after receiving nearly 1,600 submissions, SIX FASCINATING FINALISTS HAVE BEEN SELECTED FOR THE 2019 LEXUS DESIGN AWARD. in its seventh consecutive year, LEXUS once again looks to design and

innovation for powering positive change in our world. their competition aims to foster the growth of ideas that contribute to a better society, and the designers who aim to shape it. under

the directive of ‘_design for a better tomorrow_‘, the final six designs were picked for their ability to anticipate the needs of the user, demonstrate innovative with imaginative solutions

and, overall, captivate their audience. from renewable energy systems to environmental activism, the finalist designs all enhance the use of technologies to create a better future around the

time, THE SIX FINALISTS WERE INVITED TO A TWO-DAY MENTORING WORKSHOP AT THE NEWLY OPENED CREATIVE CULTURAL SPACE, INTERSECT BY LEXUS, IN NEW YORK CITY. here, the entrants received hands-on

mentoring from four globally acclaimed mentors: sebastian wrong, design director of established & sons; jessica rosenkrantz, creative director of nervous system; shohei shigematsu,

partner and director of OMA new york; and jaime hayon, artist and designer. ‘_I think the award is really interesting as it incubates the ideas of young designers and gives them a platform

to push towards, communicate relevant issues, and exhibit their own work,_‘ COMMENTS MENTOR SEBASTIAN WRONG. ‘_the workshop is quite unique. it is an efficient and direct opportunity for the

finalists to present and then fully understand their story. it helps them realize what needs to be done in a fairly short period of time, before milan._‘ ‘algorithmic lace’ by lisa marks

‘_it was a really great but very intense experience working with so many different designers and so many different people,_’ EXPLAINS FINALISTS LISA MARKS when discussing the mentorship

workshop. ‘_its been good going from research to design and now into engineering and development. it has really helped clarify the storyline of the project as well as bring all of the

details together._’ ‘_in the process of mentorship, I got many recommendations and ideas, and all of them have greatly influenced my project. the mentors helped me look at new perspectives

that led to some tangents in design,_‘ SAYS FINALIST DMITRIY BALASHOV. ‘green blast jet energy’ by dmitriy balashov ‘_in new york city, the mentors gave so much advice and feedback which

really helped with shaping what the project is about and narrowing down why we doing this, and then reshaping the project to the public in milan_,’ SAYS FINALIST PREVALENT (BEN BERWICK) when

explaining the help the mentors gave to prepare him for milan design week. ‘solgami’ by prevalent with the valuable advice and guidance from the four mentors, THE SIX FINALISTS HAVE

CONTINUED TO DEVELOP THEIR INNOVATIVE IDEAS INTO REALIZED PROTOTYPES – supported by funding from LEXUS. as the most important date on the design calendar, their work will be showcased to the

world in a special exhibition during the 2019 milan design week. from april 8th, their solutions will be on show, sharing their beneficial ideas, inspiring change, and also highlighting

their creativity to other professionals and enthusiasts in the field. at the exhibition, the jury – including architect sir david adjaye, curator paola antonelli, technologist john maeda,

and president of LEXUS international yoshihiro sawa – WILL SELECT THE LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2019 GRAND PRIX WINNER. ‘baluto’ by jeffrey e.dela cruz ‘_I am expecting a lot of global artists and

designers will see my work_’ EXPLAINS FINALIST JEFFREY E. DELA CRUZ about the exhibition during milan design week. ‘_it will inform them about the situation in bautista pangasinan

especially, with the issue of flooding. I want them to understand why I have created this project. It is not artwork, it is something that will create solutions._’ ‘_I am very happy to show

my project at milan design week. it also must be a very good experience chinese design because my project is about environmental protection and our country is very focused on these issues

now,_‘ STATES FINALIST SHUZHAN YUAN. ‘hydrus’ by shuzhan yuan     ‘_what is nice about the LEXUS DESIGN AWARD is that the designers who were previously chosen as finalists; their careers

have progressed on a really nice phase afterwards. they received good press coverage and also found other opportunities to continue working in their practice,_‘ CONCLUDES FINALIST REZZAN

HASOGLU when envisioning her career after the competition. ‘arenophile’ by rezzan hasoglu MORE INFORMATION ON THE SIX FINALISTS OF THE 2019 LEXUS DESIGN AWARD: ALGORITHMIC LACE DESIGNER: 

lisa marks  COUNTRY: USA celebrating their new body and creating confidence, the ‘algorithmic lace’ by lisa marks is a 3D-custom lace bra for breast cancer survivors. the bra, made for women

who have had a mastectomy, can be custom crafted from body scans using algorithmic patterning. this method enables a 3D lace to be made and given to each woman as an intimate garment. easy

to modify, the design can be created as desired by customer, whether to highlight a new form or avoid areas of discomfort post-surgery. ‘algorithmic lace’ by lisa marks ‘algorithmic lace’ by

lisa marks ARENOPHILE DESIGNER: rezzan hasoglu COUNTRY: turkey / country of residence: UK by rezzan hasoglu, ‘arenophile’ explores the binding of desert sand using different materials to

form products – just like the namesake person who collects and studies sand. although used in industries from glass making to construction, desert sand is considered a waste due to its harsh

nature. ‘arenophile’ looks at ways to combine desert sand with glass, alginate, bentonite and other binders, to develop a series of products to showcase in milan. ‘arenophile’ by rezzan

hasoglu ‘arenophile’ by rezzan hasoglu BALUTO DESIGNER: jeffrey e. dela cruz  COUNTRY: philippines ‘baluto’ by jeffrey e.dela cruz is a modular housing system designed to withstand

earthquakes and high floods. influenced by bautista, pangasinan, the area is very flood prone, particularly in the typhoon season. as an amphibious housing concept, the design if focused

around a 5x5m main module made from bamboo. this multi-functional area can be converted into three layouts: living, dinning and sleeping thanks to flexible furniture that maximizes space.

the structures can be mass-produced and are simple enough for residents to build themselves. ‘baluto’ by jeffrey e.dela cruz ‘baluto’ by jeffrey e.dela cruz GREEN BLAST JET ENERGY DESIGNER:

dmitriy balashov COUNTRY: russia ‘green blast jet energy’ by dmitriy balashov proposes the use of turbines to collect and convert aircraft jet blast into energy. when considering the amount

of energy consumed and then power created by jet engines, especially during take-off, the designer looks to create and install green blasts at the end of runways at major airports such as

london heathrow, paris charles de gaulle, and los angeles international. the turbines would then collect and accumulate energy created from the jets, and return them to the airport for

various purposes. ‘green blast jet energy’ by dmitriy balashov ‘green blast jet energy’ by dmitriy balashov HYDRUS DESIGNER: shuzhan yuan COUNTRY: china in an investigation on the negative

impact of offshore oil spills on the global environment and human development, shuzhan yuan has designed a more efficient emergency treatment equipment. the traditional treatment methods –

oil boom and oil skimming – are inefficient and also consumes great manpower and resources. ‘hydrus’ quickly deals with offshore oil spills by being able to be remotely controlled. firstly,

it encloses the oil leak to prevent spreading; secondly, a built-in skimmer draws pol into the equipment; lastly, it sprays oil bacterium to degrade the residual crude oil. ‘hydrus’ by

shuzhan yuan ‘hydrus’ by shuzhan yuan SOLGAMI DESIGNER: prevalent (ben berwick) COUNTRY: australia ‘solgami’ is a window blind that not only generates electricity but also increases internal

illumination. the project stemmed from the issue that solar technology is limited to an outdated form of housing as stand-alone homes with a roof are becoming less common. the more popular

options of apartment-living presents further problems with lack of space and also smaller feature sizes, such as windows. the solution provides individual, tailored power to people living in

temporary accommodation or apartments without access to rooftops. as a replacement for window blinds, it generates electricity to be supplied to the grid and even increases illumination in

the interior. the design does so by enhancing the most efficient solar panels, which reflect 66% of light, and uses these reflections to bounce lost light multiple times between panels. as

well, its geometry has been adapted to reflect light in all dimensions to shine in spaces. ‘solgami’ by prevalent ‘solgami’ by prevalent READ MORE INFORMATION ON THE 2019 LEXUS DESIGN

AWARDS, HERE.