Utopia and Collapse Book by Timea Andoka Wins the A' Design Award in Print and Published Media Design

Timea Andoka acknowledged for print and published media design by the international grand jury of the 2018 - 2019 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 25, 2019 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Utopia and Collapse Book by Timea Andoka, designed for Timea Andorka, has been granted the A' Design Award in the Print and Published Media Design category. The result belongs to the 2018 - 2019 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

The A' Design Award Explained

The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.

More About Utopia and Collapse Book

Utopia and Collapse documents the rise and fall of Metsamor, the Armenian atomic city. It brings together a history of the place and a photographic research with some academic essays. Metsamor’s architecture is a unique example of an Armenian variety of Soviet Modernism. Among the topics discussed are Armenia’s cultural and architectural histories, the typology of Soviet atomograds and the phenomenon of modern ruins. This book, based on the multidisciplinary Rethinking Metsamor research project, for the first time tells the city’s story and reveals what lessons can be learned from it.

About Timea Andoka

Timea Andorka is a professional graphic designer working in Hungary with a strong inclination towards traditional crafts which she tends to combine with current techniques. Her work finds connections to the world of ideas and creativity – she is designing books, exhibition identities, theatre posters. She is deeply interested in the history and theory of typography. Over the last five years she was employed as a senior graphic designer in various exhibition halls including Kunsthalle, Budapest, Ferenczy Museum Center, Szentendre. Now, she is a freelancer.

Award Record

With this recognition, Timea Andoka is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards. The awards were granted between the 2017 - 2018 and the 2018 - 2019 editions of the A' Design Award & Competition.

About the A' Print and Published Media Design Award

The A' Print Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good printed and published media by leading designers and brands worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to print designers, published media designers, graphic designers and typography experts from all countries. Typical entries include brochures, posters, magazines, catalogs, flyers and business cards. The awarded print designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/print

About A' Design Award & Competition

Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com

Press Resources

Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/58491
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/58491
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!58491
Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/199775
Further Information from the Laureate: https://andorkatimea.com

Media Contact

Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953

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Fact Sheet

The Work

Project: Utopia and Collapse Book
Function: Book
Category: Print and Published Media Design
Discipline: Communication Design
Industry: Branding & Advertising and Entertainment
Colors: Sea Green, Forest Green, Dark Olive Green, Brown and Dim Gray
Images: 5
Client: Timea Andorka

The Recognition

Laureate: Timea Andoka
Country: Hungary
Recognition: A' Design Award
Edition: 2018 - 2019
Design ID: #58491

Credits

Team: Sarhat Petrosyan (ARM), Katharina Roters (GER), Sarhat Petrosyan, Armine Shahbazyan,, Nvard Yerkanian, Sofi Haykazuni, Ara Marjanyan (ARM), Timea Andorka (HUN), Jozsef Szolnoki (HUN), Davit Ayvazyan, Hieroglyph.am, Sona Hovhannisyan (ARM-ENG), Daniel Nashaat (HUN-ENG), Edith C. Watts (GER-ENG), Dajbukat Borbely Laszlo (HUN-ARM), Arto Vaun, Armine Bachachyan (Assistant), Charlotte Eckler (USA), Pauker Holding Kft., Budapest (HUN) and Park Books AG, Zurich, Switzerland (SUI)

Design Details

Unique Properties: Metsamor, the workers’ town adjacent to the eponymous Armenian nuclear power plant, is a symbol of the Soviet-Armenian dream of technological progress. Over the course of nearly two decades, construction of the town advanced at a rapid pace. However, a devastating earthquake in 1988 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 led to the closedown of the power plant and, subsequently, all construction in Metsamor came to a halt. By the time the plant reopened in 1995, the town had become disengaged from its original purpose and people were living in a half-built and largely abandoned urban skeleton.
Inspiration: Utopia and Collapse documents the rise and fall of Metsamor, the Armenian atomic city. The book brings together an oral history of the place and a photographic research by Katharina Roters with a number of academic essays. Among the topics discussed are Armenia’s cultural and architectural histories; the typology of Soviet atomograds, or atomic cities; and the phenomenon of modern ruins. Although today the power plant’s workers live in a partly built failed utopia, Metsamor stands as an example of the highly idiosyncratic Armenian variety of Soviet Modernism of the 1960s and 1970s, making this a fascinating story for anyone with an interest in Soviet-era buildings and architecture.
Research: The goal of the Rethinking Metsamor project is to establish a collaborative research of planners and visual artists on urban history of singular example of Soviet modernism – Metsamor city and Nuclear Power Plant located in the area (both built in the 1970’s) and also the post-Soviet development of urban environment, with a special focus on social obstacles caused by environmental fears and challenges. One of the great results of the successful collaboration is the fact that Armenia was represented by this project at the 15th Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2016.
Challenge: The biggest challenge was selecting and arranging the photos, and composing their inherent narrative all along. This meant the task of the editor (as of the subject) and the graphic designer (as of the aesthetics), thus the creation of each and every spread was anticipated by long reflection, experimenting, and sometimes extensive discussions. The problem came from the fact that altogether four visual languages came to our disposal: ground plans drawn during the construction period, archive photos, a photographic documentation of the current state of the city, and contemporary artistic photos, reflecting the special ambiance, that had been taken onto 6×6 cm film were available.
Realization and Technology: The book’s size and the type of paper has been defined by the relationship between the different genres of images and the text. When determining the size, the ratio of the archive documentary photos had to be taken into consideration as they are completely different from the contemporary art photos made for negatives of 6×6 cm. Therefore the grid had to facilitate the harmonzation of both image types with the book as a whole and with each other as well. Two different types of paper are used for the book’s body.
Operation and Interaction: What happens when destiny and reality override plans and utopias, and when a dwelling is bereaved its actual purpose? Metsamor’s architecture is a unique example of a distinctively Armenian variety of Soviet Modernism of the 1960s and 1970s. The book, based on the extensive and multidisciplinary Rethinking Metsamor research project, for the first time tells the city’s story in full and reveals what lessons can be learned from it.
Project Duration and Location: 2007: studying the Metsamor city plans under Sarhat Petrosyan’s supervision on behalf of the Ministry of Urban Development of Armenia. 2008–09: a diploma program takes place for the reassessment of the city’s original plans. 2011–12: Metsamor-trips for international researchers organized by Urbanlab Yerevan. 2014: developing a visual artistic concept that is complementary to the architectural perception: the idea of a more complex approach is born at the workshop led by Katharina Roters, Budapest-Cologne based photo artist, in Yerevan. 2016: ReThink Metsamor Exhibition in Venice, Italy – Independent Landscape, Pavilion of the Republic of Armenia at the 15th Venice Biennale of Architecture.
Specifications: hardback, 220 x 295 mm
Keywords: book, architecture, photography, utopia, modernism, contemporary art, minimal design, environmental protection, urban planning