Melbourne-based designer Joanne Odisho has won the 2026 Australian Furniture Design Award (AFDA) for her modular lighting design, Mod-u, announced this week by the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) and Stylecraft as part of Melbourne Design Week.
Founded by Stylecraft in 2015, the AFDA is one of Australia’s leading furniture and lighting design prizes, recognising innovation and contribution to contemporary Australian design culture. Odisho was selected from a shortlist of five finalists.
This year’s award theme, Living Well Living Small, challenged designers to respond to increasingly compact urban living through sustainable, space-conscious furniture and lighting solutions. Entries were encouraged to explore circular and regenerative design approaches using responsibly sourced or recycled materials.
Odisho’s winning project, Mod-u, is a modular lighting system inspired by childhood play and the instinctive act of stacking and rearranging objects. Designed to adapt to changing domestic environments, the lamp can be assembled and reconfigured by users, allowing its height and form to shift according to different spatial needs.
The piece also stood out for its innovative material development. Constructed from eggshell composites collected from local cafes and paired with bio-filament blocks wrapped in Unryu Thai paper, Mod-u combines sustainability with tactile, sculptural design.
The judges described the work as “an elegant, faceted, self-assembled modular lighting system” that responds to contemporary living with “unusual material honesty.” The jury also praised Odisho’s experimentation and production process, noting the project’s potential as a sophisticated domestic lighting product.
Alongside a $20,000 cash prize, Odisho will receive support from Stylecraft for the design, production and distribution of a future furniture or lighting product.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
