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Sydney Design Week 2023 has launched this week at Powerhouse Museum in the inner Sydney suburb of Ultimo with Powerhouse announcing the winners of two key design initiatives; the Holdmark Innovation Award and the Carl Nielsen Design Accelerator.

The inaugural $10,000 Holdmark Innovation Award, presented by Powerhouse and Principal Partner Holdmark Property Group, has been awarded to PHIVE – Community, Cultural and Civic Hub by DesignInc Sydney with Lacoste+Stevenson and Manuelle Gautrand Architecture. Recognising and celebrating outstanding contemporary innovative design in the Australian built environment, PHIVE, the new cultural and civic heart of Parramatta, was selected for its delivery of a world-class community space, including a state-of-the-art library and council chambers, with a social and sustainability agenda at its core.

Kevin Nassif, Chief Operating Officer, Holdmark Property Group enthused “we're thrilled to champion the creative spirit and innovation that Sydney Design Week embodies. It provides a platform for new and exciting designers and thinkers leading the way. For us, good design is at the core of everything we do.

“The Holdmark Innovation Award is a way we can celebrate that and support something that is close to our hearts. We have worked to design and create buildings that bring lasting value to communities. Supporting Sydney Design Week and this award is just one way that we give back and encourage innovation and new ideas. It’s important to us to support and celebrate the designers who are shaping the world we live in. I have been so impressed by all the applicants – it’s truly a showcase of the best Australia has to offer.”

Sydney Design Week 2023 features more than 60 events including tours, workshops and public architecture presented across the city until 24th September 2023.

Titled ‘Amodern’, in response to the work of French philosopher Bruno Latour (1947–2022), the program enlists six fields of enquiry to explore the complex and interconnected social and natural ecologies in which contemporary design operates. These fields of enquiry are Eco Systems, Material Cultures, Communal Cities, Micro Cycles, Connected Threads and Photofields.

Sydney Design Week 2023 is programmed by Creative Director Keinton Butler, a senior curator of design and architecture at the Powerhouse and is presented with the support of Principal Partner Holdmark Property Group.

Butler notes “Amodern, the 27th Sydney Design Week, platforms the critical research, industries, infrastructure and technologies that underpin design practice in Sydney, while embracing plural perspectives from our local communities.”

The Carl Nielsen Design Accelerator has been awarded to emerging designer Ash Fischer and environmental scientist, designer and sustainability consultant Orlando Hayes, for their project ‘Camada Daybed’.Ash Fischer and environmental scientist, designer and sustainability consultant Orlando Hayes, for their project ‘Camada Daybed’. Recognising outstanding design for sustainability, the Carl Nielsen Design Accelerator is supported by a generous bequest from the celebrated Australian industrial designer and his wife Judy Nielsen. Fischer and Hayes will receive a six-month program of support, including mentorship from industry leaders and financial support to progress their design towards production and distribution.

The selection panel commented “Fischer and Hayes’ design collaboration champions both aesthetics and sustainability. The entire frame of the daybed is made from 100% recycled plastic, with Australian foam upholstered in Australian wool. The design has considered sustainability across the materials, manufacturing and lifecycle of the product.”

Powerhouse Chief Executive Lisa Havilah shared “Powerhouse is committed to sustainable and ethical research and design principles to create a future where nature is embedded into architecture and design. To coincide with the launch of Sydney Design Week, Powerhouse is delighted to announce the winners of the Holdmark Innovation Award and the Carl Nielsen Design Accelerator program, furthering Powerhouse’s support towards outstanding innovation in sustainable Australian design.”

The Sydney Design Week 2023 program includes:

Keynote: Kwangho Lee
Inspired by his grandfather, who used natural materials from his farm to create ordinary items, the internationally acclaimed South Korean designer Kwangho Lee creates everyday objects with a fresh perspective. In 2009, Lee was nominated for the jury's selection of ‘Designer of The Future’ at Design Miami/Basel and in 2023 was shortlisted as Wallpaper magazine’s ‘Designer of the Year’. His works are included in permanent collections at Powerhouse, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and he most recently collaborated on a new furniture collection for Swedish brand Hem. In a special keynote at Powerhouse Ultimo on 16 September, Lee will delve into his practice.

Ocean Terrazzo
Three experts in science, cultural studies and design, consider the issue of plastic and global ecosystems in a panel discussion on 24 September. Dr Jennifer Lavers, who collaborated with Brodie Neill on the Ocean Terrazzo series, will join Professor Gay Hawkins and Powerhouse curator Angelique Hutchison to discuss the role of design solutions to the problem of plastic.

Objects testify
Objects testify is a community-engaged program exploring the colonial legacies of Australia's built environment and its ongoing impact on First Nations communities. Led by Wiradjuri anti-disciplinary artist and Powerhouse design resident Joel Sherwood Spring, Objects testify will be presented at UTS Gallery from 15 September. 

Architecture Amplified: Building Communities
Inspired by Parramatta’s civic and cultural hub PHIVE, curator Kate Goodwin and Co-Director of Sibling Architecture Qianyi Lim interrogate the relationships between architecture, communities and equitable environments through a vibrant program of walks, talks and site-specific performances presented on 16 September.

Modest Fashion Design Studio
A full day, intensive workshop led by fashion designers and digital creatives exploring the innovation and beauty of contemporary modest fashion. Participants will collaborate with industry leaders and emerging talent to explore the intersection of contemporary design, cultural identity and sustainability. Workshop leaders include digital creator and fashion influencer Nawal Sari, designer Anjilla Seddeqi, Powerhouse curator Glynis Jones, FDS at TAFE NSW Head of Fashion Design Laura Washington, founder of Fashions of Multicultural Australia Sonia Gandhi and co-founder of TWIICE Nigara Momin. Saturday 16 September at Parramatta Female Factory, North Parramatta.

Ace Hotel
Sydney Design Week will partner with Ace Hotel Sydney for a second year to co-present a series of talks, workshops and a special Supper Session at Australia’s first incarnation of the famed US hotel.

FULL SYDNEY DESIGN WEEK PROGRAM AVAILABLE HERE 

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