“Design the world you want” was the brief for the 2025 Melbourne Design Week – a powerful theme inviting designers to explore how their work could shape a more thoughtful, sustainable and connected future.

Melbourne-based decorative lighting practice Volker Haug Studio has won the prestigious Melbourne Design Week Award 2025, which recognises significant contributions to Australia’s design community, and was proudly presented by Mercedes-Benz Australia in partnership with the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). 

The award honours Volker Haug Studio’s two decades of remarkable contributions to decorative lighting design, recognising their 20th-anniversary exhibition and sustained innovation in lighting that is equal parts art, object and functional design. 

The transformative power of decorative light

In the world of interior design, lighting is about more than just utility. It’s an emotional and aesthetic force. Lighting determines the mood, atmosphere and sensory experience of a space – depending on its form and tone, it can evoke serenity, intimacy, drama or joy. 

As Volker Haug Studio’s work exemplifies, light has the power to elevate architecture, punctuate interiors, and redefine the spatial experience. From statement-making sculptural pieces that command attention to integrated, minimalist designs that softly shape the environment, the common thread is intentionality – a quality that Volker Haug Studio infuses into every creation.

Two decades of creative brilliance

Founded in Melbourne in 2005 by designer Volker Haug (who originally hails from Germany), the studio began with a simple but potent philosophy: to create lighting that exists somewhere between art and object. Volker’s early work – defined by its curious, playful spirit – quickly garnered attention for its inventive use of form, material and light.

From the beginning, collaboration has been a cornerstone of the studio’s practice. Whether partnering with fellow designers, clients or fabricators, the studio thrives on the dynamic exchange of ideas. Each piece is a product of team effort, incorporating technical, visual and conceptual input from the studio’s multidisciplinary team.

“Together we can achieve more,” says Volker.

The studio's ethos centres on customisation, site-specific design and limited-edition works. Every project begins with a conversation – understanding the client's needs, the architectural context, and the emotional tone desired. From there, the journey unfolds through sketching, prototyping and testing. Rather than following rigid blueprints, the studio lets the materials and space direct the process, often arriving at unexpected and deeply expressive outcomes.

“We don’t come in with all the answers,” says Volker. “We let the space and materials guide us. Some of our best work has come from letting go of the plan and following what feels right in the making. We can get our collaborators to trust in that too. The outcome is unrestricted.”

Volker Haug Studio has consistently prioritised longevity in their craftsmanship and use of materials, creating pieces with structural integrity and emotional resonance that people can cherish for a lifetime.

20 Years of Volker Haug Studio: a celebration and a statement

Over the past two decades, Volker Haug Studio has developed a rich portfolio of standout projects. Each one is highly experimental, challenging perceptions of what lighting can be.

Their After Hours exhibition, for example – presented at Melbourne Design Week 2021 – invited audiences to engage with lighting as a sensory, immersive experience. A few years later at Milan Design Week 2024, they presented the Me and You collection – created in a collaboration with multidisciplinary, Melbourne-based design practice Flack Studio – which merged architecture and emotion in an unforgettable lighting series that captured both designers' creative synergy.

For Melbourne Design Week 2025, Volker Haug Studio has curated a powerful exhibition titled 20 Years of Volker Haug Studio. More than just a retrospective, the showcase offers a deeply personal and forward-looking exploration of the studio’s identity. It features a selection of their most beloved pieces, including original designs lent from long-time clients. 

“I am honoured that people still have the original designs after all these years, and that they were willing to loan them,” says Volker. “We wanted to show a broad selection of [our] classics, showcasing the original materials, their playfulness and restraint.”

Uniting 20 years of creative output into a single, cohesive narrative was certainly a challenge – the studio had to strike a careful balance between early works and new directions. They addressed this by highlighting the evolution of materiality, process and form, showing how their core values remained intact even as the designs became more sophisticated.

“Design the world you want”

Aligning with the theme of “design the world you want”, the exhibition showed how lighting can contribute to a more emotionally resonant, sustainable and collaborative future. The decision to focus on local manufacturing and an open-ended creative process speaks to their vision of design as a social and cultural catalyst.

Receiving the Melbourne Design Week Award is a significant milestone for Volker Haug Studio. It affirms the value of two decades of thoughtful, collaborative work and highlights the studio’s relevance in today’s design landscape. 

“This year feels special because we’re looking back 20 years, but also looking forward,” says Volker. The award also opens new doors for experimentation and expansion, reinforcing the studio’s commitment to designing lighting with intent, integrity and imagination.

Volker Haug Studio plans to continue its collaborative ethos, delve deeper into material exploration, and champion site-specific storytelling. As they continue to blur the boundaries between art, object and utility, they are poised to lead the conversation on how lighting can shape the spaces we inhabit.

“Melbourne Design Week has become such a strong platform for dialogue and experimentation,” says Volker. “It’s not just about showcasing, it’s about testing ideas, connecting with people, and contributing to a bigger conversation about design in Australia.”

In a world increasingly shaped by design, Volker Haug Studio offers a luminous vision of what it means to create with care, community, and courage. The studio’s win is not just a celebration of their past – it illuminates the path toward more thoughtful, expressive and connected spaces.