O+A Wins Cooper Hewitt National Design Award

Studio O+A receives 17th annual National Design Award from Cooper Hewitt for Interior Design. The annual awards were established to promote design as a vital humanistic tool in shaping the world.

“The National Design Awards are a vibrant component of Cooper Hewitt’s education arm through which the museum engages year round with design lovers of all ages across the United States and throughout the world,” Baumann said. “This year’s class of winners reflect design’s remarkable empathy for contemporary social concerns: from promoting workplace productivity to preserving vernacular traditions to encouraging civic engagement. These designers and design firms cross disciplinary boundaries, explore innovative materials and develop new models of problem-solving in pursuit of these goals.”

First Lady Michelle Obama serves as the Honorary Patron for this year’s National Design Awards, which was first launched at the White House in 2000 as a project of the White House Millennium Council.

A jury of design leaders and educators from across the country reviewed submissions resulting from nominations submitted by the general public. Individual nominees must have been practicing professionally for a minimum of seven years; Lifetime Achievement nominees must have been practicing professionally for a minimum of 20 years. Winners are selected based on the level of excellence, innovation and public impact of their body of work.

View all of the 2016 honorees here.