AssiaX  Announces the Queen Bee Design & Architecture Contest

to address sustainability, resilience, and biodiversity

UK, London — 18 February, 2022

Annabella Nassetti, experienced product designer and architect, and Fiorenza Mella, digital technologist and international communications expert, have announced the 2022 ‘Queen Bee Contest’, a global project that will be introduced during an online event on 8 March, 2022.

The project, inspired by the G100 Design and Lifestyle, a chapter of the Global G100 Network that connects and empowers women and young talents in numerous disciplines, has been launched by AssiaX with the support of the  İstanbul Kültür University Faculty of Architecture.

AssiaX is an initiative promoted  by Nassetti and Mella as the business evolution of the global G100 Design & Lifestyle that focuses on converting young talents’ innovative projects (in design, architecture, digital technology etc.) into products and professional opportunities.

The main objectives of the Department of Architecture and Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design within the Faculty of Architecture of Istanbul Kultur University are to strengthen national and international recognition and international relations, to increase the activities supported by education and research, to raise the motivation of the students, to produce joint projects with different disciplines, to educate students to become civilized, contemporary, objective, research oriented, creative, dynamic and entrepreneurial architects and interior architects who can follow and use the developing technology, are respectful to ethical values, and equipped with aesthetic values.

İstanbul Kültür University Faculty of Architecture, emphasizing the value of scientific research, publications, applications and social responsibility projects, aims to contribute to the awareness in society and the development of the country, to produce solutions that are sensitive to the environment and historical values, to integrate national identity with global values, to create a qualified physical and social environment, and  new knowledge, and to transfer it to future generations.

The ‘Queen Bee Contest’ has been conceived with the aim of raising awareness about the enormous bee die-off happening worldwide. In recent years, beekeepers have reported colony losses, especially in Western EU countries such as France, Belgium, Germany, the UK, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. However, with other parts of the world, including the US, Russia and Brazil experiencing the same problem, it is clearly a global issue. Bees and other insect pollinators are essential for our ecosystems and biodiversity. Fewer pollinators mean many plant species could decline or even disappear along with the organisms that directly or indirectly depend on them. In addition, the decline in numbers and diversity of pollinator populations affects food security with potential losses in agricultural yields. Bees and butterflies are the species for which the best data is available, demonstrating that one out of ten bee and butterfly species is threatened with extinction.

The global competition will be presented on March 8th during an online event (Microsoft Teams) at 12.00 P.M. GMT that will be hosted by the Faculty of Architecture of Istanbul Kultur University and will cover sustainability, resilience, and biodiversity.

Prof.Dr. Neslihan Dostoglu, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture of Istanbul Kultur University, will make the opening speech and Annabella Nassetti will introduce the non-profit G100 Design and Lifestyle global movement impacting millions and will explain its relation with her AssiaX initiative.

Following the introduction speeches, Dr. Suzan Sanlı Esin, G100 Turkey Chair, will share a short presentation on the event theme. Finally, the international architecture and design competition, “Queen Bee Contest” will officially debut.

The contest is open to all young women talents (students and graduates with a maximum of seven years’ experience) who will be conceiving ideas on this concerning theme and submitting a design by May 1^st  2022 at 5.00 P.M. GMT. More details will be available on the AssiaX website.

In the words of Annabella Nassetti, this new contest will require its participants to perceive this global issue through a multidisciplinary approach.

“The ‘Queen Bee Contest’ was mainly inspired by the need to raise awareness and allow people to visualize and face this collective problem in a tangible way”.  She concluded: “I believe that the competition will inspire all of those young designers, architects, and engineers to create something that truly contributes to a more sustainable environment and be part of a global initiative. Furthermore, the online event will also represent a way to celebrate the International Women’s Day through our intention of protecting and preserving life”.

Participation is free of charge for both the online event and the global competition.

More info about the Award can be found here: https://assiax.com/

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About İstanbul Kültür University Faculty of Architecture

The main objectives of the Department of Architecture and Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design within the Faculty of Architecture of Istanbul Kultur University are to strengthen national and international recognition and international relations, to increase the activities supported by education and research, to raise the motivation of the students, to produce joint projects with different disciplines, to educate students to become civilized, contemporary, objective, research oriented, creative, dynamic and entrepreneurial architects and interior architects who can follow and use the developing technology, are respectful to ethical values, and equipped with aesthetic values.

İstanbul Kültür University Faculty of Architecture, emphasizing the value of scientific research, publications, applications and social responsibility projects, aims to contribute to the awareness in society and the development of the country, to produce solutions that are sensitive to the environment and historical values, to integrate national identity with global values, to create a qualified physical and social environment, and new knowledge, and to transfer it to future generations.

About AssiaX

 In October 2021 Nassetti started AssiaX with Fiorenza Mella to support any non-profit project conceived by young talents. AssiaX is the business evolution of the global G100 Design & Lifestyle that aims at taking any creative process to a higher level while turning the most innovative ideas into products. From proof of concept to realisation, from global networking to materialisation of ideas.

Annabella Nassetti, Global Chair of the G100 Design and Lifestyle, is a 20 year-experienced interior architect and product designer, who has also excelled in designing solutions for many exclusive properties in London. Annabella is the only UK interior designer able to offer an in-house construction service. Born and raised in the world’s design capital, Milan, Annabella Nassetti comes from a family of designers, and this deep-rooted expertise is always present in her own work. In 1998 Nassetti founded A Living Concept, an international atelier that specializes in turn-key projects from interior design through project management to construction. This integrated, cost-conscious and efficient approach delivers the ultimate home – one that is ingenious and innovative, where core ideas of comfort, beauty and functionality play a key role.

Fiorenza Mella, Chair of the G100 Design and Lifestyle in The Netherlands, with over twenty years’ marketing and communications experience in broadcast, telecom, satellite and related technologies, Fiorenza is the creative mind of several successful PR and marketing campaigns for the launch and growth of several businesses as well as the strategic voice of numerous social media accounts. A linguist and digital technologist is the founder of the award-winning Xpresso Communications serving innovators in technology-driven markets and creative industries.