Above: Designs by Jorge Manilla, Martine Gyselbrecht and Drisaq burobas club22 January 2010

Brussels (Belgium) - On 19 January, Icsid Promotional Member, Design Flanders, hosted the 16th edition of the Henry van de Velde Awards & Labels ceremony for 2009 in the Flemish Parliament. The Henry van de Velde Awards & Labels event has grown into one of the design highlights of the year.

The ceremony took place under the guardianship and in the presence of Mr Kris Peeters, Minister-President of the Flemish government and the Flemish Minister of Economy, Foreign Policy, Agriculture and Rural Policy.

He presented the Henry van de Velde Awards, as well as the Henry van de Velde Labels. Flemish Minister Joke Schauvliege, competent for Environment, Nature and Culture, presented the OVAM Ecodesign Award PRO 09.

Not only does a cash prize accompany the Henry van de Velde Awards, but the winners of the Henry van de Velde Award also receive silver trophies. Every five years, a different silversmith designs and creates this trophy. For the 2009 to 2014 period, this is a design by Helena Schepens.

The Henry van de Velde Public Award winner receives €2,500, and the winners of the Henry van de Velde Young Talent, Company and Career Awards receive €5,000 each. The winner of the OVAM Ecodesign Award Pro | Product on the market winner receives €4,000, and the winner of the OVAM Ecodesign Award Pro | Product in development receives €2,000.

Prizes awarded

Henry van de Velde Award Public 2008
The prize was awarded to Frederik Aerts for the Neo product, a set of pans that he designed for Berghoff International. This product was chosen by the public who visited the Henry van de Velde Awards & Labels 2008 exhibition as the best product.

Henry van de Velde Award Young Talent 2009
Jorge Manilla Navarete's (°1975) jewellery won this year's prize for Young Talent. His work reaches out to the possible answers to questions that inquisitive minds have sought throughout their lives. Religion, myth and spirituality determine the verbal character of his pieces of jewellery. A deeper symbolism runs through his works, which each viewer can individually interpret.

Henry van de Velde Award Company 2009
Drisag, an upholstered seating manufacturer, has plenty of good seats. Drisag develops and manufactures its own products in close collaboration with well-known designers like Stefan Schöning (2008 designer of the year), Alain Berteau and Roel Vandebeek. During recent years, Drisag has also profiled itself as a production house for important design brands like Moooi, Vange & Lensvelt. This is how the company came into contact with designers of international allure like Marcel Wanders, Gerard van den Berg and Joep van Lieshout.

Henry van de Velde Award Carreer 2009
Since 1989, Martine Gyselbrecht (°1949) has been continuously searching for new developments as a freelance textile designer. On the looms in her studio, she creates experimental samples that are then manufactured by interested companies at home and abroad. She is mainly inspired in her research by the characteristics and tactility of unusual materials. The experimental research is supported by a great deal of technical knowledge and a strong sense of simplicity and beauty. (From Label-design.be)

OVAM Ecodesign Award PRO 09 | Product on the market
Sas Adriaenssens receives the Ecodesign Award for three Buzzispace products: Buzziscreen, Buzzizone and Buzziboard.

OVAM Ecodesign Award PRO 09 | Product in development
The Beci Bike Project, designed by Fosfor, is a bicycle leasing concept for the city of Brussels, consisting of a durable bike rack (covered or not) for traditional and folding bikes.

The Henry van de Velde Awards & Labels were handed out by Mr Kris Peeters. Flemish Minister Joke Schauvliege presented the OVAM Ecodesign Award PRO 09.

The ceremony took place on 19 January at 18:00 in the De Schelp chamber of the Flemish Parliament. The ceremony was followed by a reception in "De Loketten" of the Flemish Parliament, where the exhibition can also be visited and the public can vote for the 2009 Henry van de Velde Public Award winner. The exhibition runs from 20 January - 27 February 2010 inclusive and can be visited free of charge. The scenography is designed by HEIMAT. The graphic design is by Raf Thienpont. 

"De Loketten" is open from Monday - Saturday from 10:00 - 17:00.