The Designblok Awards annually highlight the most distinctive projects presented at the Designblok festival. For the fourth time, the award winners were decided by an independent international jury, which personally reviewed the projects and met their creators. This year, the jury was headed by Max Fraser, editor-in-chief of Dezeen and former deputy director of the London Design Festival. Deciding on the winners alongside him were Tom Lloyd, co-founder of Studio Pearson Lloyd and holder of the title Royal Designer for Industry; Judith van Vliet, founder of The Color Authority and expert in color strategies and CMF design; Hanna Nova Beatrice, founder of The New Era Magazine and former director of Stockholm Furniture Fair and Stockholm Design Week; and Laurids Gallée, founder of Studio Laurids Gallée and designer.
Best New Designer
This year’s edition brought awards across seven categories. The Best New Designer award went to the project Lichen by Rozálie Vlachová. “The winner created a series of objects of extraordinary delicacy. One can sense how much care is devoted to the process in which the work of human hands meets the unpredictability of the kiln. And it shows – the resulting work is remarkably beautiful, yet simple and presented in a very impressive way,” evaluates her work Laurids Gallée, member of the international jury of the Designblok Awards 2026.
Best New Manufacturer
In the Best New Manufacturer category, the project Materra by Master & Master, designed by Tomáš Král, emerged victorious. The jury was particularly intrigued by the collection’s integration of traditional production techniques with a distinctly contemporary approach. Two simple, boldly colored ceramic forms create an original and elegant whole that simultaneously treats the material with sensitivity and pays extraordinary attention to detail.
Best Designer Presentation
Monika Drápalová won Best Designer Presentation with the project Corpus Lucis by Pavel Liška. The award was granted for the sophisticated use of simple analog mechanics, the interplay of light and motion, and an emphasis on detail, which together create an impressive and memorable presentation.
Best Manufacturer Presentation
In the Best Manufacturer Presentation category, the jury was most captivated by the project Křehký Collectibles by Josef Tomšej. “Within a relatively small space, the designer managed to create a world of his own. The presentation was bold, slightly unexpected, and wonderfully analog – transforming a few simple elements, such as light, the color white, and the objects themselves, into something almost theatrical,” stated Judith van Vliet, member of the international jury of the Designblok Awards 2026.
Impact Award
The Impact Award was granted to B1 COLLECTION by SKOBA and Jiří Krejčířík. The project builds upon bookbinding skills and equipment, which were utilized to create new products while simultaneously contributing to the creation of meaningful job opportunities in arts and crafts for people with disabilities. The collection of paper lighting and storage elements is eco-friendly while innovatively employing paper engineering techniques. The category honors projects whose approach extends beyond design itself, carrying a notable social, environmental, or other positive impact. The award was supported by the company Allwyn, from which the laureates received a check for CZK 100,000.
Best School Presentation
The Furniture and Interior Design Studio – FDU UWB with the project Touch and Sound was selected as the Best School Presentation. The strength of the presentation lay in the connection between a unified studio concept and space for individual student research, along with an interactive approach to materials that invited visitors to touch and explore.
Grand Prix
This year, the highest award, the Grand Prix – Award for Outstanding Achievement, was unprecedentedly conferred by the jury upon all students of this year’s Designblok. The festival thus recognized not only an individual authorial or product accomplishment, but also the broader significance of schools and the emerging generation of designers.
“As a jury walking through the presentations across the city, what struck us most was a rare glimmer of optimism. The winners of this prize represent one of the most compelling expressions of what design can offer. They connect distinct personalities with a strong collective determination, reflect both the future of making and the social fabric that surrounds it, and bring a fresh concept of luxury based on time, care, and human connection. They are generous, confident, and refreshingly devoid of cynicism. They convincingly show where design can head – and what remarkable talent still awaits us,” says Max Fraser, president of the international jury of the Designblok Awards 2026.
As in previous years, the winners took home the characteristic birch log, which has served as the Designblok Awards trophy for the fifteenth time. The symbolism of the log refers to wood as a fundamental natural raw material and metaphorically symbolizes the solidarity and cohesion of the trunk/tribe, both in the sense of a tree and a human community.
Marcel Wanders received the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Global Design
A dedicated Award for Outstanding Contribution to Global Design was accepted during the gala evening by Dutch product and interior designer Marcel Wanders. Designblok has presented this honorary distinction since 2024. The traditional trophy takes the shape of a crystal log. The award was designed by Jan Plecháč, art director of the Moser glassworks, and is hand-cut by Karlovy Vary master craftsmen. British creator Ron Arad became the first laureate in 2024, followed last year by Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola.
This year, Marcel Wanders became its recipient, accepting the prize in person during the gala evening from the hands of Designblok director Jana Zielinski. Marcel Wanders, co-founder of the Moooi brand, is one of the most prominent figures in contemporary design. Since the 1990s, his work has blurred the boundaries between craftsmanship and industrial manufacturing, restoring emotion, imagination, and human experience to the center of design. The evening also featured special guest Piero Gandini, strategic leader and executive president of Flos and B&B Group, who has long collaborated with Marcel Wanders.
Designblok Awards as part of the reopening of the Industrial Palace
This year’s award ceremony took place in the historic central hall of the Industrial Palace, which is reopening to the public following an extensive reconstruction. The palace’s left wing was restored after the 2008 fire, with the reconstruction of the entire complex having begun in 2022. The ceremonial reopening was attended by, among others, the Mayor of Prague Bohuslav Svoboda, CEO of Prague Exhibition Grounds Tomáš Hübl, and Designblok director Jana Zielinski. The reopening was carried out with the support of the City of Prague and the contractor consortium Metrostav CZ, Syner, and Avers.
The ceremonial program also included a commemoration of the Industrial Palace’s notable musical history. It was precisely here on September 19, 1908, that the world premiere of Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 took place, conducted in person by Gustav Mahler. The historical tribute in this evening’s program was presented by pianists Ahmad Hedar and Michal Šupák, who performed the symphony’s second movement, Nachtmusik, arranged for two pianos. They performed on concert grand pianos by the Czech brand Petrof.
The musical program of the evening continued with a performance by five soloists from the RUN OPERUN ensemble, who sang the famous Flower Duet within the spaces of the Industrial Palace. The conclusion of the official program belonged to the fusion of opera and electronic music – Tanita Yankova as DJ and singer Kristýna Kůstková presented the live format of opera techno. The evening was hosted by Daniela Písařovicová. The gala evening resonated with this year’s Designblok theme, Light, which permeates the entire 28th edition of the festival. The direction of the evening was undertaken by Veronika Kos Loulová.
Main Non-Profit Partner of Designblok
The gala evening also included a charitable component. The main non-profit partner of the 28th Designblok, the AutTalk Foundation of Kateřina Sokolová, received a check for CZK 100,000, donated by the festival from ticket proceeds. On behalf of the festival, the check was presented by Designblok director Jana Zielinski, its ambassador Aňa Geislerová, and Designblok investor representative Jan Jírovec.
Public Award
Voting for the Public Award continues until Sunday, October 11, 2026, at 6:00 PM on the designblok.cz website. The 28th Designblok can be visited until October 11, 2026, across several key venues: the Trade Fair Palace of the National Gallery Prague, the Prague Castle Riding School, the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, and the Industrial Palace at the Prague Exhibition Grounds. It is complemented by dozens of showrooms and galleries across Prague. The exhibition Retro Lamps: Forgotten Stories of Czechoslovak Design can be visited until November 17, 2026. Design for Václav Havel and Circle of Silence by Eva Eisler until January 2027.
