Interior Innovation Award 2014
Book

With the Interior Innovation Award, Felix Schwake was recognised in 2014 for works that operate between architecture, interior design, and functional art. The award points to a design attitude that does not treat function, materiality, and spatial atmosphere as separate categories.

The works follow a reduced architectural order. Clear geometries, precise proportions, and the deliberate integration of functional requirements form the foundation of the designs. Functions are not added as visible elements, but fully embedded within the form itself. This results in calm objects that enable use without visually overloading the space.

The works are not conceived as decorative furniture pieces. Rather, they aim to develop spatial situations in which material, light, use, and atmosphere interact. The objects consciously move between utilitarian object and spatial structure.

The reduction to simple forms does not serve a stylistic gesture. It creates concentration and enables a heightened perception of space and material. Architecture and design are understood as a background for life — not as a permanent visual assertion.

The term “functional art” describes in this context an attitude towards design in which art and use are not separated. What matters is how spaces and objects are used, experienced, and perceived over time.

The distinction through the Interior Innovation Award also reflects an international discourse on permanence, material awareness, and the responsibility of design toward everyday life and perception. The focus is not on decorative effects, but on the development of clear spatial orders with long-term atmospheric quality.

The works of Felix Schwake therefore do not attempt to combine art and function, but to reveal their shared spatial foundation: material, use, proportion, and human experience.