Marking the culmination of one of the most dynamic phases of the Next Gen Design program, the winners of the Next Gen Design Residency Award were announced during a hybrid award ceremony hosted by Skopje Design Week.
Following the open call and selection for the Next Gen Design exhibition by a world-renowned international jury—including Birgit Lohmann, Laura Clèries, Zoran Jedrejcic, David Jablonski and Amanda Pinatih —more than 50 young designers from across Europe continued their journey through the Next Gen Design Residency Program.
Hosted at five partner festivals in Belgrade, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Vienna and Skopje, the residencies brought together around ten designers per city for an intense, five-day collaborative experience. In just a few days, participants immersed themselves in local contexts, interacted with local designers, experts and organizations, and tackled real design challenges. Working in culturally and geographically diverse teams, they developed brand-new concepts and pitched them to local juries. Beyond the outcomes, the residencies sparked new friendships, fresh perspectives and lasting inspiration, showing how powerful design collaboration can be when it is dynamic, open and grounded in place.
The Next Gen Design Residency Awards recognized one standout residency project per festival, each supported by a €2,000 prize intended to help winning teams continue learning, exploring and developing their ideas.
Meet the Next Gen Design Residency Award Winners for 2025:
In Belgrade (Mikser Festival), the award unanimously went to the project Obnova by Elisa Schneider (Germany) and Justine Oriana Vargas Parra (Spain), which proposed a modular system that transforms oak furniture waste into elegant solutions for urban gardening.
In Amsterdam (What Design Can Do), the jury selected Attached by Emily Klein (Austria), Emina Murtezić (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Konstantin Diehl (Germany), introducing a second-hand clothing labelling system that reveals hidden stories and deepens emotional attachment to garments.
In Barcelona (Barcelona Design Week),the awarded SOS project by Jacqueline Yu (UK), Lazar Avramovski (North Macedonia) and Boldizsár Csongor Nagy (Hungary) reimagined discarded seashells as refined serving trays, merging sustainability with poetic design expression.
In Vienna (designaustria / MQ Wien), the winning solution Mailing Quartier by Amnon Direktor (Belgium), Arthur Guilleminot (The Netherlands) and Janine Kerscher (Germany) created a postcard exchange system that encourages interaction and shared memories among visitors of Vienna’s MuseumsQuartier.
In Skopje (Skopje Design Week), the festival jury selected the residency project From Waste to Objects by Barbara Rakovska (Czech Republic), Bram de Vos (The Netherlands) and Florian Steidl (Austria), proposing an open-source product development tool that turns textile waste from North Macedonia’s textile sector into innovative new products.
As we celebrate the winners, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all residents! Your commitment, openness, and inspiring creativity made this edition truly unforgettable.
To all next-generation designers: stay tuned for our next open call in 2026!