Announcing the winners of AN’s 2024 Best of Products Awards

Søuld Baffle is a sustainable acoustic solution made from eelgrass, sourced from Denmark, that can be used in different suspension and mounting options.

“I like its multifunctional aspect. It’s an environmentally friendly product and very seamless. I can see it in many different applications.”—Jimmie Drummond

Conceived to blend into a space, Design For All Bathroom Accessories includes a wide range of paper towel dispensers, waste units, soap and hand sanitizer dispensers, toilet tissue dispensers, toilet seat cover dispensers, sanitary napkin/tampon dispensers, sharps containers, shelves, and grab bars.

“Understated and also very utilitarian—but in a more of a minimal, designed way. It wasn’t necessarily bringing so much attention to it, just acknowledging that this is what I am, and this is what I do.”—Brian Messana

This induction cooktop offers a sleek, unobtrusive look without the need of a stainless-steel frame for a flush look and new cooktop pan recognition and combination abilities.

“I appreciated its safety elements: to be able to turn down all the burners to the lowest setting with a push of a button so nothing burns. It’s sleek as well as safe.”—Kelly Pau

The 2.0 provides filtered, chilled, and medium tap water and sparkling water at the touch of a button to limit plastic bottles and waste.

“This faucet can tailor to all types of water as needed: hot, cold, clean, sparkling. It’s very adaptable to the needs in the kitchen today.”—Llisa Demetrios

This Vacuum Insulating Glass is manufactured exclusively with Solarban® 70 solar-control, low-e glass, which enables a massive 79 percent improvement in U-values and thermal insulation performance three to five times better than conventional insulating glass units.

“I appreciated the slim and light construction, which makes it applicable and actually functional in more systems and applications.”—Kelly Pau

Aluminum recycled from scrap content and post-consumer scrap from old windows, doors, and facades are re-melted for reuse again in varying building applications.

“Aluminum is super energy intensive to create, and so anything we can do to reclaim it is furnace energy saved. Since completing the loop really doesn’t happen that often, certainly in the United States, this is a major step in the right direction.”—Jack Murphy

The VetraFin-W system combines mass timber with structural glass in facade applications, creating a sense of spatial depth to any facade or overhead application.

“What VetraFin is doing is about the simplification of performance in a very clean outcome. To me this shows us how timber is a viable solution that produces something that doesn’t feel like timber.”—Brian Messana

GreenGirt CMH XO™ is a new composite metal hybrid sub-framing system used to provide the necessary structural support and thermal breaks by bringing windows into alignment with the thermal plane of a building’s continuous insulation.

“A two for one: this tackles thermal loss while also helping support structural integrity. Overall, it’s a neat, efficient solution”—Kelly Pau

This hybrid facade system combines the benefits of timber modules, using carbon-neutral wood, and aluminum to deliver cost-effective and sustainable solutions.

“It’s a carbon-neutral wood which also has a beautiful aesthetic. And it’s a shallow profile, which I think is pretty interesting for a curtain wall system.”—Lisa Iwamoto

RIVA MAX is a 100 percent European-engineered, white oak hardwood collection that elevates the ambiance in both commercial and residential spaces.

“I’m always drawn to wide plank, and that’s what I enjoyed here. The images were really calming and beautiful.”—Carrie Norman

Notoriously rare and difficult to procure in North America, hinoki is a slow-growing, aromatic cypress species native to central and southern Japan and boasting aromatic, anti-bacterial properties.

“Mother Nature is the OG of designers. Hinoki is a durable construction material with the added benefit of anti-bacterial properties. Now that it can now be sustainably sourced, Hinoki can solve multiple concerns at once. Though slow growing, it could be more beneficial in the long run.”—Llisa Demetrios

Landscape design and product studio ORCA’s new collection of outdoor pavers are made in California from local clay and recycled concrete with permeability for regenerative water use.

“It’s the trifecta: It’s local, recycled, and permeable—and it’s beautiful.”— Carrie Norman

This modern and electric water vapor fireplace offers the allure of a traditional option with added safety, innovation, and functionality.

“I haven’t heard of a water vapor fireplace before. It’s the fire without all the infrastructure behind it to make it work. That’s cool.”—Lisa Iwamoto

Float Studio teamed up with Uhuru Design for a collaboration that celebrates a mutual passion for embracing industrial design and preserving architectural beauty with the table series, available for commercial spaces and a variety of materials and finishes.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a fresh take on a bistro table. The industrial look is nicely done: how thin the top is, the color schemes, the ability for variation.”—Lisa Iwamoto

The Mondrian-inspired Cosmopolitan Kitchen, designed by international architect, designer, and creative director Daniel Germani, offers a fresh take with a modern, minimalist design.

“It felt rudimentary, very straightforward, utilitarian—but designed in a thoughtful way.”—Brian Messana

In an ode to the artist Donald Judd, the studio crafted a floating, minimal Judd bar and record player, both a sculptural and functional nod to living room/home entertainment systems of the 1950s and 1960s.

“This object, an ode to Judd, is quite nice itself. We also appreciate the fact that it is a one-off. More of that in a minimalistic design is appreciated.”—Andre Herrero

With a new redesign to the popular pivot/slide-in and folding/slide-in door hardware, the 3rd generation of this hardware now features a push-to-open option for handle-less cabinet fronts and a pull option for cabinet fronts with a handle.

“You have storage and access to what you might need with discreteness and flexibility, so you don’t have the busyness of seeing all of it.”—Llisa Demetrios

Riss means “crack” in German, a concept that has been reinterpreted to create Riss Big and Mini handles, based on linear crevices present in nature

“What’s interesting about this is the monochrome quality. It’s a handle product, but it’s nice that it can be color-matched to its surroundings.”—Lisa Iwamoto

Crafted by designers like Louis Filosa, BEBOP Studios, and Studio Den Den, this collection features timeless silhouettes,  museum-grade, dimmable LEDs, patent-pending mounting mechanism allowing single-person installation in minutes, and sugarcane-derived Gantri Plant Polymers for a biodegradable product.

“I think it’s a really great collection. A lot of the forms don’t feel that familiar. They’re kind of softening geometries.”—Lisa Iwamoto

This miniature recessed fixture features a minimal aperture of only 0.5 inches, available in round or square, that still delivers powerful output with up to 1041 delivered lumens.

“It’s super impressive to throw up that much light with such a small opening.”—Carrie Norman

Syrios Pro luminaires enable a continuous aesthetic from curb to cube and a multitude of exterior applications, including street and area lighting for public spaces and building facades.

“Generally, exterior fixtures are not attractive to look at—these actually are. They are really thoughtful in their utility, infrastructure, lighting, and clean profile. It’s quite successful.”—Jimmie Drummond

NNW Aluminum 643 is a folding glass wall with modern features that matches the classic designs of industrial, art deco, and other midcentury architectural movements.

“I just thought it stacked nicely to the sides. It accordions in and out—elegant.”—Lisa Iwamoto

Designed for enhancing entertainment areas, the Performance Series 7665 Pass-Through Awning Window offers a seamless indoor-outdoor experience with a continuous hinge and pressurized gas struts.

“For ADUs, I think this could be a big thing, because there’s pool houses that also want to cater to the outside, and then maybe the kitchen is integrated. We’ve gotten some similar requests, so this is quite useful.”—Andre Herrero

Combining sleek aesthetics and energy generation, SunStyle offers a comprehensive, protective solar roofing system, installed edge-to-edge in a patented overlapping diamond dragon scale pattern.

“This is certainly doing something. I appreciate the multifunctional aspect of this—and it looks cool.”—Jimmie Drummond

The new mixed-reality headset delivers a fully immersive 3D experience so architects and designers can meticulously evaluate design concepts with crisp, true-to-life images.

“BIMx is really nice. It’s a very seamless user interface where you have your BIM model, and then you also have the drawing set overlaid onto it so you can navigate your entire drawing set through the model and pull up details. To be able to integrate that into an experiential thing like Vision Pro is really nice for clients and for contractors on site. I totally support this.”—Andre Herrero

FreePower allows architects, designers, builders, countertop fabricators, and consumers to easily embed wireless charging into residential and commercial surfaces.

“It’s cool because there’s cords coming out of every outlet in my house, charging in different rooms. I don’t have one clean surface that doesn’t have a plug on it.”—Lisa Iwamoto

Ame is the first textile-to-textile project from Kvadrat Innovation Lab, woven with recycled polyester made entirely from textile waste.

“There was something kind of almost local or artisanal about this. The narrative was really strong.”—Carrie Norman