Award Ceremony of the ICONIC AWARDS 2018

Felix Schwake was honoured with two works from the 2018 Collection במסגרת the ICONIC AWARDS. The “Bed VI” and the “Desk I-I” both received the distinction “Selection 2018”. The award ceremony took place at the Kölnischer Kunstverein.

The awarded works follow a reduced architectural attitude in which function, materiality, and spatial atmosphere are understood as interconnected tasks. Both objects emerge from clear geometric orders and consciously avoid decorative overlay.

The bed and the desk are not conceived as isolated pieces of furniture, but as part of spatial situations. Functions are fully integrated into the design itself, allowing calmness and clarity to emerge. The reduction does not serve formal strictness alone, but rather a deliberate concentration on use, perception, and atmosphere.

The desk developed from the question of how concentrated work can be supported without generating permanent visual distraction. The bed, in turn, explores how architecture and interior space can enable calmness, retreat, and spatial intimacy. Both works therefore follow the same attitude: design should not draw attention to itself, but create conditions for human experience.

The distinction through the ICONIC AWARDS also reflects an international discourse surrounding reduced and materially oriented design. The focus lies not on decorative complexity, but on precision, use, and spatial quality.

The works consciously position themselves between architecture, interior design, and functional art. They are not intended merely to be observed, but to be used and physically experienced. Architecture is thereby understood as a background for life — not as a permanent visual assertion.

The double distinction therefore documents less individual objects than a continuous design attitude that transforms material, function, and atmosphere into a long-term spatial order.