JOHANNES GEISLER AWARDED WITH AUSTRIAN STATE PRIZE FOR DESIGN 2026

In April 2026, Johannes Geisler was awarded the Austrian State Prize for Design in the category “Capital Goods”.

JOHANNES GEISLER AWARDED WITH AUSTRIAN STATE PRIZE FOR DESIGN 2026

JOHANNES GEISLER AWARDED WITH AUSTRIAN STATE PRIZE FOR DESIGN 2026 2560 1707 Johannes Geisler

We are honored to announce that on 16th of April 2026, Johannes Geisler was awarded the Austrian State Prize for Design in the category “Capital Goods” — the highest national recognition for design in Austria.

The award was granted for the design of the “TISSURA”, a platform for the automated production of human tissue models.

Tissura is the result of a particularly successful collaboration at the interface of biotechnology, engineering and design – jointly supported by Manfred Taschner and his team at Lifetaq, designer Johannes Geisler, as well as Patrick Diem and the engineers of Aspekt Development, with the aim of making complex things simple and effective.

The technology, developed by a team led by Manfred Taschner (LifeTaq), aims to reduce the need for animal testing in pharmaceutical research.


Jury

The 2026 international jury included Weiwei He (Tangerine, CN), Nina Mair (AT), Nina Mihovec (SLO), Patrick Lüth (Snøhetta, AT/NO) and Dick Spierenburg (NL).
With TISSURA, design becomes part of a system that contributes to more ethical research and new standards in biotechnology.

an outstanding example of design translating complex biotechnology into a coherent industrial system, enabling ethical research and global impact

– international State Price Design Jury 2026


Design and application

The role of design in TISSURA is not about styling. It is about making a complex biotechnological process usable.
The system has to work in real laboratory environments. It has to be structured, understandable and reliable. Design defines how the technology is applied.


Design with impact

“Design with impact. Design with global societal relevance.”
The award recognises the connection between design, technology, ethics and industrial feasibility — with clear societal relevance.


Preisverleihung Staatspreis Design Museumsquartier Wien/Ausstellung „Best of Austrian Design“ Designforum Wien

Am Abend des 16. April wurden im MuseumsQuartier Wien die Gewinner·innenprojekte des Staatspreis Design 2026 durch das Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft, Energie und Tourismus (BMWET) ausgezeichnet. Der alle zwei Jahre ausgeschriebene und bereits seit 2001 von designaustria durchgeführte Wettbewerb wurde in drei Kategorien vergeben.

Alle prämierten Projekte sind von 17. April bis 21. Mai 2025 in der Ausstellung »Best of Austrian Design« im designforum Wien zu sehen.

Die Ausstellung ist ebenfalls von 08. Juni – 27. August 2026 im designforum Vorarlberg und von 22. September – 23. Oktober 2026 im designforum Tirol zu sehen.


Ein Danke Schön

Johannes spricht vor allem seinen Projekt Partnern Manfred Taschner, seinem gesamten Team von Lifetaq und Patrick Diem von Aspekt Development den größten Dank für die Zusammenarbeit aus. Weiters seiner gesamten Familie, die voll hinter im stehen. Vielen Dank!

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