) opportunity for a dialog between the user and the designer. 

The result—a new type of learning environment—provides a space for the exploration of both the design itself and its relation to the vaster context. Each year, the esteemed panel of judges will select the most outstanding examples. The objective of the awards is to recognize, showcase, and promote globally the best ideas and implementations of architecture and design that educate.

Jury 

Maria Aiolova (designer, educator, leader of Arup University, cofounder of Terreform ONE)

Prof. Shingo Ando (designer, educator, professor at Kyoto Arts and Crafts University)

Dominic Harris (architect, artist, founder and creative director of Cinimod Studio)

Matthias Hollwich (architect, AIA, principal at Hollwich Kushner, cofounder of Architizer.com)

Prof. Barbara Holzer (architect, lecturer, cofounder and director of Holzer Kobler Architekturen)

Mikiya Kobayashi (furniture and product designer, founder and director of Mikiya Kobayashi Inc.)

Dr. Peter Kuczia (architect, founder of Kuczia Architects, initiator of the Design that Educates Awards)

Prof. Carlo Ratti (architect, founding partner at Carlo Ratti Associati, director atMIT Senseable City Lab)

Amandus Samsøe Sattler (architect, founding partner at Allmann Sattler Wappner Architekten)

Sarang Sheth (industrial designer, content writer and editor-in-chief at YankoDesign.com)

Prof. Tobias Wallisser (architect, cofounder of LAVA Laboratory for Visionary Architecture)

Prizes

During the first phase of the jury's deliberation, finalists will be selected from the pool of all entries. During the second phase, from the pool of finalists, the winners and laureates of honorable mention will be selected in each category. In addition to the jury’s evaluation, representatives of Solarlux (strategic partner of the awards) will select from the pool of finalists the laureates of Solarlux Choice.

Certificates

Winners in the category of architectural design

Winners in the category of product design

Winners in the category of universal design

Honorable mention (approximately 10 in each category)

Finalists (from the pool of all entries; approximately 50)

Emerging designer (additional label for students)

Solarlux Choice

Financial awards 

1500 USD: Winners in the category of architectural design

1500 USD: Winners in the category of product design

1500 USD: Winners in the category of universal design

500 USD: Emerging designer (additional prize for students)

Exhibition & Award Ceremony 

The projects of the winners and laureates of honorable mentions will be exhibited during the Design Forum on the Solarlux campus in Germany in 2019. The authors will be invited to present their designs during the ceremony.

Press packages 

Finalists and winners will be presented on the website of the awards. The organizer will send out the press release to partners, media partners, and media sponsors after the announcement of the results.

Ceremony

The Award Ceremony will take place on the Solarlux campus in Germany (Melle, Lower Saxony, Germany) on March 28–29, 2019. The ceremony will be hosted by Solarlux GmbH (strategic partner of the awards) and will consist of an exhibition of the results, lectures by selected members of the jury, laureates’ presentations, workshops, and networking opportunities. Participation is free of charge (registration is required).

Join

The awards are a multidisciplinary call for ideas and implementations in the categories of (1) architectural design, (2) product design, and (3) universal design. Deliberation about the entries will consist of two phases: (1) selection of the finalists and (2) selection of winners and laureates of honorable mentions. Entries will be evaluated based on the following criteria: feasible, verifiable, visionary, original, and comprehensive. The theme of the awards has been inspired by the research called ‘Educating Buildings’ (‘Bildende Bauten’) by Dr. Peter Kuczia. The submitted ideas should refer to the competition theme and underline the educational potential of design.

Fees

Team of professionals: Early 125 USD; Regular 150 USD; Late 175 USD

Individual professional: Early 75 USD; Regular 100 USD; Late 125 USD

Team of students: Early 50 USD; Regular 75 USD; Late 100 USD

Individual student: Early 25 USD; Regular 50 USD; Late 75 USD

Schedule

Registration opens in October 2018

Early registration: until November 1, 2018

Regular registration: until January 1, 2019

Late registration: until February 1, 2019

Project submission deadline: February 2, 2019

Jury deliberation: February 2019

Announcement of winners: March 1, 2019

Awards ceremony: March 28–29, 2019

Organizer

The host of the awards is Laka Foundation, a registered nonprofit and nongovernmental organization that operates through statutory charitable activities. Contact the organizer at [email protected].

You can find all the information on the competition's website. The strategic partner of the awards is Solarlux GmbH: a German manufacturer of bi-folding glass doors, winter gardens, and façade solutions. 

Top image © DtEA 

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