Following the 13th instalment of the Asia Young Designer Awards (AYDA), Nippon Paint has crowned Lin Honghan, from China and Greta Elsa Nurtjahja, from Indonesia the grand title of being the Asia Young Designers of the Year 2019/2020, beating other participants across 15 geographical locations, in a rigorous selection process to represent their countries for the prestigious title in the Architectural Category and Interior Design Category respectively. 

This year’s competition marks the Asia Young Designer Awards’ first virtual event in light of COVID-19 restrictions, establishing Nippon Paint’s steadfast passion in fostering the next generation of designers. Following the virtual competition, both winners walked away with more than US$10,000 worth of prizes, including the opportunity to attend a fully-funded 6-week Design Discovery programme at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

The international competition theme this year, “Forward: A Sustainable Future”, posed a unique challenge to its participants to showcase designs immersed with functional and social sustainability elements. In an effort to break the boundaries of current design concepts, Nippon Paint and AYDA aims to nurture the next generations of architects and interior designers to conceptualise more sustainable designs in their projects that will reduce negative impacts on the environment and eventually improve quality of life. The winning design by Greta Elsa Nurtjahja from Indonesia embodied the theme with “Rumah Kopi” while Lin Honghan from China complimented the theme well with his design, “Sweet Dream in the Garden” where he incorporated traditional culture with modern design concepts. 

“Participants of this year’s virtual competition showed great innovations, strong concepts and social interactions especially during this time of uncertainty. Not only did their designs showcase technical skill, but most importantly, a deep understanding for environmental sustainability and what it takes to change the future of design, which is the essence of the year’s theme. The judges had a difficult but rewarding experience deliberating the participants’ entries but above all, we are proud of the impressive work from designers across the region. Greta Elsa Nurtjahja exceeded expectations in this competition with the level of detail and vision in her design,” said Lea Aziz, one of the judges from the Interior Design category and Founder of PT Elenbee Cipta Desain.

“This year’s entries, to me, were very interesting and diverse. Some of the entries were very poetic, historical, and proves that the participants dived deep into researching the environment and how to address different environmental issues. So, it was rather difficult for us to judge with the variety of entries but we thought the final entries from different countries were very diverse and exciting,” said Paul Noritaka Tange, one of the judges from the Architectural Category and Chairman & Senior Principal Architect, Tange Associates.

Chandima Gawarammana from University of Moratuwa won the award for Best Design Impact under the Architectural Category for his proposed design of a Gem Promotional Center on the theme of "Industrial and Cultural Exposure". With the ‘Gem Promotional Center’, Gawarammana aimed to reveal the real treasure of the gem industry that is not known to many. In the city of Rathnapura, the project aims to rehabilitate the gem mines as a tribute to the community and their culture. The design provided a modern solution to the industry in the form of a facility, revitalizing the traditional techniques used in the gem mines that have been passed down through generations.

Raveendran Sangeethan, also from University of Moratuwa delivered a strong and unique concept of a Public Market under the Interior Design Category at AYDA. 

In light of the Covid-19 outbreak, Nippon Paint made the decision to present this year’s awards via a virtual ceremony, where the finalists from the Interior Design Category and Architectural Category were judged on 8th and 9th of July respectively and engaged in an insightful Q&A session with the esteemed international judges. All of which then culminated in a live broadcast awards ceremony via Zoom on 10th July at 6pm.  

“Over the past twelve years, the Asia Young Designer Awards stayed true to our commitment to innovation and sustainability. By instilling a deep sense of responsibility and accountability in these young budding designers, we believe that in time, they will contribute to social and environmental advancements in society through their professional achievements. We are proud of the network that we’ve built, connecting industry professionals and talented designers from across the region,” said Wee Siew Kim, Group CEO of NIPSEA Management Company Pte. Ltd. (Subsidiary of Nippon Paint Holdings Co.).

AYDA by Nippon Paint will be organising international webinars where professionals from the industry and young designers will bring their knowledge and talents together, in August and October this year. Nippon Paint and AYDA have announced 2020’s theme; Forward: Human-Centred Design and encourages submissions from the world’s budding talents. For more information and to participate in this competition, visit: https://www.asiayoungdesignerawards.com/.