Fifth judges announcement

Jay Osgerby, Pilar Zeta and Noella Nibakuze announced as judges for Dezeen Awards 2024

Architect Eric Owen Moss, designer Jay Osgerby, artist Pilar Zeta, design director Noella Nibakuze and interior designer Betsy Smith have been announced as Dezeen Awards 2024 judges.

Dezeen Awards 2024 launched last month in partnership with Bentley. There is just over one week left until the early entry deadline! Enter by 27 March to save 20 per cent on entry fees.

Now in its seventh year, the programme has become the ultimate accolade for architects and designers everywhere, with winners selected by a prestigious panel of international judges.

Read on to learn more about the names that have joined this year's judging panel:

Jay Osgerby sq
Jay Osgerby is the co founder of Barber Osgerby

London-based Osgerby is the co-founder of industrial design studio Barber Osgerby and will join designer Alfredo Häberli on this year's design judging panel.

Alongside co-founder Edward Barber, Osgerby has collaborated with leading brands on projects in the fields of architecture, interiors, product design, sculpture and exhibition design.

Recent work includes a minimalist bathroom collection for German brand Bette, an exhibition of colourful cone-shaped lights for Paris-based art gallery Galerie Kreo and an office seating system for Swiss furniture brand Vitra, which was shortlisted for workplace design of the year in Dezeen Awards 2019.

Barber Osgerby's work has been exhibited in permanent collections at museums including the V&A, Design Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, the Olympic Museum and Vitra Design Museum.

Pilar Zeta sq
Argentinian-born Zeta specialises in the creation of surrealist environments

Artist and graphic designer Zeta, known for her immersive installations, will be joining designer Osgerby on the design judging panel.

The Argentinian designer blends elements of philosophy, mathematics and symbolism to develop surreal spaces that nod to postmodern architecture – an eclectic movement that surfaced during the late 1970s, rejecting the principles of modernism.

She recently designed an installation crafted entirely from marble as part of a collaborative exhibition with Mexican sculptor Andrés Monnier at Galerie Philia during Mexico City Art Week.

Zeta has collaborated with musicians including Coldplay, Lil Nas X, Katy Perry and Camilla Cabello. She received a Grammy nomination for her role as art director for Coldplay's Everyday Life album.

Noella Nibakuze sq
Kigali-based Noella Nibakuze is the design director at architecture firm MASS Design Group

Joining the sustainability judging panel will be MASS Design Group design director Nibakuze.

The Kigali-based designer has worked on projects spanning education, affordable housing, and healthcare. Nibakuze considers architecture should enhance people's quality of life whilst safeguarding the environment.

She spearheaded the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA), a higher education institute that integrates ecological, animal, and human health in its curriculum.

The designer is currently overseeing the Lagos Infectious Disease Institute, a cutting-edge hub for infectious disease treatment and research.

In 2023, she was a finalist for the inaugural Diversity in Architecture Award (DIVIA), an award which celebrates women in architecture.

Eric Owen Moss
Los Angeles-based architect Eric Owen Moss has received over 150 national and international accolades

American architect Moss is the founder of his eponymous firm Eric Owen Moss Architects and will sit alongside Japanese architect Keiji Ashizawa on the architecture judging panel.

Moss whose practice recently celebrated its 50th year of work, completed (W)rapper Tower, a 71-metre-high office structure utilising a mixture of glass and steel supports around its exterior.

The LA-based architect has received over 150 national and international accolades including the AIA Los Angeles Gold Medal, the Arnold W Brunner Memorial Prize and the Jencks Award from the Royal Institute of British Architects.

He has held teaching positions at institutions including US universities Harvard, Yale and Columbia, as well as the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and Tsinghua University in Beijing. He has also been a longtime professor at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and served as its director from 2002-2015.

Betsy Smith
Betsy Smith works on a diverse range of projects spanning retail, commercial and residential

London-based curator and designer Smith will join artist Bethan Laura Wood on this year's interior judging panel.

After 25 years of industry experience including eight years at furniture retailer The Conran Shop, the spatial designer now specialises in set, retail and event design, as well as interior styling, colour curation and brand development.

Smith often repurposes, restores and modifies fixtures, fittings, textiles and furniture to create colourful and playful environments.

Recent clients include Michelin-starred restaurant The River Café, sustainable paint manufacturer Graphenstone and vintage furniture specialists Merchant & Found.

Dezeen Awards 2024 in partnership with Bentley

Dezeen Awards is the ultimate accolade for architects and designers across the globe. The seventh edition of the annual awards programme is in partnership with Bentley as part of a wider collaboration to inspire, support and champion design excellence and showcase innovation that creates a better and more sustainable world. This ambition complements Bentley's architecture and design business initiatives, including the Bentley Home range of furnishings and real estate projects around the world.