Here’s to many more: Apartment Zero turns twenty-five

Originally conceptualized as a design gallery-meets-visual retreat, when Douglas Burton and Christopher Ralston founded Apartment Zero back in 1999 in Washington D.C., they acted as reliable yet outside-the-box thinking curators. Their hand-picked selection of creations allowed access to experimental contemporary design, new materials, and developing technologies and captured the hearts and minds of a clientele hungry for daring concepts and abstract ideas.

A chance encounter with the cultural counselor from the Embassy of the Netherlands soon after laid the groundwork for a captivating, ever-expanding series of partnerships and collaborations with museums and cultural institutions all around the world. A quarter of a century later, Apartment Zero continues to be a leading voice and champion of industrial design innovation through cultural diplomacy. 

Apartment Zero seeks to, above all else, democratize design through the creation of clear pathways that lead to and inevitably expose underrepresented artisans and creative thinkers around the globe. Every corner of the world has its own, one-of-a-kind view and understanding of industrial design, of its meaning and scope. Intentionally or not, each distinct style is indicative of the region’s past, present, and future–an embodiment of the collective heartbeat we share through design in all its manifestations. Invested into the concept of cultural diplomacy and the building of a burgeoning design community, the establishment has grown into a multifaceted hub and incubator that informs and enchants through expansive exhibitions and immersive, memorable events. 

But in what way exactly did that fateful run-in with the cultural counselor from the Embassy of the Netherlands set in motion Apartment Zero’s agenda? Well, when the attaché noticed Burton and Ralston’s showroom filled with avant-garde objects, he was intrigued just as much as he was impressed by the whole concept. Detecting an unmissable opportunity to join forces, the subsequent, three-month-long DC Dutch Design Festival (with visits from Marcel Wanders and Jurgen Bey) was born. The festival morphed into a fruitful collaboration with the Corcoran Gallery of Art and ten other institutions with all corresponding exhibitions emerging from the findings Burton and Ralston made traveling across the Netherlands. 

And so, more than two decades later, Apartment Zero’s wildly popular formula has evolved whilst conquering the world. Their program has slowly but surely spread to the embassies of Spain, Italy, Norway, Finland, Latvia, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Canada. It has become internationally recognized, celebrated, and awarded on multiple occasions. In 2013, it founded the Washington D.C. International Design Festival. Its first rendition showcased The Next Wave Industrial Design Exhibition, a 4,000-square-foot curated space of over 200 objects from around the world. The first of its kind in the nation’s capital, the festival included 8 public educational programs that featured 25 curators, journalists and design critics. 

The creative collective also began hosting live symposiums with industrial design powerhouses such as Sir James Dyson, Karim Rashid, and Roberto Palomba, as well as partnering with renowned cultural institutions including The National Museum of Women in the Arts, The National Building Museum, The Phillips Collection, and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

Burton and Ralston’s brainchild now represents the crème de la crème of multicategory furniture, lighting, and floor textile design. The organization has showcased and introduced collectible designs, limited editions, and one-offs from some of the world’s most noteworthy talents. As it celebrates a monumental milestone, Apartment Zero will undoubtedly continue to shine a light on artistic prowess in unparalleled ways.