Winner
German Design Award 2015

The desk was awarded the German Design Award in 2015. The project exemplifies a design approach that understands function, concentration, and spatial calmness as a shared architectural task.

The design follows a consistently reduced formal language. Open surfaces and clear proportions remain intact even during use because all technical functions have been fully integrated into the construction.

Beneath the extendable writing surface are integrated storage areas as well as connections for power, network, and USB interfaces. Work materials, cables, and technology therefore remain invisibly organized while still being immediately accessible. The visual calmness of the workspace is not disrupted by technical requirements.

The project consciously understands the desk not as a representative object, but as a spatial background for concentrated work. Design should not permanently attract attention, but instead create conditions in which thinking, perception, and use can occur naturally.

The reduction to clear geometric forms does not serve formal rigor alone. Rather, it creates a calm spatial order in which materiality, light, and function enter into a balanced relationship. Architecture and functional art are not understood separately, but as a shared atmospheric experience.

Materiality and craftsmanship play a central role within the project. Surfaces, light reflections, and proportions influence the perception of the object just as much as its practical use. It is precisely this deliberate restraint that forms the basis of its spatial effect.

The German Design Award particularly recognized this connection between reduced design, functional integration, and enduring spatial quality.

The work of Felix Schwake consciously positions itself between architecture, interior design, and functional art. Design is understood not as a short-lived visual appearance, but as a lasting spatial experience within everyday life.