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Designs of the Year Awards: The Latest Architecture and News

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History Wins 2017 Design of the Year

Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup’s Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. has been selected as the winner of the Beazley Design of the Year for 2017.

Presented by the Design Museum in London, the award is given to the project that best meets the criteria of design that “promotes or delivers change, enables access, extends design practice or captures the spirit of the year.”

See more from the overall winner and each of the category winners, below.

Adjaye, OMA and ZHA Among 13 Shortlisted for 2017 "Design of the Year"

The Design Museum in London has announced the shortlist projects in the running for the 2017 edition of their prestigious Beazley Design of the Year award. Now in its tenth year, the award was established to “celebrate design that promotes or delivers change, enables access, extends design practice or captures the spirit of the year.”

This year, a total of 62 projects have been nominated across six categories: Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Graphics, Product and Transport – including 13 projects from the Architecture category. A winner from each category and the overall winner will be announced on January 25, 2018. Previous winners of the architecture category include: IKEA’s Better Shelter last year (also the overall winner), Alejandro Aravena's UC Innovation Center in 2015, and Zaha Hadid Architects’ Heydar Aliyev Center (overall winner in 2014).

See all of the architecture nominees below.

IKEA's Better Shelter Wins Design of the Year 2016

IKEA’s flat-packed refugee housing solution, the “Better Shelter,” has been announced as the winner of the Beazley Design of the Year 2016. Presented by the Design Museum in London, the award is given to the project that best meets the criteria of design that “promotes or delivers change,” “captures the spirit of the year,” “enables access,” and “work that has extended design practice.”

Selected as the winner of the Architecture category, the Better Shelter beat out winners from five other categories, including Digital, Fashion, Graphics, Product and Transport, to take home the top honor of Design of the Year.

Herzog & de Meuron, OMA, MAD Among 13 Shortlisted for “Design of the Year 2016”

The Design Museum in London has announced the shortlist of 13 architecture projects being considered for the 2016 edition of the prestigious Beazley Design of the Year award. From Tatiana Bilbao’s Sustainable Housing Prototype to MAD Architects’ Harbin Opera House, the list features projects from a wide variety of scales and programs, celebrating some of architecture’s most significant achievements from the past year.

The award, now in its ninth year, “celebrates design that promotes or delivers change, enables access, extends design practice or captures the spirit of the year.” Nominees are selected in six categories, including Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Graphics, Product and Transport. An exhibition on the projects will be on display from 24 November 2016 – 19 February 2017.

Last year, the overall architecture prize was awarded to Alejandro Aravena's UC Innovation Center for the building’s ability to be “permeable – visually, socially and climatically with its environment."

View all of the shortlisted buildings, after the break.

Alejandro Aravena's UC Innovation Center awarded "Design of the Year" by London's Design Museum

London’s Design Museum has announced the category winners of the prestigious “Design of the Year” award. The winner of this year's Architecture Category is the Anacleto Angelini UC Innovation Center designed by Alejandro Aravena.

Nouvel, Gehry and Elemental Among 15 Shortlisted for “Design of the Year 2015”

London’s Design Museum has released 15 shortlisted projects that are being considered for the prestigious “Design of the Year” award. From Wendell Burnette’s Desert Courtyard House to Jean Nouvel’s One Central Park skyscraper, the wide-ranging list spans all scales, showcasing some of the best newly completed projects from across the globe.

The award, now in its eighth year, “celebrates design that promotes or delivers change, enables access, extends design practice or captures the spirit of the year.” 76 nominees over six categories have been selected. The jury, chaired by artist Anish Kapoor and includes architect Farshid Moussavi, will choose category winners on May 4. An overall winner will be revealed June 4.

Last year, Zaha Hadid’s Heydar Aliyev Centre in Azerbaijan was the first building in the award’s history to win the overall prize.

View all the shortlisted buildings, after the break. 

London Design Museum's Design of the Year: Heydar Aliyev Center / Zaha Hadid Architects

Zaha Hadid’s Heydar Aliyev Center has beaten out seven shortlisted designs to win Design Museum’s Designs of the Year Awards. The shortlisted proposals - from a portable eye examination kit to Volkswagen’s XL1 CAR - will remain on view at the museum through August 25.

Not only is Ms. Hadid the first woman recipient in the Awards' seven year history, but the center is the first architecture project to be lauded: "It's beautiful, it's inspiring, it's the clear vision of a singular genius and we thought it was a remarkable piece of work," jury member Ekow Eshun noted.

Other nominated architecture projects included: NLE Architects' Makoko Floating School, The Turbulences FRAC Centre by Jakob + Macfarlane Architects, and the interior remodeling of the St. Moritz Church by John Pawson. See more stunning images of the Heydar Aliyev Center here.

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Zaha Hadid Among 7 Shortlisted for “Design of the Year 2014”

Zaha Hadid’s Heydar Aliyev Center is among seven shortlisted designs being considered for this year’s Design of the Year award. As announced by London’s Design Museum, the undulating cultural center was pulled from 76 innovative nominations and placed first in the architecture category. The shortlisted proposals, ranging from a portable eye examination kit to Volkswagen’s XL1 CAR, will remain on view at the museum through August 25. A winner is expected to be announced June 30.

London's Design Museum Announces Designs of the Year 2013

London’s Design Museum has announced the seven category winners for the annual Designs of the Year Awards, celebrating the best of international design from the last 12 months. Among the seven category winners include the renovation and reimagining of a faded 1960s tower block in Paris and the "quiet" graphics of David Chipperfield’s 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale, Common Ground.

The seven category winners are: