AYDA 2021 announces Malaysian winners for architectural, ID categories

by TMR / pic credit: asiayoungdesignerawards.com.my

THE 14th Asia Young Designer Awards (AYDA) 2021 in Malaysia sees Muhd Afzal Hasmi from International Islamic University Malaysia bagged the winning prize for the architectural category with his project named “Sejahtera Community Centre”.

Meanwhile, Amirah Afiqah Abdullah emerged as the winner for the interior design (ID) category with her winning project named “Bakau”.

Organised by Nippon Paint Malaysia Group in collaboration with longstanding partner IJM Land Bhd, AYDA 2021 garnered a total of 1,276 entries for both the architecture and ID categories.

The theme for this year, FORWARD: Amplifying Empathy Through Design challenges the next generation of designers to grow beyond designing one-dimensional space and incorporate the evolving demands of consumers while factoring in sustainability and environmental care.

“Today’s design demands the need for increased levels of emotional understanding. Designers are now required to make essential decisions in maximising commercial value while protecting the aspects of nature and human emotions,” Nippon Paint MD Yaw Seng Heng said in a statement.

“Our winners prominently portrayed the theme’s objective in their designs with conscious design solutions incorporating sustainability, and social and emotional factors in mind. Congratulations to this year’s winners.”

Both winners will take their winning designs and represent Malaysia in the international grand finals against finalists from 16 countries.

The grand prize winners from the two categories will then receive a fully-funded six-week Design Discovery programme at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design in Boston, US worth US$10,000 (RM41,700) next year.

“The winning designs are refreshing and revolutionary. We are optimistic that our efforts through AYDA will continue to encourage brilliant architecture and ID students, empowering them to act as catalysts to influence the environment of the future. It has been a great journey these eight years, and we look forward to more years together with AYDA”, said IJM Land MD Datuk Edward Chong.

Assoc Prof Dr Sarly Adre Sarkum, chief judge of the architecture category shared, “The participants truly challenged themselves and produced designs that were not only aesthetically pleasing but also impactful. Their design pushed the boundary of innovation yet placed great emphasis on the emotional aspect to deliver a design that fulfils consumers’ ever-changing needs.

“The judges had a tough time deliberating the participants’ design submissions, but we are proud of their impressive work. Not only did they display great technical skill in their design, but they were also truly able to understand the theme and applied great innovation and creativity to their designs,” said Ooi Boon Seong, the chief judge of ID category.

Over the years, AYDA has evolved from a competitive platform in Malaysia to a community of designers across the world. Today, it is a global community across 16 different geographical locations in Asia.

The award has impacted thousands of young and talented student designers, presenting them with various opportunities to engage with renowned speakers and key figures in the design industry.

AYDA was first launched in 2008 as part of Nippon Paint’s vision to nurture future generations of talents in the ID and architecture landscape. It focuses on empowering and grooming budding architects and interior designers across Asia with the aim to become an active advocate to cultivate talents for a better future.

Source: https://themalaysianreserve.com/2022/01/04/ayda-2021-announces-malaysian-winners-for-architectural-id-categories/