Architects and designers among winners of the 2023 Lexus Design Awards

Car manufacturer Lexus has announced the winners of the Lexus Design Award 2023. The four winners were chosen from 2,068 entries originating from 63 countries and regions and span backgrounds in architecture, industrial design, and product design.

Operating under the theme “Design for a Better Tomorrow,” the international design competition seeks to celebrate “innovative design excellence” with winners funded to build their submitted prototype designs. The jury for the 2023 edition comprised Paola Antonelli, Karim Rashid, and Simon Humphries, who made their selection based on Lexus’ own principles to: Anticipate, Innovate, Captivate, and Enhance Happiness.

Fog-X by Pavels Hedström

Fog-X is an expandable mobile habitat with the ability to produce 10 liters of drinking water per day by collecting fog. Among its applications could be to collect water in arid environments where water is needed but in short supply. The design was developed by Denmark resident Pavels Hedström who began his career as an architect after earning his Master's in Architecture and Extreme Environments from the Royal Danish Academy and whose specialty includes how to holistically approach existing ecosystems.

Print Clay Humidifier by Jiaming Liu

Print Clay Humidifier is a sustainable 3D-printed clay humidifier built using recycled ceramic waste. Designed to stand alone or be installed against a wall or window, the humidifier is shaped to maximize water absorption in a move described as “both functional and elegant.” The product was designed by Chinese industrial designer Jiaming Liu whose work is focused on exploring the intersection between cultural and sustainable design.

Touch the Valley by Vincent Lai and Douglas Lee of Temporary Office

Touch the Valley is a 3D topographic puzzle whose contouring pieces allow it to be put together by visually impaired people, helping users to perceive and encourage experiences of the physical world through touch. The product was designed by Vincent Lai of Singapore and Douglas Lee of Canada. Operating their architectural design practice Temporary Office, the UC Berkeley graduates work across the boundaries of architecture, public space, preservation, and product design, seeking to respond to real-world needs in a “rational yet playful way.”

Zero Bag by Kyeongho Park and Yejin Heo

Zero Bag is a clothing packaging with patterned paper detergents attached to water-soluble plastic. The product is designed to eliminate the need for unnecessary packing waste and chemicals in clothes, prompting users to instead place the clothes and bag in a washing machine before their first use. The Zero Bag was designed by Kyeongho Park and Yejin Heo of the Republic of Korea, where they are majoring in industrial design with an emphasis on user-centered design solutions to social and environmental problems at Hanyang University.

You can compare this year’s ideas with those of previous years by reading our past coverage of the awards here. Learn more about the 2023 award winners here.