Launched in 2000, the National Design Awards is an annual awards program presented by Cooper Hewitt and the Smithsonian Design Museum. Recipients of this award not only represent the very best examples of design innovation and impact, but they also showcase an array of firms and individuals who have dedicated their work towards enriching the definition of design impacts in daily life.
Individuals and firms are nominated, and an esteemed jury from various design backgrounds evaluates their portfolios. This year's jury consisted of notable design practitioners like Kofi Boone, FASLA; Billy Flemming, Joe Gebbia, Kristine Johnson, Grace Jun, and Patricia Saldaña Natke FAIA. This year's jury members selected the following nine category winners.
Out of the nine design categories, five of the recipients hold important positions and involvement within architectural practice and academia. Below is an overview of these designers and their steadfast contributions to architecture and adjacent fields of study such as technology/media, social and political design, and experimental fashion.
Ross Barney Architects is a Chicago-based architecture, urban design, and landscape studio led by Carol Ross Barney. Examples of notable: Chicago Riverwalk, McDonald's Global Flagship Chicago, and O'Hare International Airport, Multi-Modal Terminal. Learn more about Barney and the studio's work here.
Studio-MLA is a Los Angeles-based landscape architecture, urban design and planning practice led by Mia Lehrer FASLA. Examples of notable: Upper Los Angeles Rivers & Tributaries Revitalization Plan, Silver Lake Reservoir Path and Meadow, Ishihara Park, and Los Angeles NFL Entertainment District landscape. Learn more about Lehrer and her work here.
Colloqate Design is a multidisciplinary architecture and design justice practice based in New Orleans. The practice is led by design principal and national Design Justice Advocate Bryan Lee Jr. Examples of notable: Design as Protest (DAP), Paper Monuments, and Blights out for Mayor. Learn more about Lee and the work of Colloqate here.
Doris Sung is an architect and educator based in Los Angeles. She is the founder of LA-based practice DOSU Studio Architecture and is also the Director of Undergraduate Programs at USC. Examples of notable projects include: the InVert™ Self-Shading Window, Oculus Field, and Drift. Learn more about her work here.
Behnaz Farahi is an LA-based designer and creative technologist. She holds a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Media Arts and Practice at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Examples of notable projects include: "Can the Subaltern Speak," Iridescence, and Bodyscape. Learn more about her work here.
Ruki Neuhold-Ravikumar, interim director of the museum shared in a statement, "The 2021 National Design Award winners challenge the boundaries of their fields—from community and future-focused to socially responsible design, these designers fill us with an optimism for the future by demonstrating the transformative capacity of design."
With First Lady Jill Biden serving as the Honorary Patron for this year's National Design Awards, this year's class of winners will take part in a series of virtual talks, tours, workshops, and more in honor of celebrating National Design Month this October. To learn more about this year's winners click here.
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