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MEDIA RELEASE For Immediate Release MAISON&OBJET ASIA 2015 ANNOUNCES DESIGNER OF THE YEAR Singapore, 24 November 2014 - MAISON&OBJET ASIA returns to Singapore for its second edition from 10 to 13 March 2015 at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre. This second edition will feature an expanded selection of the best of high-end decoration and home fashion by prestigious brands and designers in the Interior Design and Home Decoration sectors. As at October 2014, over 180 brands have confirmed their presence and more are expected to participate in the salon. Highlights for 2015 include the Designer of the Year and six Rising Asian Talents, as well as the Interior Design & Lifestyle Summit that will include keynote addresses by renowned industry personalities and presentations on market trends. Designer of the Year 2015 To kick off the second edition, MAISON&OBJET ASIA takes great pleasure in announcing the 2015 Designer of the Year, NERI & HU DESIGN AND RESEARCH OFFICE from Shanghai, China. In our quest for the MAISON&OBJET ASIA Designer of the Year, we seek out designers who represent the essence of Asian culture, Asian roots and with an international approach to their works. Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu have distinguished themselves through their work and also with numerous international accolades. They exemplify the very qualities we seek. We are delighted to recognise their creative efforts and congratulate Neri & Hu on being MAISON&OBJET ASIA S Designer of the Year 2015, said Mr Philippe Brocart, Managing Director, MAISON&OBJET. Like the flagship Paris salon which honours a Designer of the Year, MAISON&OBJET ASIA s Designer of the Year is selected from amongst exceptional Asian designers who been lauded for their work and who have made a distinctive mark in the world of design. 2
About Neri & Hu Neri & Hu Design and Research Office was founded in 2004 by Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu. The practice provides architectural, interior, master planning, graphic and product design services. Their projects include the London Bow Street Hotel, Caylabene Bay Resort in the Philippines, the Waterhouse Boutique Hotel in South Bund in Shanghai, interiors for restaurants, retail spaces and private homes, as well as product designs of tableware, furniture and décor objects. Lyndon Neri has a Master of Architecture from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley. He was the Director for Projects in Asia and an Associate for Michael Graves & Associates in Princeton for over 10 years and also worked in New York for various architectural firms. Rossana Hu has a Master of Architecture and Urban Planning from Princeton University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and Music from the University of California at Berkeley. Hu worked for Michael Graves & Associates, Ralph Lerner Architect in Princeton, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in New York, and The Architects Collaborative (TAC) in San Francisco. MAISON&OBJET ASIA is organised by SAFI and will be held from 10 to 13 March 2015 at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre. MAISON&OBJET ASIA 2015 will be part of SINGAPORE DESIGN WEEK 2015, a week celebrating the very best in design. SAFI is a subsidiary of Ateliers d Art de France and Reed Expositions France. For more information on MAISON&OBJET ASIA, please visit http://www.maison-objet.com/en/asia With appreciation to 3
LYNDON NERI Lyndon is a Founding Partner of Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, an inter-disciplinary international architectural design practice based in Shanghai, China. Lyndon has a Master of Architecture from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley. Prior to starting his own practice with partner Rossana Hu, he was the Director for Projects in Asia and an Associate for Michael Graves & Associates in Princeton for over 10 years, and also worked in New York City for various architectural firms In 2006, he was selected by I.D. Magazine as one of the 40 designers globally who deserve more attention in the I.D. 40.. Aside from his practice, Lyndon has been actively involved in teaching and research. He taught at Department of Architecture of The University of Hong Kong Graduate School together with his partner Rossana Hu. He served as an active visiting critic for design schools in the U.S. such as Princeton University, Harvard Graduate School of Design, University of California at Berkeley and Syracuse University. Neri and his partner Hu were invited to speak at Mexico Design Week, World Interiors Meeting in Amsterdam, Shanghai International Literary Festival, 100% Design London, Designer s Saturday in Bangkok, Bauwelt Panel Discussion Badgespräche, BODW (Business of Design Week), Inside Festival during World Architecture Festival in Spain, Beijing International Design Triennial 2011, The White Box Workshop at Hong Kong Design Center, Design Roulette Shanghai 2011, RIBA (The Royal Institute of British Architects), The Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, Re-inventing with Design(Red)2010, Hong Kong, The Dutch Pavilion during EXPO 2010, Shanghai and many other design, fashion, art related forums and events. Lyndon is also a founder of Design Republic, a retail concept store based in Shanghai that offers a unique collection of products created by the world's best design talents, many of which have never before been made available to consumers 4
in China. The flagship store design, created by Neri&Hu, earned the Perspective Awards Best Interior Retail and the DFA (Design For Asia) Best Design of Greater China. Together with his partner Rossana, Lyndon is actively working on a number of industrial design products for various brands in Europe including MOOOI, LEMA, Parachilna, Classicon, Gandia Blasco, Stellar Works, Meritalia and BD Barcelona Design. The latter two were in collaboration with Swarovski s SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS at Work project. At the same time, they are developing their own product line under the neri&hu brand which received the Perspective Awards, the Red Dot Award and I.D. magazine s Annual Design Review Awards. Lyndon and Rossana were invited to guest edit the October issue of DI magazine in 2009, which is one of the vanguard architectural publications in China. They also published and edited a book called Persistence of Vision which is a beginning of a series of exploration on architecture and urban issues in major cities in China. In 2014, UK Wallpaper announced he and his partner Rossana Hu, as the 2014 Designer of The Year. In 2013, Lyndon was inducted into U.S. Interior Design Hall of Fame together with partner Rossana Hu, and was selected as AD 100 top talents in architecture and interior design by Architectural Digest China. The practice was selected as the 2011 INSIDE Festival Overall Winner, won AR Awards for Emerging Architecture 2010 by Architectural Review (UK) and one of the Design Vanguards in 2009 by Architectural Record (US). ROSSANA HU Rossana is a Founding Partner of Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, an inter-disciplinary international architectural design practice based in Shanghai, China. She received a Master of Architecture and Urban Planning from Princeton University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and Music from the University of California at Berkeley. Before establishing Neri&Hu with her partner Lyndon Neri, Ms. Hu worked for Michael Graves & Associates, Ralph Lerner Architect in Princeton, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in New York City, and The Architects Collaborative (TAC) in San Francisco. In 2007, Rossana received the Perspective Award as one of the 40 under 40 prominent designers shaping Hong Kong and Greater China. 5
Rossana has served on prestigious professional committees such as the Princeton University President s Advisory Committee on Architecture, where she advised the President on architectural design and campus planning issues. She also taught at Hong Kong University Architecture Graduate School together with her partner Lyndon Neri. She has won numerous traveling fellowship awards and has been a guest design critic at Princeton University, UC Berkeley, and Syracuse University. Rossana is also a Founding Partner and Creative Executive for Design Republic, a Founding Panel Member of 100% Design Shanghai, and the Regional Advisor for The Atlas of 21st Century Architecture, published by Phaidon Press. Rossana and Lyndon were invited to speak at Mexico Design Week, Domus China Dialogue, Princeton University School of Architecture 2012-2013 Lecture Series, Bauwelt Panel Discussion Badgespräche, BODW (Business of Design Week), Inside Festival during World Architecture Festival in Spain, Beijing International Design Triennial 2011, The White Box Workshop at Hong Kong Design Center, Design Roulette Shanghai 2011, RIBA (The Royal Institute of British Architects), The Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, Re-inventing with Design(Red)2010, Hong Kong, The Dutch Pavilion during EXPO 2010, Shanghai and many other design, fashion, art related forums and events. Rossana and Lyndon are actively working on a number of industrial design products for various brands in Europe including MOOOI, LEMA, Parachilna, Classicon, Gandia Blasco, Stellar Works, Meritalia and BD Barcelona Design, the latter two were in collaboration with Swarovski s SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS at Work project. At the same time, they are developing their own product line under the neri&hu brand, which received the Perspective Awards, the Red Dot Award and I.D. magazine s Annual Design Review Awards. Both partners were invited to guest edit the October issue of DI magazine in 2009, which is one of the vanguard architectural publications in China. They also published and edited a book called Persistence of Vision which is a beginning of a series of exploration on architecture and urban issues in major cities in China. In 2014, UK Wallpaper* announced Ms. Hu and her partner Lyndon Neri as Designer of The Year. In 2013, she was inducted into U.S. Interior Design Hall of Fame with partner Lyndon Neri and was selected as AD 100 top talents in architecture and interior design by Architectural Digest China. The practice was selected as the 2011 INSIDE Festival Overall Winner, won AR Awards for Emerging Architecture 2010 by Architectural Review (UK) and one of the Design Vanguards in 2009 by Architectural Record (US). 6
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