Press Release
Marzena Michalska - Smart Design Expo Receives the Silver A' Design Award for Cycle Of Matter Exhibition Booth in Trade Show Architecture, Interiors, and Exhibit Design
Marzena Michalska - Smart Design Expo recognized for trade show architecture, interiors, and exhibit design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 16, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ Cycle Of Matter Exhibition Booth by Marzena Michalska - Smart Design Expo, designed for Smart Design Expo, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Trade Show Architecture, Interiors, and Exhibit Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The recognition forms part of the 2025 - 2026 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 Silver A' Design Award Explained
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
More About Cycle Of Matter Exhibition Booth
Cycle of Matter is an exhibition booth designed for a ceramic tile producer. The booth covers 135 square meters and reaches a maximum height of 4 meters. Its enclosed outer form reveals little, so the interior story unfolds only after entry. Surfaces are clad in base tiles without color or pattern, showing the material in its raw state. A central corridor guides visitors through a sequence of spaces that represent the stages of tile production. Custom partitions, platform flooring and about 160 luminaires shape the visit.
About Marzena Michalska - Smart Design Expo
Their dream was to establish a company that would be able to create both smart and beautiful but at the same time useful things. A company that would inspire others. They have been successfully working in the trade fair industry for over 13 years and they're are really proud of their achievements.
Award Record
Marzena Michalska - Smart Design Expo is a winner of 7 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards span the editions from 2018 - 2019 to 2025 - 2026 of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Trade Show Architecture, Interiors, and Exhibit Design Award
The A' Trade Show Design Award is an international competition recognizing innovative trade show booth projects and the best designers creating them. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to trade show designers, exhibition designers, event planners and interior designers from all countries. Entries typically include trade show interiors, exhibits, booths, pavilions, showrooms and kiosks. Awarded exhibit designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/trade-show
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/181174
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/181174
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!181174
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/242602
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://bit.ly/4cIeLmW
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
- Cycle Of Matter Exhibition Booth
- Function
- Exhibition Booth
- Category
- Trade Show Architecture, Interiors, and Exhibit Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture and Branding & Advertising
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Dim Gray, Gray, Dark Olive Green and Dark Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Smart Design Expo
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Marzena Michalska - Smart Design Expo
- Country
- Poland
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #181174
Credits
- Team
- Marzena Michalska and Smart Design Expo
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Art in Motion. Material that lives. The Stargres booth was conceived as a spatial narrative about the life of a tile. Its compact, enclosed architecture reveals little from the outside, concealing a story that unfolds only once inside. Clad entirely in raw base tiles without color or pattern, the monochromatic earth-tone space is structured around a central corridor guiding visitors through symbolic stages of tile creation, highlighting process, material origin and rediscovery.
- Inspiration
- The project was inspired by the idea of returning to origin. Instead of presenting finished collections, the design focuses on the base tile, the raw state preceding color and pattern. This gesture reflects transparency in production and a sustainable mindset. The booth becomes an architectural storyboard, guiding visitors through the symbolic stages of material transformation and rediscovery.
- Research
- Stoneware plays the first fiddle here. The aim was to understand how an exhibition stand could clearly show how tiles are produced and communicate the life of this material. The concept was developed as a spatial story that guides visitors step by step through the cycles. Material tests, technical drawings, mockups and cost analysis supported the process, with close collaboration between the design team and Stargres production consultants. The result was a corridor shaped booth showcasing the product, with the base covered in the material in its primary form.
- Challenge
- The main challenge was presenting a raw base tile as a central aesthetic element while maintaining architectural coherence. Structurally, the booth required heavy ceramic cladding within temporary fair regulations and height limits. Achieving stability, modularity and precise installation without visible technical compromise demanded tight coordination between design, engineering and production teams.
- Realization and Technology
- The structure was built as a modular temporary architecture with a 4 m maximum height. System platform flooring (150 mm, laser leveled) supported full tile installation without grouting. Custom X and V partitions were fabricated in OSB and finished with client tiles or structural paint. Powder coated steel edge profiles defined the platform. Over 160 luminaires created layered scenographic lighting. Installation included integrated electrical systems and multimedia walls.
- Operation and Interaction
- Visitors enter a visually restrained exterior that reveals little of the interior. A central corridor guides them through sequential spatial frames representing stages of tile production. Surfaces, lighting and material transitions create a gradual discovery process. The booth encourages slow exploration rather than immediate display, transforming product viewing into a curated spatial experience.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in June 2025 in Poland and was completed in October 2025. Production began in September 2025. The booth was installed between 17-21 October 2025 and exhibited at Warsaw Home 2025 from 22-25 October 2025 in Warsaw, Poland.
- Specifications
- Total area: 135 sqm Maximum height: 4000 mm Platform height: 150 mm Cladded surface with ceramic tiles: approx. 250 sqm Custom partitions: 17 X type modules, 3 V type modules Suspended tile composition: 16.5 sqm Lighting fixtures: approx. 160 units Integrated AV system with 43 inch screens
- Keywords
- exhibition architecture, trade fair design, ceramic tiles, sustainable narrative, spatial storytelling, temporary architecture, material research, immersive space
