The Henry van de Velde Awards 2021 have a lot of winners. Out of 197 entries, the jury retained 17 winners and 7 Gold Award winners. The public also participates in the selection and was able to vote for one entry for the Public Award. Also the Lifetime Achievement, the Company, Young Talent and the Ecodesign by OVAM Awards have been announced. Below is a list of all Award winners.

For over a quarter of a century, the Henry van de Velde Awards have emphasised the important role that designers and the parties commissioning their work play in society. The Awards demonstrate that today, design is woven into every fibre of daily life and they recognise the work of creative entrepreneurs that have a positive impact on our society and economy through design. The 12 categories showcase the various forms of design and the richness of the Flemish design industry.



1. Lifetime Achievement: Ann Demeulemeester

The Lifetime Achievement Award is the ultimate recognition for a designer who has made an economic, social and/or cultural impact and thus contributed to the international reputation of Flemish design. This year the jury rewarded Ann Demeulemeester, a designer who, regardless of the form, material or function of an object, invariably succeeds in stripping it back to its essence and in pushing the boundaries of design time and time again.

Ann Demeulemeester

Since the 1980s, Ann Demeulemeester and her partner Patrick Robyn have built up her fashion label to a worldwide market leader. In a fashion industry where narrow market thinking was key, their approach was at odds and elevated fashion to a walking art form. After having purposefully relinquished creative control of the brand in 2014, Ann and Patrick, based on this same disruptive philosophy, resolutely threw themselves into the challenge of completely new materials and techniques such as porcelain and crystal. With her own sense of perfection this recently led to a few first collections of tableware by the Belgian manufacturer Serax, one pictorial and another sculptural. In addition to ceramics, they also include glasses and cutlery and a collection of lighting. As with their fashion collections, they are the result of a seamless synergy between industry and handicraft.


2. Company: Novy

Novy, Belgian market leader in cooker hoods and hobs, celebrated the centenary of its brand name in 2019. The firm’s success story is largely due to the way in which innovation, quality, sustainability and design are strategically interwoven in the business. Production still takes place in Belgium, despite its international growth, and all the other aspects — from product development to after-sales service — are handled in-house. The company never rests, even during the COVID-19 crisis. This year, Novy is introducing no fewer than five new products to market.

Olivier Lambert en Carlos Wanzeele. Watch the video about Novy


3. Young Talent: Bureau BoschBerg

The young, graphic design agency Bureau BoschBerg works on a great deal of projects for the cultural sector. The impressive list of clients such as STAM Ghent, the Theaterfestival, MA Festival, deSingel, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen and Z33 demonstrates a remarkable, long-term collaboration with their clients. The permanent dialogue that lies at the heart of it all does not rule out any differences: with Sang Woo K. Vandenbosch, who meticulously swears by the grid, while Laura Bergans prefers to work off-grid. Their extremely diverse oeuvre is fresh, simple, open, striking, and direct.

Sang Vandenbosch en Laura Bergans. Watch the video about Bureau BoschBerg


4. Ecodesign by OVAM: Facadeclick

With their innovative Facadeclick building system, father and son Vandenbempt solve two issues at the same time: they bypass the problem of finding bricklayers, which is becoming increasingly difficult, and they participate in the circular economy. With Facadeclick, Patrick and Jasper developed an intermediate piece with a sliding click connection that is used to click bricks together securely. Thanks to the innovative connecting pieces, Facadeclick enables construction that requires much less water and significantly reduces CO2 emissions. What’s more, at the end of the structure’s life, all the materials can be easily disassembled and reused.

Patrick en Jasper Vandenbempt. Watch the video about Facadeclick


5. Public: Ellio Elite

The public was able to vote online and select their favourite for the Public Award. The Ellio Elite received the most votes. The Ellio Elite, designed by the IntuEdrive Design Team in association with Achilles Design for IntuEdrive BV, is a Belgian speed pedelec that stands out from the competition due to its intuitive riding experience, durable and maintenance-friendly construction and large battery capacity. The e-bike is also produced locally.

Simon Depauw (Achilles Design) and Tomas Keppens (IntuEdrive)

Simon Depauw (Achilles Design) and Tomas Keppens (IntuEdrive)

Ellio Elite

Ellio Elite


6. Business Innovation: Aloxy Pulse

Aloxy Pulse is a revolutionary, wireless sensor that remotely monitors the status of valves and taps at petrochemical plants. Aloxy Pulse was designed by Studio Dott for Aloxy.

Pieter Lesage (Studio Dott) and Carl Stevens (Aloxy)

Pieter Lesage (Studio Dott) and Carl Stevens (Aloxy)

Aloxy Pulse

Aloxy Pulse

The other two winners in this category are:

  • smart lamp Nobi, designed by Studio Dos Santos for Nobi
  • the charging solution Smappee EV Base, designed by the in-house Smappee designteam

7. Climate Challenge: BC materials

In recent years, BC materials has established a consistent and circular design practice in sustainable materials, including building materials. Waste from building sites is reused to produce the ecological range of clay applications.

Nicolas Coeckelberghs and Bregt Hoppenbrouwers (BC materials)

Nicolas Coeckelberghs and Bregt Hoppenbrouwers (BC materials)

BC materials

BC materials

The other two winners in this category are:

  • the ethical fashion concepts of Soraya Wancour for Studio AMA
  • the resource map Circle Sector of Ben Hagenaars and the Interactions Research Group of LUCA School of Arts

8. Consumer: Nobi

Nobi, a smart lamp that lightens the work of caregivers by taking over a number of tasks such as fall detection and pattern recognition, wins a Gold Award. Nobi was designed by Studio Dos Santos for Nobi.

Stijn Verrept (Nobi) and David Dos Santos (Studio Dos Santos)

Stijn Verrept (Nobi) and David Dos Santos (Studio Dos Santos)

Nobi

Nobi

The other two winners in this category are:

  • The intuitive speed pedelec Ellio Elite, designed by the IntuEdrive Design Team in association with Achilles Design for IntuEdrive BV
  • the wearable Lopos SafeDistance by Lopos designed by Pilipili, which accurately monitors the distance between two employees

9. Crafts by Bokrijk: String instruments made from Flax

String instruments made from Flax (Strijkinstrumenten uit Vlas) combine traditional craftmanship with high tech materials and production techniques. They were designed by Tim Duerinck, in association with KASK & Conservatory of HOGENT and Howest, Ghent University and FWO.

Leoni De Schrijver and Tim Duerinck

Leoni De Schrijver and Tim Duerinck

Strijkinstrumenten uit Vlas

Strijkinstrumenten uit Vlas

The other two winners in this category are:

  • porcelain water jugs Lyne designed by Margot Thyssen
  • tapestries Caméléon, designed by Les Monseigneurs in co-creation with Verilin

10. Digital Product: Smart Ways to Antwerp

One winner in this category: Smart Ways to Antwerp, a campaign launched by Leap Forward for the City of Antwerp and the corresponding app that aims to simplify the mobility puzzle faced by Antwerp citizens.

Sander Jacobs (Leap Forward) and Marijke De Roeck (Slim naar Antwerpen)

Sander Jacobs (Leap Forward) and Marijke De Roeck (Slim naar Antwerpen)

Slim naar Antwerpen

Slim naar Antwerpen


11. Graphic & Communication: Graphic campaign for Horst Arts and Music Festival

The graphic campaign of Ronny & Johny for the Horst Arts and Music Festival is awarded with the Gold Award in this category. The sustainability of the project is shows its added value nog only in production but also in the service the communication agency offers. The identtity is used as a kind of 'social tool' to engage as much people as possible in the project.

Johny Van de Vyver and Ronny Duquenne (Ronny & Johny)

Johny Van de Vyver and Ronny Duquenne (Ronny & Johny)

Graphic campaign Horst Arts and Music Festival

Graphic campaign Horst Arts and Music Festival

The other two winners in this category are:

  • the philosophical picture book series Wijze Weetjes by Katrijn De Wit, Laura Bergans, Inge Rylant for Pelckmans Uitgevers

  • the graphic design by Corbin Mahieu and Lennart van den Bossche for the cultural centre Pilar at the VUB

12. Habitat: Caméléon

The modular textile Caméléon, designed by Les Monseigneurs in co-creation with Verilin, receives the Gold Award. Each rug is modular and can be used either as a tapestry, carpet or room divider.

René Schepers (Verilin) and Thomas Renwart (Les Monseigneurs)

René Schepers (Verilin) and Thomas Renwart (Les Monseigneurs)

Caméléon © Filip Dujardin

Caméléon © Filip Dujardin

The two other winners in the category are:

  • the multifunctional construction system ME&ER by Bram Kerkhofs
  • the VLAS rug by Anita Kars for Casalis

Visit the digital exhibition

The Henry van de Velde Awards 2021 exhibition can be explored digitally via www.henryvandevelde.be. Visitors get an overview of all the winners. Illustrator Lenah de Wit has created a unique illustration for each Gold Award winner specially for this online experience.

Order the catalogue

Do you want to know more about the winners and the winning projects of the Henry van de Velde Awards 2021? In the catalogue design critic and curator Max Borka has written about the changing role of the designer. He also had a conversation with Ann Demeulemeester en Novy's CEO. Curator Annelies Thoelen (Z33) did an interview with Laura Bergans and Sang Vandenbosch (Bureau BoschBerg) and journaliste Elien Haentjens talks with the founders of Facadeclick. The richly illustrated publication (144 p.) is bilingual (NL-ENG) en was designed by Geoffrey Brusatto. A copy can be purchased online and costs 7 euros (including shipping costs).