A decade of Design Awards: we look back through the years

A tour of the highlights from the last decade of Wallpaper* Design Awards, taking in the key winners from each year, the judges, the trophies and the parties

The Wallpaper* Design Awards is now in its tenth year. For our debut awards issue in 2005, our first panel of judges named Herzog & de Meuron's de Young Museum in San Francisco Best building site, so it seems only fitting that we returned to the city last week, taking over the new Airbnb HQ, to celebrate a decade of design honours (see more from the party on Wallpaper.com soon).

Each year, our ultimate edit of the hotly contested awards is chosen via a combination of discerning, informed and highly opinionated Wallpaper* staffers, our global network of editors, photographers, writers and contributors, and a panel of six carefully chosen, current and super-savvy international judges, each a leader in their respective fields who kindly gift us their time, insight and commitment.

This year's judging panel includes Victoria Beckham, Michael Chow, Ron Gilad and Spike Jonze, and they join an illustrious list that we have been honoured to have on our judging panels over the years.

This includes major players from the worlds of fashion, design, photography, architecture, food, and popular culture; Richard Meier, Jil Sander, Peter Saville, Mario Testino, Donna Karan, Norman Foster, Ian Schrager, Ron Arad, André Balazs, Wong Kar-Wai, Donatella Versace, Pharrell Williams, Mario Bellini, Raf Simons, Marc Newson, Jean Nouvel, Kanye West, Pedro Almodovar, Ferran Adrià, Rick Owens and Julian Opie.

Our judges don't just tick boxes and send us shortlists but offer astute and considered perspective on their choices and the wider design world. Here we present some award highlights from the past ten years - buildings, business jets, brave design mavericks, life enhancers and lunches - the stuff that has inspired us during the last decade. Plus we offer up a snapshot of the other key Design Awards ingredients, from the trophies to the parties. 

Our inaugural Wallpaper* Design Awards issue came pinned with a rosette illustration by Nigel Robinson, incorporating the graphic designer’s customary play on wood grains.

As seen on this page from the issue, we enlisted a super-savvy panel of international artists (actor Gael García Bernal, designer Annabel Karim Kassar, architect Richard Meier, fashion designer Jil Sander, furniture designers Fernando and Humberto Campana and art director Peter Saville) to vote in ten special categories that represented the design disciplines most dear to us at Wallpaper* - which still are today. These became known as the Judges' Awards.

The standout winner from 2005 was de Young Museum in San Francisco, which scooped Best Building Site. Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron’s design in Golden Gate Park replaced an earthquake-damaged structure, doubling the size and trebling the drama.

We aimed high for the first Design Awards party in 2005, hosting it in the rooftop restaurant and bar of London’s recently finished 30 St Mary Axe – or Gherkin – designed by Foster and Partners protégé Ken Shuttleworth. The restaurant also scored another triumph: our award for Best New View.

A multi-tiered cover, designed by North, opened up to reveal the winners of the 2006 awards

A spread from the issue, illustrating 2006’s distinguished panel of judges: fashion designer Donna Karan, Whitechapel Gallery director Iwona Blazwick, architect Norman Foster, curator Murray Moss, and furniture designer Konstantin Grcic. Illustration: Jo Ratcliffe

Two standout examples of our regular Best Domestic Design category – a core part of the awards - from 2006 included the ‘Facett’ armchair, by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, for Ligne Roset, and the ‘Random’ bookcase, by Neuland, for MDF Italia. 

The trophy, designed by artist Paul Verburg, gave the Wallpaper* asterisk a playful twist. Originally designed in bronze, these versions were created from sheets of stainless steel anchored by two pins

With London winning our Best City award, it was only right that Wallpaper* should take over a key landmark for our party. We commandeered the gallery inside London’s 19th century Wellington Arch and stopped the capital’s traffic with light projections of the skyline on the facade

The 2007 Design Awards issue cover was designed by Paul Barnes, a long-time Wallpaper* collaborator who has helped shape the magazine’s typographic identity, past and present

Our elite panel of judges came illustrated by Hellovon

Best City went to Istanbul, while Best New Restaurant went to the city's Müzede Changa (both represented, left). Istanbul is a city with a daring design scene and an equally slick restaurant culture, including Müzede Changa, whose interiors were designed by Autoban, with chef Peter Gordon serving up traditional Turkish fare with a modern twist. Meanwhile, Life-Enhancer of the Year went to Google Earth, by Google. Photographs of Istanbul: Oliver Helbig, Dominik Butzmann

We hosted our Design Awards party inside London’s Hayward Gallery

Our cover star was composed of imagery featured in our Judges’ Awards, photographed in LA by Jesse Chehak

A spread from the issue, showing our big-hitting panel of judges - architect Tadao Ando, fashion designer Donatella Versace, film director Wong Kar-Wai, hotelier André Balazs, artists Langlands & Bell and designer Patricia Urquiola - illustrated by Hort

The 2008 Life-Enhancer of the Year award went to the $100 laptop, by Yves Béhar. Created for children in the developing world, this neat, innovative and easy-to-use laptop is design at its most worthwhile. Photographed at the Chateau Marmont Hotel, West Hollywood, by Jesse Chehak

For our limited edition subscriber cover, we commissioned Dutch artist and master of paper architecture Ingrid Siliakus to design this intricate representation of our winning city, Paris, cleverly incorporating designs such as Patrick Norguet's '01' stools and Guerlain's mascara.

Our newsstand cover hit the mark with an illustration by Nigel Robinson, who designed our very first Design Awards cover, back in 2005. The Wallpaper* Design Award trophy (right) echoed our newstand cover, featuring an engraved bullseye on one side.

We recruited from architecture, design, music and fashion's first ranks to assemble this year's panel of judges, which included industrial designer Marc Newson, architect Jean Nouvel, brand ambassador Inès de la Fressange, fashion designer Stefano Pilati, musician Kanye West and production designer Sir Ken Adam. They debated long and hard before anointing our 12 major award-winners. We caught up with them to hear their verdicts

The NetJets Falcon 7X, by Norman Foster (pictured left) for NetJets won Best Business Jet in 2009. Initially commissioned for the interior only, the architect persuaded NetJets to allow him to have his holistic way with the plane's exterior aesthetic. 2009 was also an excellent year for reissues, which explains our unapologetically greedy grab of Gio Ponti's classic two-toned sofa, Shiro Kuramata's low-slung glass-topped table and Henning Koppel's restrained tableware for Georg Jensen, which together won our Best Reissues award.

We headed over to Paris to celebrate our fifth Wallpaper* Design Awards, hosting an intimate cocktail reception at Boucheron. Pictured is the view over Place Vendôme, from the balcony

A selection of the award-winners was displayed throughout the venue

From left: Architect and Design Awards judge Jean Nouvel, architect Mia Hägg, industrial designer and Design Awards judge Marc Newson and Wallpaper* Editor-in-Chief Tony Chambers at Boucheron

Musician and Design Awards judge Kanye West arrives at the party; Guerlain creative director Olivier Echaudemaison with brand ambassador and Design Award judge Inès de la Fressange

A close-up look at artist Ingrid Siliakus' paper depiction of Paris, winner of our Best City award

As well as sitting on our judging panel, German artist Carsten Höller created the 2010 Design Awards trophy, a faithful replica of the fly agaric mushroom. Pictured on the limited edition cover of the issue is his resin cast, though the actual trophy was created in sterling silver. 

In this short film, Tony Chambers introduces the 2010 awards, judged by Höller, News Corp's James Murdoch, fashion designer John Galliano, interior designer Kelly Wearstler, film director Pedro Almodóvar and architect Steven Holl. Film directed by Phil Doherty

In 2010, we gave a Best Lit-Lunch award to artist Johanna Grawunder, for her lighting installation for Robert restaurant at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York. Meanwhile, our Life-enhance of the Year award went to The Highline by Friends of the Highline, James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. 

To cast a spotlight on the Life-enhancer of the Year, we commissioned this film by New Yorkers David Usui and Ben Wu. Producer: David Usui; director of production company: Lost & Found Films; music: courtesy of Lullatone

London's Wilkinson Gallery hosted our 2010 Design Awards party. Pictured is the well-lit entrance.

Guests included the late, great designer David Collins, pictured here with Wallpaper* online fashion editor Apphia Michael, who came clad in Viktor & Rolf's showstopping S/S 2010 evening gown, a look that scooped one of our Best In Shows awards

All the award-winning items (bar the occasional house or actual human being) were on show throughout the party, including (left to right) HTC Readers' Choice award winner, the 'W+W' loo and basin, by Roca; and Best Bath, 'Ofuro', by Matteo Thun and Antonio Rodriguez for Rapsel.

A scratch-and-reveal cover by Kyle Bean at Blink Art unveiled the winners of our 2011 Judges' Awards.

2011's stellar line-up of judges - retail guru Natalie Massenet, musician Pharrell Williams, composer Michael Nyman, artist Marc Quinn, fashion designer Raf Simons and architect and designer Mario Bellini - give their thoughts on the year's winners

Few products live up to their hype like the iPad does, making it the worthy victor of our 2011 Life-enhancer of the Year award. When this sufficiently slim, yet pleasurably weighty piece of kit dropped in to outshine our iPhone, we couldn't help but be entranced. The iPad changed our lives.

We hosted our Design Awards party at London's The Edison, an Art Deco icon renovated by architect David Adjaye for the Manhattan Loft Corporation

A selection of award winners were displayed on plinths, including Best Steam Team, which included a home hammam by Doshi Levien, as demonstrated by this model

Interior designer Pippa Roberts and Dreamworks art director Olivia Mole tried out the 'Spun' chair by Wallpaper* Designer of the Year Thomas Heatherwick

Graphic designer Cristina Morandin and composer and one of this year’s Design Awards judges, Michael Nyman, outside the event, sponsored by Aston Martin

Carl Burgess at Blink Art concocted this gleaming crystal landscape for our Design Awards cover, printed on mirrorboard

The 2012 Design Awards medal was designed by London-based studio Julia, who created the typeface, entitled Premio, for the issue.

We enlisted artist and former Turner Prize-winner Grayson Perry as one of our judges in 2012, alongside architect Rafael Viñoly, art dealer Simon de Pury, Bulthaup CEO Gerd Bulthaup and photographer Jean-Paul Goude. In this short film, we caught up with him in London to find out what nominees from our shortlist had secured his vote. Film: MOD of RSA Films

Tech phenom Jawbone scooped Best Straight and Narrow for its health-monitoring bracelet, 'Up' (left). Ergonomic and unobtrusive (it was designed by Yves Béhar), the rubberised wristband is a pedometer, sleep monitor and calorie counter with a downloadable app to chart your daily activity. That same year, Best Public Building went to the Hepworth Wakefield, UK, by David Chipperfield Architects. A synthesis of ten trapezoidal concrete blocks designed to respond to the surrounding industrial landscape, West Yorkshire's Hepworth Wakefield is one of the UK's most important art spaces outside London. 

Tech phenom Jawbone scooped Best Straight and Narrow for its health-monitoring bracelet, 'Up' (left). Ergonomic and unobtrusive (it was designed by Yves Béhar), the rubberised wristband is a pedometer, sleep monitor and calorie counter with a downloadable app to chart your daily activity. That same year, Best Public Building went to the Hepworth Wakefield, UK, by David Chipperfield Architects. A synthesis of ten trapezoidal concrete blocks designed to respond to the surrounding industrial landscape, West Yorkshire's Hepworth Wakefield is one of the UK's most important art spaces outside London.

The entrance to the Wallpaper* Design Awards party at 10 Trinity Square, a grand Beaux-Arts building originally designed by Sir Edwin Cooper in 1912 in the heart of London.

Our award-winners were on show throughout the party. Revellers were ushered up an imposing marble staircase, stopping on the way to take in an installation of items on the first floor landing, pictured here, before reaching the main party rooms on the second floor. 

Lapo Elkann is not only heir to the Italy's biggest auto label, Fiat, but also a passionate collector of cars and a lover of all things that go over 200km. Here, we give you a close up look at his fleet - winner of Best Car Collection in the 2012 Design Awards - as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the shoot for our February issue (see W*155). Film: Antonio La Fosca and edited by Nick Tree. Still 

Photographer Jean-Pacôme Dedieu created this cover for our 2013 Design Awards winner, featuring our trophy designed by 2012 Designer of the Year, Nendo. 

Not just smoke and mirrors: a closer look at the Nendo-designed winners' trophy. 

Presiding over 11 special categories, this year's judges included fashion designer Rick Owens (left) and artist Julian Opie (right), who created this self-portrait for Wallpaper*. They were joined by chef Ferran Adrià, Nendo founder Oki Sato, architect Wang Shu and Schiaparelli ambassador Farida Khelfa. 

We gave the winners of our Judges' Awards a spin in this film shot by Tom Darracott

In the fashion world you must be brave to dare to tinker with a brand as established as Yves Saint Laurent. But Hedi Slimane exercised more than just steely courage with his bold overhaul of the legendary house's name and logo, scooping Best Rebranding in the process. 

Canadian photographer Jessica Eaton (who first featured in W*152) created this image of our Nendo-designed trophy with no Photoshop or digital trickery. Eaton, who won the Grand Prix du jury at the 2012 Hyères photography festival, is currently having her debut London show at The Hospital Club Gallery (until 8 February)

For our debut awards issue in 2005, our first panel of judges named Herzog & de Meuron's de Young Museum in San Francisco Best Building Site, so it seems only fitting that the San Francisco should win Best City in 2014 after a decade of similarly remarkable developments. Less daunting than New York and more compact than Los Angeles, San Francisco is relatively easy to navigate and features a lively food scene led by some of the country's creative chefs, as well as museums by Renzo Piano and Daniel Libeskind. 

To introduce this year's judges - and the winners they championed - in a suitably eye-popping fashion, we turned to art director, illustrator and filmmaker Christian Borstlap

For this year's party, we commandeered Design Awards partner Airbnb's brand new headquarters in the landmark 888 Brannan building in San Francisco

Pages from our February issue lined the walls

The Nendo-designed trophies were displayed on plinths, while images of the standout winners from the last ten years were also exhibited

The atrium of the building was lit up in the colours of the cover of the Design Awards issue