Here are the winners of the Henry van de Velde Awards 26: Siegrid Demyttenaere, Emma Ribbens, prado and ONBETAALBAAR.
Brussels, 28 January 2026
On Tuesday evening, 27 January 2026, Flanders District of Creativity presented the Henry van de Velde Awards Gold Awards, Belgium's most prestigious design awards. Fourteen winners were honoured on the stage in the categories Lifetime Achievement, Young Talent, Company, Ecodesign by OVAM, Business Innovation, Consumer, Crafts by Bokrijk, Design Research, Digital Design, Environment, Graphics, Habitat, Spaces and Public by National Lottery.
Since 1994, the Henry van de Velde Awards have been recognising products, projects, services and systems created by designers and companies from Flanders, Belgium. The design awards are given to creations that have a positive and special impact on our economy, environment and society.
This 32nd edition of the awards is organised Flanders District of Creativity and is supported by these partners: Flemish Agency for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO), the Public Waste Agency of Flanders (OVAM), Bokrijk, the National Lottery and Bozar.
Overview of the winners:
1. Lifetime Achievement Gold Award: Siegrid Demyttenaere
This award honours a designer who has been active for at least 30 years and has had a national and international impact in economic, social and/or cultural terms.
More than just a designer, Siegrid Demyttenaere is above all a passionate connector who provides a platform for creativity, stories and dialogue. As a curator, lecturer and the driving force behind DAMN° Magazine, she creates new narratives that make us look at the future differently.
In addition to her work as a graphic designer for Waterproof, her agency for visual communication in various creative sectors, the jury appreciates Siegrid Demyttenaere for her role as a catalyst, connector and ambassador in design. As a curator of exhibitions and festivals and as the artistic driving force behind DAMN° Magazine, she has helped build the (inter)national design sector. With her feel for social trends, perseverance and sensitive, open mind, Siegrid Demyttenaere shows how designers can develop an alternative, meaningful practice.
"I am mainly driven by curiosity, ambition and a broad range of interests. Sometimes I wonder whether more focus would be useful, but to be honest I draw my energy from combining different paths. My work mainly revolves around shaping stories, collaborations and connections. As a freelancer, I move flexibly between disciplines, which allows me to make connections and constantly reposition myself — an essential quality in today's design field.”
Siegrid Demyttenaere
- 1966 born in Waregem
- 1987 graduates in PubliFoto from Sint-Lucas Ghent
- 1987-1990 graphic designer for Imschoot Printing & Publishing
- 1990-1992 graphic designer for De Morgen newspaper
- 1992-1993 junior art director for Vandekerckhove & Devos
- 1993-2000 art director for Scritto
- 2000 founded Waterproof, her agency for visual communication
- 2004 co-founded DAMN° Magazine as artistic director
- 2014 starts as teacher and curator for KASK & Conservatory – School of Arts HoGent Howest
- 2015 starts as curator for expo’s such as Kleureyck for Design Museum Ghent in coproduction with lille3000
2. Young Talent Gold Award: Emma Ribbens
This design award encourages a young talent or agency that has been active for a maximum of ten years. The assessment considers the social relevance and quality of the entire portfolio. The winner receives a prize of €10,000.
The jury awards the Young Talent Gold Award 2026 to Emma Ribbens. Emma Ribbens' unique perspective makes her a remarkable designer. While the design world currently focuses heavily on aesthetics, Emma takes a context- and people-oriented approach. For her, design is about connection. She considers participatory design a real game changer, a way of designing together, especially with and for children.
“Why should I design yet another chair? That has never interested me. There are already enough of them in this world. I'm more driven by socially relevant creations that have a real impact."
Emma Ribbens distinguishes herself by working collectively, rather than individually, as she does within Constructlab, among other places. For her master's thesis, she collaborated with an NGO and, as a designer, brought interaction and play to refugee camps. As a society, we desperately need highly committed designers. But Emma can also work in an economic context, as she proves as a designer for Smart Toys and Games. With Studio Ludiek, she has now taken the next step, setting up her own practice based on play as a lever for social engagement.
Emma Ribbens
- studied Product design at Luca School of Arts in Genk, and Child Culture Design at HDK Göteborg, Sweden
- founder of Nomad Lab, a design and research project that investigates how refugee children can be empowered through play.
- since 2017 designer for Smart Toys and Games
- since 2019 social designer and maker for Constructlab, a transdisciplinary design and construction network
- 2025: founder of Studio Ludiek
- multiple winner of the Toy of the Year Award
3. Company Gold Award: prado
This design award goes to companies that make strategic use of designers and design. It rewards good commissioning in relation to design.
The jury awards the Company Gold Award to prado. What started out as a company that combines lighting with ventilation, has grown in just a few years into an international player in home technology. Interior designers around the world are falling for the unique combination of craftsmanship, aesthetics and high-tech. Their technology is being implemented by architects and interior designers such as Axel Vervoort, Vincent Van Duysen, Norm Architects, and by brands such as Aesop, Saint Laurent and Jacquemus.
"There is so much noise and visual pollution around us. We want to bring peace and simplicity into homes.” - founder Thibault Renson on his mission with prado
The young prado team develops new products with enormous expertise and drive. Production takes place mainly in Belgium, while sales are more internationally focused. Prado is currently evolving towards solutions for the entire home, as recently confirmed by their acquisitions of Atelier Luxus and Vervloet.
prado
- founded in 2020 by Thibault Renson
- design and manufacture invisible home technology through smart, minimalist and functional innovations
- headquarters in Veurne, Belgium
- sales mainly in Belgium, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and cities such as London and Paris
- In 2022 Rond is acquired, a manufacturer of switches and sockets
- since 2023 active in the Middle East and Switzerland
- in 2024 Prado America established
- rapidly growing team of over 100 employees
- in 2025 prado acquires companies Atelier Luxus and Vervloet
4. Ecodesign by OVAM: ONBETAALBAAR
This design award is for a company or designer that serves as a role model. The winner convinces the jury through a well-considered choice of eco-design principles as a common thread throughout the entire corporate culture and strategy and/or through the products and services designed.
The jury awards the Ecodesign by OVAM Gold Award to ONBETAALBAAR. This project has undergone a clear evolution: from theatre to art project, and from artistic to interior design. At its heart is the courage to experiment with materials, with a strong focus on organic materials that are given a place of honour in the interior. These are not typical recycling projects, but well-thought-out designs in which form always takes precedence. The ambition has consciously shifted from pure materialism to experience and emotion. Ten years ago, for example, they organised an auction and introduced organic materials into the interior in an innovative way.
Within the office context, intensive consideration is given to circularity and how it can be integrated in an experimental and refined way. Research, testing and development are carried out, but always with an eye for aesthetics and functionality. The result is visibly circular solutions that feel both aesthetic and coherent.
“We want to show that circular design really works. Designers should think about the end of life of a product from the outset."
She once worked in theatre, designing sets that were dismantled after the final curtain call. Now she transforms spaces, creates custom furniture and explores the materials of the future. Sophie De Somere, founder of ONBETAALBAAR, has turned reuse and circular materials into a philosophy.
5. Business Innovation Gold Award:
Borro - Smart system for reusable cups
Design agency: Borro BV
Partners: Re-uz, Seeder, Imec Istart, IPB, Sjef, Weeze, Adyen, CCV
Borro makes reusing drinking cups at large events effortless and scalable, through a smart digital return system that eliminates the need for millions of disposable cups.
The Silver Award goes to Easy Checkout Easy Checkout by design agency Superellipse, commissioned by Colruyt, and in collaboration with Smart Technics and Superellipse.
The Bronze Award goes to NEARGRID compact by design agencies MAXIMALdesign and Superellipse, commissioned by NEARGRID.
6. Consumer Gold Award: Easy Wheely
Design agency: Wannes Van Laerhoven / Easy Wheely
Partners: Zorglab Aalst, CrossCare 2.0 Interreg Flanders-The Netherlands
Easy Wheely develops shock-absorbing, personalised front wheels for wheelchair users, enabling them to overcome everyday obstacles comfortably and stylishly.
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The Silver Award goes to RuTM Booster by design agency Studio Gooris, commissioned by Bombol Limited.
The Bronze Award goes to SmartGames IQ Deluxe Editions by design agency Smart Toys & Games.
7. Crafts by Bokrijk Gold Award:
The lost jewels of Queen Louise-Marie d'Orléans
Designer: Charlotte Vanhoubroeck
Partners: University Hasselt, PXL-MAD School of Arts, Research Foundation Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen)
Charlotte Vanhoubroeck, jewellery artist and art historian, researched the lost sentimental jewellery of Louise-Marie d'Orléans, the first queen of Belgium. Based on art historical and artistic research, Charlotte created new objects that bring Louise-Marie's emotional world to life in a contemporary way.
The Silver Award goes to Porcelain Dawn by design agency Middernacht & Alexander.
The Bronze Award goes to Shifting Colors by designer Esther Van Schuylenbergh.
8. Design Research Gold Award:
Decentering Design - Practice in a More-than-human World
Design agency: Research Centre Futures through Design by School of Arts Ghent, Art Paper editions / Jurgen Maelfeyt BV
Partners: Howest - Digital Design & Development (Devine)
Client: HOGENT
Decentering Design is a research-through-design project that explores how design can contribute to an inclusive future by no longer placing humans at the centre, but understanding them as part of a more-than-human network. The project challenges designers and artists to open up their processes to other forms of presence, knowledge and agency through small, non-linear working methods that are both method and result. These exercises have been compiled in a publication and offer tools for reflection and action.
The Silver Award goes to Stad zonder Postcode by designer Franne Lefever.
The Bronze Award goes to Residents of Solar Space by designer Kato Herbots, in partnership with Dermatologist Maselis, B&T Textilia, LUCA Product Design Genk, LUCA Textile Ghent, Ghent Industrial Museum, Marianne Winten, Johanna Seelemann and Niek Kosten.
9. Digital Design Gold Award: Rubens Experience
Design agency: Wondering BV
Partners: Create.eu, Bruns, Chris Pype
Client: Rubenshuis
The Rubens Experience takes visitors on a journey through a scenography that transforms from an immersive audiovisual show into an interactive museum. In the new reception building of the Rubens House, grand images, colour and unexpected details come together with masterpieces and art objects. The result is a high-tech yet warm and human art experience, with sustainability as an integral part of the design.
The Silver Award goes to Walden BOX by design agency Verhaert, for Walden Group.
The Bronze Award goes to Shared Memories by designer Joey Kissen and Jens Demarest.
10. Environment Gold Award: Essens Circular
Design agency: Samsonite Europe N.V.
Partners: Aarova, LyondellBasell, Circularise
Essens Circular is a suitcase designed and manufactured in Belgium that fully integrates circularity. The suitcase consists of at least 70% recycled materials, including old suitcases and post-consumer waste, and has a modular design for easy repair and recycling afterwards. With a digital passport and clear maintenance instructions, its lifespan is maximised.
The Silver Award goes to WVDM Living Lab by MAKER architecten, in partnership with Origin architecture & engineering, VK architects & engineers, VITO, Beneens, and commissioned by VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel).
The Bronze Award goes to Neonest by design agency Superellipse, commissioned by REVOR GROUP.
11. Graphics Gold Award: ‘Tussenruimte’
Designer: Dragan Marinkovic
Times New ROMA is a typeface that unites Latin and Cyrillic, bringing two worlds together. Inspired by migration from Serbia to Belgium, the font reflects the experience of immigrants who must master a new alphabet and culture, and depicts the alienation and confusion that comes with it.
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The Silver Award goes to Kunsthal Gent by Kunsthal Gent.
The Bronze Award goes to Fever Dream - Victor Verhelst by Studio Corbin Mahieu with Victor Verhelst, and Lennart Van den Bossche, in partnership with Fedrigoni Special Papers, Albe De Coker, PLUS-ONE Projects, and Sidequest.
12. Habitat Gold Award: Scrap Chair
Design agency: ROVER project
Partners: OptimaT, MetalClean, Furniture Design (VOMO Thomas More Mechelen)
The SCRAP Chair is a circular chair, made entirely from industrial waste streams from Flemish industry. The design reimagines waste as a raw material and results in a fully-fledged, aesthetic piece of furniture that combines comfort and quality, suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.
The Silver Award goes to FERRATA by designers Dorien Eeckhout and Jonas van Put. The Bronze Award goes to POOK by design agency Jeff Rutten Objects, in partnership with Jan Verheyen.
13. Spaces Gold Award: GPG - Tower for Animals and Humans
Design agency: URA Yves Malysse Kiki Verbeeck
Partners: Denkbar, Sweco Belgium NV, Driekwart Groen
Client: Agency for Nature and Forests, with the city of Ghent
A Tower for Animals and Humans is a concrete landmark in the Wonderwoud in Ghent, where human functions are combined with nesting cavities for animals. The tower emphasises the symbiosis between humans and nature and offers visitors unique views on each floor, with a 360° panorama of Ghent at the top.
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The Silver Award goes to Abby Kortrijk, from agencies Tab Architects BV and Barozzi Veiga, commissioned by the City of Kortrijk.
The Bronze Award goes to Genk op Gang, from design agencies Studio-tic, HET LABO vzw and Depot Roel Vandebeek, commissioned by the city of Genk.
14. Public by National Lottery Gold Award: Abby Kortrijk
Design agency: Tab Architects BV, Barozzi Veiga
Client: city of Kortrijk
After an online vote, this year's public award goes to Abby Kortrijk.
Abby Kortrijk is a playful and accessible museum that explores what a museum can be today with its innovative “Stadsliving” (City Living Room) concept. This open house serves as an experimental space where visitors, creators and local communities come together, develop participatory projects and build bridges between art, heritage and design.
"This project has clear social added value and a positive impact on Belgian society, something we strive for at the National Lottery in all the projects we support. The fact that this project has won the Public Gold Award demonstrates the importance of the impact of design." - Jannie Haek, CEO of the National Lottery
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Publication Henry van de Velde Awards 26
From Tuesday evening, 27 January 2026, the publication of the Henry van de Velde Awards 26 will also be available. The book can be ordered via the website at €10, excluding shipping costs.
In addition to an overview of all the winners, the publication offers in-depth interviews and a behind-the-scenes look at the work of the various winners. The richly illustrated publication (160 pages) is bilingual (Dutch-English) and was designed by Geoffrey Brusatto.
About the Henry van de Velde Awards
The Henry van de Velde Awards are Belgium's most prestigious design awards. They recognise Flemish designers, companies, products, projects, services and systems that have a positive impact on society, the environment and the economy through the intelligent use of design.
The Henry van de Velde Awards are widely supported thanks to the vision of a professional and independent jury. This year's jury chairman was Chris Baelus. More info on the jury via https://www.henryvandevelde.be/nl/awards/26#jury
The Henry van de Velde Awards are organised by Flanders District of Creativity. As the headquarters of and for design and fashion, the organisation supports designers and entrepreneurs in the design and fashion sectors with tools, knowledge and a strong community.
This year the awards are made possible thanks to these partners:
- Flemish Agency for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO)
is the Flemish government's point of contact for all entrepreneurs in Flanders. VLAIO stimulates and supports innovation and entrepreneurship and contributes to a favorable entrepreneurial climate.
- The Public Waste Agency of Flanders (OVAM)
ensures that we deal with waste, materials and soil in Flanders in a well-considered and environmentally-conscious manner.
- Bokrijk
brings together monumental heritage, culture, nature and tourism through collaborations across disciplines, such as tourism, education and nature, but also design and creative economy.
- The National Lottery
Every year, thanks to all National Lottery players, 345 million euros can be invested in organizations and projects that make a difference for many people, thus ensuring a better society.
- Bozar
offers a dynamic and versatile program of concerts and exhibitions, with offerings that fuse debates, theater, film, literature and other art forms.
Photo's of the award show are also available via this link. |
#HVDV26
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