Press Release
Riva Villa by Dilek Karaman Receives the Bronze A' Design Award in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
The international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes Dilek Karaman for interior space and exhibition design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 25, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ Riva Villa by Dilek Karaman, designed for Dk Interior Architecture, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The result belongs to the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the Bronze A' Design Award Means
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
Regarding Riva Villa
Riva Villa is a three level residence organized around a sculptural spiral stair rising through a double-height indoor garden atrium. The vertical void anchors the plan, choreographing movement and framing layered views. A continuous timber envelope improves acoustic comfort, while monolithic stone volumes ground key functions with calibrated weight. Subtle metal detailing and glare controlled, layered lighting create a refined quiet luxury atmosphere that shifts from crisp daylight to intimate evening scenes.
About Dilek Karaman
DK Interior Architecture is a design studio that approaches interior architecture as an architectural discipline, shaping space through the relationship between structure, light, and material. It creates context-driven, timeless, and refined environments for residential, office, and private living spaces. The studio focuses on developing holistic spatial experiences where functionality and aesthetics are balanced with a strong emphasis on clarity, proportion, and material integrity.
Award Record
This recognition makes Dilek Karaman a winner of 2 A' Design Awards. All of the awards belong to the 2025 - 2026 edition of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award
The A' Interior Design Award is an international interior design competition recognizing good interior designs by interior designers and architects worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to interior designers, interior architects, architects and decorators from all countries. Entries typically include residential interiors, restaurants, hotels, offices, galleries and retail stores. Awarded interior designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/interior
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission 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. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated 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. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates 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, the upload of a work and the 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. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/180354
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/180354
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!180354
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/371169
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.instagram.com/dkicmimarlik/
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
- Riva Villa
- Function
- Villa
- Category
- Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture and Packaging & Retail
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Dim Gray, Black, Gray and Dark Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Dk Interior Architecture
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Dilek Karaman
- Country
- Turkiye
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #180354
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Riva Villa is a three level calm residence centered on a sculptural spiral staircase rising through a double height indoor garden atrium. The stair serves as both circulation and signature artwork while warm timber architecture ensures acoustic comfort and visual continuity. Natural materials act as structure not decoration timber defines rhythm stone volumes anchor key functions and subtle metal accents refine the palette.
- Inspiration
- The project is inspired by coastal calm and fluid movement the ribbon geometry echoes shoreline curves and wind shaped forms while the atrium introduces a living seasonal dimension to the minimal palette. The overall approach follows biophilic quiet luxury softness tactility and breathable spatial composition that feels timeless rather than trend driven.
- Research
- The project examines how a large scale residence can feel quiet breathable and materially honest through biophilic strategies centered on the atrium sustainable material selection focused on longevity and responsible sourcing and light as architecture using layered concealed sources to shape mood depth and comfort.
- Challenge
- The main challenge was achieving iconic presence without visual noise a home that feels elevated and artful but never showy. Key difficulties included engineering a seamless ribbon stair with clean junctions and consistent curvature balancing the weight of stone monoliths with warm timber rhythm integrating the atrium planting without compromising maintenance lighting and humidity control and delivering a lighting system that remains discreet by day yet creates rich warm atmosphere at night.
- Realization and Technology
- Executed with high craft and minimal visual noise, the ribbon stair is engineered on a CNC-cut substructure and finished with seamless joints for a single-surface read. Timber wall systems use sourced veneers on accessible subframes with acoustic backing. Stone elements are fabricated with vein matching, mitered corners, and shadow-gap detailing. Layered lighting combines concealed LEDs, micro downlights, and dimmable pendants, with low-VOC finishes for low glare and healthy indoor air.
- Operation and Interaction
- Arrival frames the identity immediately drawing the visitor toward the stair and atrium where vertical movement becomes a slow curated experience rather than a functional transfer. Public life unfolds on the main level with living hosting and dining while upper floors transition into calm private suites. Sightlines are designed for controlled reveals art moments material transitions and the indoor tree acting as a living landmark that reorients users throughout the home.
- Project Duration and Location
- Riva Istanbul Turkiye designed in 2025
- Specifications
- Total area approximately 1000 square meters. 3 floors organized as a gradient from public to private Key spatial elements Double height living core with indoor atrium garden Signature ribbon spiral staircase as the primary vertical connector Kitchen dining anchored by a monolithic stone island and sculptural lighting Private suites with soft acoustic textiles layered illumination and tactile wall relief surfaces Material performance moisture resistant timber assemblies long life stone surfaces energy efficient LED strategy and low emission specification principles.
- Keywords
- quiet luxury interior, biophilic residence, sculptural staircase, ribbon spiral stair, double height atrium, indoor garden atrium, natural stone finishes, warm timber architecture, sustainable materials, gallery like home, luxury villa interior, Riva Istanbul villa
