First launched in 2013, the Lexus Design Award is a yearly competition that aims to discover and foster young talent from around the globe. This year, the Japanese automobile company returned for its fifth year. With a theme entitled “YET”, contestants were asked to submit their most ambitious designs for easier life. This motif, which asked contestants to find synergy among seemingly incompatible concepts, is one that runs through Lexus to its core, with the brand always striving towards providing drivers with simple solutions for everyday living.
At last week’s Salone del Mobile in Milan, the contest’s four prototype finalists had the opportunity to present their inventions, created under the mentorship of some of the industry’s top architects and designers. Only one person could win, and this year’s victor was Hiroto Yoshizoe with “PIXEL”, a structure that allows onlookers to experience light yet shadow. Read on to learn all about Yoshizoe’s winning prototype, as well as the remaining designs from the competition’s three runner-ups.
The 2017 Lexus Design Awards Winner
“PIXEL”
“PIXEL” by Hiroto Yoshizoe (Japan)
Light YET shadow
Using a grid of visors in various hues, “PIXEL” allows onlookers to experience the phenomenon of light and shadow at its most fundamental core. Mentored by the design-duo Snarkitecture, this winning design aims to divide, transform and connect, all at once.
The 3 Prototype Finalists
“Having Nothing and Yet Possessing Everything”
“Having nothing, and yet possessing everything” by Ahran Won (Korea/USA)
Having nothing YET everything
Created under the tutelage of Shanghai-based Neri and Hu, Ahran Won’s prototype asks, “What is the meaning of objects in our lives?” Described as “a capsule for mobile living, having nothing yet everything”, this design is a multi-purpose storage and table space perfect for small living quarters.
“Player’s Pflute”
“Player’s Pflute” by Jia Wu (China)
Vegetable YET a musical instrument
Geared towards children, “Player’s Pflute” is a modular music system that helps younger ones connect with music. Comprising a multitude of mouthpieces, holes, punchers and connectors, the prototype encourages improvisation and creativity. Created by Jia Wu, the Royal College of Art graduate worked alongside mentor Max Lamb during the design process.
“Structural Color – Static Yet Changing”
“Structural Color – Static Yet Changing” by Jessica Fügler
Static YET changeable
Under the mentorship of Italian architect Elena Manferdini, Jessica Fügler’s “Structural Color – Static Yet Changing” is a project dealing with perceptions of colour based on perspective. Rather than relying on pigmentation to achieve colour, in this prototype a set of cubes appear either green or brown based on refraction and diffraction of light.
For more information on the Lexus Design Awards, please visit lexus-int.com