HVDV AWARDS
The Henry van de Velde Awards honor both national and international Flemish designers, companies, products, projects and services that have a positive impact on the economy and society on the basis of design and solutions.
The Henry van de Velde Awards are widely supported thanks to the shared vision of a professional jury with important expertise in the sector. With the official award ceremony, exhibition and publication, the Henry van de Velde Awards form a platform for Flemish design.
ECODESIGN BY OVAM
When the OVAM partnered up with the Henry van de Velde Awards, now more than 10 years ago, it was absolutely necessary to have ecodesign as an separate category within the awards, to give it the attention it needed. Nowadays, ecodesign has become mainstream, it has become a logical part of good design practice. In all submissions, ecodesign will be a criterium as part of the good design practice.
To keep inspiring, excellent ecodesign practices by designers or companies, will be, from 2020 onwards, rewarded with a Henry van de Velde Ecodesign by OVAM Award, given by the jury.
OpenStructures wins Ecodesign by OVAM Gold Award 2022
Ecodesign in its purest form. That is what Thomas Lommé and Christiane Högner are striving for with OpenStructures: a collective system that should encourage designers to reuse parts. They are therefore the winners of the Henry van de Velde Ecodesign by OVAM Award 2022.
Pioneers of ecodesign
This year's Ecodesign by OVAM Award goes to OpenStructures. "As pioneers of ecodesign, Thomas Lommée and Christiane Högner with OpenStructures translate the complexity of ecodesign into a kind of collective system that offers infinite possibilities," judged the jury. This makes them one of the first designers to put the 'Open Structures' concept into practice. They developed one grid that they share as an open concept with everyone and with which companies can get to work. By sharing their knowledge with others they create ecological awareness. Moreover, the idea of modularity and dismantling again fits perfectly within the circular story.
Today, OpenStructures consists of a database of 1600 parts and 750 objects, designed by over 330 authors. This ever-growing physical and digital archive is - how could it be otherwise - carefully documented and photographed, resulting in a visual guide to circular open design.
Previous years' winners list
Facadeclick is an innovative and circular building system. It is a hollow brick with connecting pieces made of recycled plastic that you can click onto other bricks, just like Lego bricks.
As the first producer of phosphate-free household products, Ecover has been a pioneer for 40 years. They still want to present themselves as pioneers with a contagious degree of innovation. They inspire by showing that it can be done.
The innovatively sustainable HNST jeans collection is the result of the collaboration of a creative start-up with many other partners. In a first phase there was the exceptional cooperation with textile company European Spinning Group (ESG) that produces textile yarns for different markets and applications. Both partners each previously chose open innovation, co-creation and circular design as their business model.
2019 //
Veldeman Bedding and Ecobirdy received a nomination in the category Ecodesign by OVAM Award 2019
With the Velda Resleep concept, Veldeman Bedding is introducing the first fully circular sleeping system in the international furniture industry, making it the forerunner in its sector.
EcoBirdy produces on furniture for children made exclusively from sustainable materials. The colorful furniture for children aims to introduce them to the circular economy.
Designer Martijn van Strien, with The Post-Couture Collective, offers an alternative to the current fashion system by developing a new method for the production of sustainable and affordable clothing. The Post-Couture Collective is building a global network with Makerspaces that already have experience with digital patterns. By using the innovative way of producing clothing 'on demand', tailored to the end user, they are creating a product with added value.
2017 //
H-BENCH and XANT received a nomination in category Ecodesign by OVAM Award 2017
With H-Bench, Studio Segers developed, commissioned by ECO-oh!, an environmentally friendly seating concept that contributes to a quality public space and thus to the livability and attractiveness of the city.
XANT M is a medium-sized wind turbine that is simpler to install, easier to transport and better able to fit into the landscape than a normal wind turbine.
The Brussels-based architectural collective Rotor dismantles valuable building fixtures and encourages their reuse. "We were inspired by the demolition practice at the end of the 19th century. Back then, a demolition site was simultaneously a kind of open-air store for second-hand building materials."
