Designers and Luxury Brands that Set the Agenda in 2016 Design World

2016 was a great year for design World. Several designers and luxury brands launched new projects that astonished everyone. But who are the names that set the agenda? Who made the news in the design world? Discover all with Design Limited Edition.

New talents stand side by side with strong names of the contemporary design and architecture. Who were the key players this year?

The biggest story of the year by a wide margin was the death of Zaha Hadid. The great architect, who died on 31 March, has always been one of the most popular architects in the world.

In second overall place is Bjarke Ingels, confirming the star status of the young Danish architect. This was the year that young Danish architect Bjarke Ingels became a critically acclaimed international superstar. Time magazine named him one of the world’s 100 most influential people.

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Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron are the final two names of the trio of most admired practices alongside Zaha Hadid Architects and Bjarke Ingels Group. Their formally diverse output showed no signs of letting up this year, with their Jenga-like 56 Leonard residential tower nearing completion in New York and their Ziggurat-shaped extension to Tate Modern opening in London.

Japanese architect Kengo Kuma hit the news at the end of last year after winning a competition to design a new National Stadium in Tokyo, which will serve as the centerpiece of the 2020 Olympics. The victory was controversial because London-based architect Zaha Hadid had been declared winner of a contest held in 2012 for the prestigious job.

Swiss architect Peter Zumthor is an enigma: he runs a small firm, rarely gives interviews, doesn’t build much and doesn’t even have a website. Yet he has always been one of the most popular architects in the design world.

With a reputation for severe, uncompromising work, Zumthor has cult status, and his low profile and output compared to the prolific starchitects is no doubt a large part of his appeal.