Nippon Paints: India, Vietnam Bag Asia Young Designer Awards 2019

Nippon Paint crowned two Asia Young Designer of the Year 2019 winners at the 11th installation of Asia Young Designer Awards (AYDA) International Summit. Tanay Narendra Bothara, age 23, from India, and Dang Huu Trong, age 23, from Vietnam beat over 8,400 applicants from 15 geographical locations across Asia to win this coveted title in the award’s Architectural and Interior Design categories respectively.

Both winners walked away with more than $10,000 worth of prizes, including the opportunity to apply for a fully-funded 6-week Design Discovery programme at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

The theme for 2019’s edition of AYDA, “FORWARD: CHALLENGING DESIGN BOUNDARIES”, seeks to bring disruptions to the design industry and propel aspiring designers to be one step ahead in bettering the quality of living for the people in their societies.

Horace Pan, one of the judges from the Interior Design category and founder of PANORAMA, said that the works presented at this year’s AYDA exemplify stellar and well-thought-out designs that address pertinent issues of sustainability and social needs. The judges had a challenging but fun time deliberating the entries and we are honoured to be part of the panel to witness works that have the potential to scale and make a significant impact in helping the underserved communities in Asia. Dang Huu Trong’s work particularly stood out for the breadth and strong focus on human-centred design thinking that addresses the social issues within the built environment of today.

Ravi Sarangan, one of the judges from the Architectural category and Founder Director of Edifice Consultants Pvt Ltd, said that it is very heartening to see almost all the entries transcended geographies, reinterpreted the design brief and showcased out-of-the-box thinking to derive at solutions that attempt to solve relevant social issues with the intention of making the world a better place to live in. Tanay Bothara's design is high on emotional quotient and it reinforces the noble cause of the architecture profession.

All international finalists from each category were provided with the opportunity to present their submissions to a live panel of judges that comprised of experienced professionals and veterans in the architecture and design industry. In addition to the design concept, planning and functionality, finalists’ works were judged based on their design innovation, sustainability and relevance that address ongoing issues, aesthetic and visual impact, colour usage, theme compatibility and forward thinking and delivery.

The Summit also conferred a series of awards to honour young designers’ dedication and efforts in this competition. Please refer to the following for the details.