The winners of the 2025 London Design Medals have been introduced because the London Design Competition prepares to kick off this week (13-21 September), with Michael Anastassiades, Norman Foster, Sinéad Burke and Rio Kobayashi awarded the annual design accolade. The winners had been chosen by a jury together with Competition Director Ben Evans in addition to Ozwald Boateng, Es Devlin, Yinka Ilori, Alice Rawsthorn, and Jane Withers, amongst others.
‘This yr’s medal recipients characterize the breadth of latest design excellence,’ says Evans. ‘From Michael Anastassiades’ method to lighting that has redefined spatial experiences, to Lord Norman Foster’s architectural legacy spanning over six a long time, Sinéad Burke’s important work making design actually accessible for all, and Rio Kobayashi’s revolutionary craft apply that bridges custom with modern imaginative and prescient. These designers exemplify how creativity can remodel our world.’
LONDON DESIGN MEDALS 2025: MEET THE WINNERS
London Design Medal – Michael Anastassiades
(Picture credit score: Osma Harvilahti)
Awarded with the London Design Medal, ‘bestowed upon a person who has distinguished themselves inside the business and demonstrated constant design excellence,’ Michael Anastassiades wants little introduction, excessive lighting work having revolutionised the aesthetic of the style within the almost 20 years since he launched his eponymous model.
IC10 lighting assortment for Flos
(Picture credit score: Daniel Riera)
Engaged on lighting, objects and furnishings for quite a lot of corporations and types, he has conceived a design language that’s as a lot about subtraction and precision as it’s about poetry and a refined aesthetic.
Learn our final information to Michael Anastassiades’ designs
Lifetime Achievement Medal – Norman Foster
(Picture credit score: Frederic Aranda)
‘Since my early childhood, design has been an integral a part of my life, and I really feel extraordinarily privileged to have indulged on this ardour day-after-day of my life since,’ mentioned Norman Foster upon the award being introduced. The founder and chairman of structure and design agency Foster + Companions, for the previous 5 a long time he has been a pioneer of revolutionary structure, urbanism and sustainable design.
Learn our information to know extra about Norman Foster
Design Innovation Medal – Sinéad Burke
(Picture credit score: Courtesy Sinéad Burke)
Awarded to Sinéad Burke, the Design Innovation Medal is an accolade that ‘celebrates entrepreneurship in all its types, honouring a person for whom design lies on the core of their improvement and success.’
A bit of particular person with Acondraplasia, Burke’s expertise was pushed by her coaching as a instructor, which made her realise how areas are sometimes inaccessible to disabled individuals, hindering her capability to thrive and achieve a profession. In 2020, she based strategic consultancy ‘Tilting the Lens’ with the purpose of ‘constructing an accessible and fairer world’. Alongside a majority-disabled staff, she works globally to create accessible public areas and advise corporations on recruitment, workflows, and tradition adjustments – with shoppers together with Chanel, Gucci, Microsoft, NASA, and the V&A.
‘It’s a privilege to obtain the Design Innovation Award. As a majority Disabled staff, we’ve seen few locations acknowledge the innovation and mental property of lived expertise,’ says Burke. ‘At Tilting the Lens, our design apply is rooted in co-designing with communities which have traditionally been designed for. Our co-design and human-centered design framework implies that Disabled individuals are central to the design course of, permitting us to collectively enhance and remodel programs. Our focus is for design innovation to be multi-modal, to maneuver past compliance, and to create the situations for Disabled individuals to achieve success.’
Rising Design Medal – Rio Kobayashi
(Picture credit score: Sean Hazen)
Rio Kobayashi’s latest affect on the design scene, in London and past, is plain. In a short while, his work has blossomed by collaborations with designers and makers, combining his woodworking experience and artistic method with new influences from pals throughout the business.
The modular ‘Furikake’ lantern named after a Japanese rice seasoning that elevates dishes in the identical means that vibrant sprinkles elevate the Shoji paper of the lamp, designed in collaboration with Flavia Braendle
(Picture credit score: Neil Godwin at Future Studios for Wallpaper*)
Born in Japan, he skilled as a furnishings maker in Austria and launched his studio in East London in 2017, he established his East London studio. His work spans furnishings, lighting, interiors, and sculptural objects with a definite sense of craft and materials.
‘I’m actually honoured to obtain this recognition from the design group, alongside inspirational figures who’ve cast new paths of creativity for the longer term.’
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Supply: Wallpaper
