As the rising stars of architecture and design, the shortlisted in The Prodigy category at the 2023 INDE.Awards are scaling the heights of success through their talent, passion and tenacious spirit.

Each of the five nominations for The Prodigy are intent on curating their own story and following individual pathways to successful careers. They seek to break the usual mould of practice and, whatever their area of design, are making exciting changes in their sphere and within the region.

Milliken as the sponsor of The Prodigy category, recognises the importance of supporting the next generation of creatives to help them achieve. As a design and manufacturing leader of flooring solutions, Milliken has grown from a small business to a global company and understands what it takes to succeed. The Prodigies are at the beginning of their story and Milliken is helping them to realise their potential.

The five practices and practitioners who comprise The Prodigy category this year are,

Angela Lindahl and Yihan Xiang of Yatofu Creatives
Designers and Co-founders
China/Finland

Yatofu Creatives’ two founders, Angela Lindahl and Yihan Xiang started their own studio with very strong convictions about the type of practice that they would like it to become. Many thought the duo naïve when they began as they were forming the studio from their own points of views.

They spend much time at the beginning of all of their projects to dig deep into the five Ws (who, what, where, when, why), so that a concept can be grounded in something that is contextual before exploring creative possibilities.

Brahman Perera

Brahman Perera
Interior Designer
Australia

Establishing a solo design studio was a natural progression for Brahman Perera, having studied a Masters in Architecture and working for nearly a decade in Melbourne-based interior design studios.

Perera’s approach to interior design is as an all-encompassing practice that should not be solely trend driven. Each project is approached with honesty and a timelessness, with outcomes expressing an approach that is not confined to a specific style or context in the contemporary design vernacular.

Matilda Sung & Hoa Huang

Graphite Studio
Partners
Singapore

Graphite Studio was established, and is to this day, a boutique design studio for work environments. In a fast-paced and typically commercially driven sector, the practice created a specialty niche, existing between large global practices and design-and-build companies.

The studio focuses on telling a design narrative of clients, and shaping people-centred workplaces for the digital age. The ethos of the practice reflects a deliberate and purposeful design approach, and presents a gentle dissent against the commercial sector’s common drivers of faster and cheaper outcomes.

Natalie Parke

Dessein Park
Interior Designer
New Zealand/Aotearoa

Since the inception of her practice Dessein Parke, Parke has explored the creation of spaces that are idiosyncratically designed for, and connected to, the people inhabiting them. In reality this means working in a niche and sometimes experimental zone, pushing the boundaries to create something that is unique.

Parke says that “a good interior is a robust one”. Consequently, she designs with materials and rationales that are enduring, rather than trend driven. She asserts that spaces designed this way tend to be timeless but also relatable, which is always her goal.

Shruthi Ramakrishna, Jérémie Gaudin, Agnimitra Bachi

Made In Earth Collective | Architecture, Art & Ecology
Partners
India

The study of architecture at the Auroville Earth Institute was the meeting place of Shruthi Ramakrishna, Jérémie Gaudin and Agnimitra Bachi. The trio learnt that to design with earth, you must really know the material and become friends with it. The potential and need to bring earth into spaces is so relevant in India and Ramakrishna, Gaudin and Bachi continue to be inspired by this rich geographical and cultural context to create an architecture that is closer to the people and tied to the ecosystems.

With five exceptional practices established by singular and exceptional practitioners, the future of design in the Indo-Pacific is assured.

We congratulate each of The Prodigies and as they have made their mark on the region today, we see great success for all of them in the future.

Winners for the 2023 INDE.Awards will be announced on 10 August 2023 at the INDE.Awards Gala in Sydney and broadcast online around the globe.

To register to join us for the INDE.Awards online viewing party click here.

Hear from leaders in the INDE community on 9 August 2023 for the 2023 INDE Summit, online and free. Register to attend here.