German Design Award Special 2016

On February 12, 2016, Felix Schwake was honored in Frankfurt am Main with the German Design Award Special for the desk concept “S-2.”

The project follows a consistently reduced architectural approach. At its center is not the formal staging of the object, but the question of how design can support concentration, calmness, and clarity within everyday life.

The desk is consciously understood as a spatial background. Functions, technical requirements, and everyday working materials are fully integrated into a clear geometric order. As a result, the visual calmness of the object remains intact even during active use.

The jury particularly recognized this connection between minimalist design and functional rigor. The desk does not create additional visual unrest, but instead supports a concentrated spatial atmosphere. Design is therefore understood not as a decorative surface, but as the conscious organization of use, material, and perception.

The project follows a fundamental position that understands architecture and functional art as a long-term responsibility. Spaces and objects continuously influence perception, concentration, and behavior. For precisely this reason, quality often emerges not through additional design elements, but through deliberate reduction.

Materiality, proportion, and craftsmanship do not serve the self-staging of the object, but the development of a calm and clear spatial order. Architecture is understood as a background for life — not as a permanent visual assertion.

The award therefore reflects less a search for attention than an ongoing examination of permanence, use, and spatial atmosphere.

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 long-term spatial experience within everyday life.