Skip to content
Warm cognac leather wraps continuously around a minimalist seating form in ALESSANDRA DELGADO's Gera Chair, establishing an immediate dialogue between organic material warmth and geometric restraint…

Gera Chair by Alessandra Delgado is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Golden A' Design Award in Furniture Design Competition Category.


GoldFurniture· 2026

Gera Chair

by Alessandra Delgado

Client: Alessandra Delgado Design

Golden A' Design Award Winner in Furniture Category

53,895

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #173664

Colors

The Design

About Gera Chair

Gera is a wooden design informed by Brazilian modernist furniture and the structural clarity present in the work of Geraldo de Barros. Crafted from certified Brazilian jequitiba wood and natural leather, it contains no metal components or visible fasteners. Concealed joinery preserves visual continuity, while tensioned leather surfaces respond to the body. Through material reduction, responsible sourcing, and structural precision, the work articulates an investigation into ergonomics and sustainable permanence.

The Recognition

About the Golden A' Design Award

Gera Chair is a Golden A' Design Award winner, an immensely prestigious recognition granted to first-rate, marvelous, and outstanding designs. Golden winners are exceedingly innovative, visionary, and glamorously dazzling creations that reflect the prodigy, wisdom, and prowess of their designers. Gera Chair is expected to be a highly praised, trendsetting, and monumental invention that delivers unprecedented value. This Golden A' Design Award-winning design is a spectacular, respected project that highly benefits and advances the boundaries of art, science, design, and technology. Gera Chair creates intense feelings of desire, evokes passion, encourages creativity, and fascinates us.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties
Gera Chair redefines solid wood seating through structural minimization. Developed exclusively with wood and leather as load-bearing systems, it eliminates metal reinforcement and visible fasteners. The tensioned leather seat operates as a structural membrane, while concealed joinery ensures load transfer and rigidity. Weighing 4 kg, the chair achieves resistance through geometry and material behavior rather than mechanical devices.
Dimensions & Packaging
Dimensions W 525 mm x D 570 mm x H 830 mm.
Weight 4.0 kg.

The geometry was defined through ergonomic studies to ensure lumbar support and seating stability. The curved back rail follows the natural contour of the spine, while the structural proportions allow high resistance with reduced mass. The low overall weight facilitates transport, handling and spatial flexibility without compromising durability.
Tags
Chair, Gera Chair, Wood, Dinning Chair, Wooden Chair, Sustainable materials
Production Technology
The chair was developed through structural reduction and load optimization studies. Certified Brazilian jequitiba was selected for its favorable density to weight ratio, fiber stability and bending resistance, allowing minimized cross sections without metal reinforcement. Mortise and tenon joints ensure axial load transfer and torsional rigidity. The seat, composed of two bonded natural leather layers, operates as a tensioned membrane fixed beneath the frame, distributing loads dynamically while maintaining a total mass of 4 kg.
Design Challenge
The primary challenge was achieving structural integrity through material behavior rather than reinforcement. Identifying a wood capable of sustaining reduced sections without compromising resistance led to the selection of certified jequitiba. Designing a suspended leather seat functioning as a structural membrane required extensive prototyping and geometric refinement. Achieving a 4 kg solid wood chair demanded continuous structural recalibration and concealed joinery precision.
Research
This is applied design research focused on structural efficiency through material minimization. The objective was to develop a lightweight, durable chair using only wood and leather as load-bearing systems. Methodology included iterative prototyping, ergonomic validation and material performance testing. Results demonstrate that geometry and tensioned leather behavior can replace mechanical components, achieving structural stability at 4 kg. The research advances sustainable, repairable furniture production through reduction-based design logic.
Inspiration
Gera Chair originates from an investigation into structural reduction in Brazilian modernism, particularly the constructive clarity found in the work of Geraldo de Barros. The project explores how geometry, proportion and material logic can generate resistance and comfort without auxiliary mechanisms. Rather than referencing form, the design references structural intelligence, translating modernist principles into a contemporary reduction-based seating system.
Project Duration
The project started in September 2024 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was presented as a prototype at Salone del Mobile in Milan in April 2025. Industrial development and final production adjustments were completed in May 2026 in Uba, Brazil.
Operation Flow
Gera Chair offers intuitive interaction. Weighing only 4 kg, it can be easily moved and repositioned. As the user sits, the leather gently adapts to body weight, enhancing comfort without adjustments or mechanisms. The curved wooden structure supports the back naturally. Comfort is achieved through the behavior of materials and form rather than mechanical systems, resulting in a simple and immediate user experience.
Patents
pendind patent number
Image Credits
Photografer Alessandra Delgado Design, 2025

Sponsored

Explore Beyond Designers.org

Discover products, services and opportunities from our advertising partners.

Good Design Deserves Great Recognition

The A' Design Award is an international, juried accolade for good design. Take part in the A' Design Award to get an opportunity to earn meritocratic recognition, gain fame, prestige and publicity for your work. Nominate your work for the A' Design Award and compete for the coveted A' Design Prize.

Nominate