The Edition

Dezeen Awards 2024 launched last week in partnership with Bentley. Submit your entry by Tuesday 27 March to save 20 per cent on entry fees.

Now in its seventh year, the programme has become the ultimate accolade for architects and designers everywhere, with winners selected by a prestigious panel of international judges.

Read on to learn more about the new names that have joined this year’s judging panel:

Urquiola, who was named Dezeen Awards 2023 interior designer of the year, will sit alongside Queer Eye’s Bobby Berk on the interiors panel for this year’s awards.

Milan-based Urquiola is the art director at Italian furniture manufacturer Cassina and has collaborated with global brands including Agape, B&B Italia, Boffi, Flos, Kettal, Kvadrat and Molteni&C.

Recent projects by Urquiola include a carpet tile collection using low carbon initiatives for French brand Tarkett, a renovation of the 48-room Haworth Hotel in Michigan and a pebble-like sofa for Italian furniture brand Moroso.

She was also awarded Dezeen Awards 2023 hotel and short stay interior of the year for Six Senses Rome, a converted palazzo in Rome featuring circular elements and Italian materials.

Joining Giles Tetty Nartey on the design judging panel will be London-based product designer Broom.

Broom’s contemporary design studio has designed over 100 pieces of furniture, accessories and lighting pieces, which are regularly featured in hotels, restaurants and homes.

The British designer has collaborated with leading brands including Christian Louboutin, Mulberry, Bergdorf Goodman, Rémy Martin XO and Wedgwood.

Last year he unveiled his largest exhibition to date – Divine Inspiration, a lighting collection that reflects the brutalist architecture from his childhood, at Milan design week.

Cameroonian-born Mandi is the founder of Amechi Home and will be joining Urquiola on the interiors panel.

Mandi’s contemporary designs are informed by his heritage, spotlighting indigenous Nigerian and Cameroonian textiles and cultures.

The London-based designer has been named as one to watch and a rising star in several design publications, leading to several collaborations including a rug collection with London-based rug manufacturer Floor Story.

This year, Mandi will launch a series of new works, including a range of morphological wooden cabinets designed as an interplay between tradition and technology.

French architect and urban planner Decq runs her Paris-based firm Studio Odile and will join architect Suchi Reddy on the architecture judging panel.

Decq’s experiments with bold geometric shapes have resulted in multiple awards, including the 1996 Golden Lion Biennale, the Jane Drew Prize, and the Architizer Lifetime Achievement Award.

Recent projects by practice Studio Odile include a glass pavilion featuring a pyramidal roof in Paris, a 30-storey luxury residential tower featuring red curved balconies in Barcelona and a translucent glass house for an owner with vision loss in Carantec.

Joining Decq on the architecture judging panel will be London-based architect Shawn Adams.

Adams is the co-founder of studio POOR Collective. This social-impact design practice aims to engage young people from disadvantaged backgrounds by working with local schools and councils to overhaul public spaces.

Writer and lecturer Adams currently teaches at Central St Martins, UAL and the Architectural Association. He also sits on the advisory board of Open City’s Accelerate Programme, an education and mentoring initiative, and is a trustee of The Museum of Architecture.

In recognition of their efforts, POOR Collective won the Emerging Design Medal at London Design Festival in 2023.

Dezeen Awards 2024 in partnership with Bentley

Dezeen Awards is the ultimate accolade for architects and designers across the globe. The seventh edition of the annual awards programme is in partnership with Bentley as part of a wider collaboration to inspire, support and champion design excellence and showcase innovation that creates a better and more sustainable world. This ambition complements Bentley’s architecture and design business initiatives, including the Bentley Home range of furnishings and real estate projects around the world.