1st Design Beyond East & West Award. /Kookmin University

Kookmin University announced on the 29th that it held the "1st Design Beyond East & West (DBEW) Award" ceremony at the ADI Design Museum in Milan, Italy, on the 21st in collaboration with the industrial design association ADI.

The DBEW Award is an international design award that highlights creative design education and achievements based on a new design paradigm transcending Eastern and Western boundaries. Unlike conventional awards, it drew attention in the design industry by recognizing collaborative achievements between students and educators.

Over 800 works from 44 countries worldwide were submitted, and 10 teams received the main awards, while 30 teams were selected for the Honorable Mention. The gold prize went to "Ecological Samsara" by Baoyi Huang and his advisor David Buck from the UK’s University of Sheffield. The judging was conducted in three categories—"Architecture & Spatial Design," "Product & Fashion Design," and "Visual, Communication & Service Design"—and comprehensively evaluated originality, innovation, sustainability, and convergence value in the AI era.

The ceremony was attended by jury chair Paola Antonelli, along with Lou Yongqi, John Thackara, and Stefano Giovannoni. Lorenzo Imbesi, chairman of Cumulus, and Emilia Gatto, Italy’s ambassador to South Korea, also sent congratulatory messages.

President Jeong Seung-ryul of Kookmin University stated, "The DBEW Award is a stage demonstrating the potential of a global education cluster where universities share technology and philosophy to solve common human problems beyond national and disciplinary boundaries. It will serve as a new role model and practical compass for design education in the AI era."