This week on Dezeen, we revealed the winners of the inaugural Dezeen Awards China in the architecture, interiors, design and Designers of the Year categories.
The winners were crowned at an awards ceremony at The Sukhothai hotel in Shanghai. The Haikou Jiangdong Huandao Experimental School was named the Dezeen Awards China 2023 architecture project of the year, while ToSummer Beijing Flagship Store took home the interiors award.
China's design project of the year went to the Combo Bench and Obisidan Chair. Designers of the Year winners included Open Architecture, Mario Tsai Studio and AIM Architecture.
In London, the proposed MSG Sphere continued to create conversations. Helen Barrett explored both sides of the debate in her piece Does London need the Sphere?
It was also revealed that MSG is considering building a Sphere in Hanam, South Korea, which would function as a music arena for K-pop artists. The Sphere could become part of the proposed K-Star World, which would also feature a theme park and a K-culture and video industrial complex dedicated to K-pop (Korean pop).
This week, Australia announced a ban on engineered stone due to the risk of silicosis. The material, which is valued as a durable and affordable alternative to natural stone for kitchen benchtops, can be dangerous when it is cut as it releases a fine silica dust into the air.
"This prohibition will ensure future generations of workers are protected from silicosis associated with working with engineered stone," said minister for training and workforce development, water, and industrial relations Simone McGurk.
David Lake and Ted Flato of Texas studio Lake Flato Architects won the AIA Gold Medal 2024. The studio won the award, which is considered one of the most prestigious awards in architecture, for its engagement with "controversial environmental and socio-political issues".
An eight-person jury said the architects won for their ability to make "sustainability exciting in a way few other architects have accomplished".
In design news, Dutch design brand Moooi launched a pair of rugs based on artworks by Alf Bärbel Wit Peters, aged eight. The young designer created two rugs for the company.
"The details, lines, strokes, choices, shapes and rhythms in his art echo the freedom of Basquiat, Appel, Kline, Miró, Haring and Kandinsky, bearing a unique style," Moooi said.
For our Year in Review this week, Rima Sabina Aouf looked at the top 10 product designs of 2023. These included an airless basketball, a phone charger for rough sleepers and and glasses that instantly change prescription.
Features editor Nat Barker summarised 10 architecture and design controversies this year, including the Sphere planning battle, the I ♥ NY revamp and 15-minute city conspiracy theories.
Popular projects this week included a "desert modernism" extension in London, a skinny hotel in Vietnam and a house in Japan built as one big room.
This week on Dezeen
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