Press Release
Smile Chair by Xu Le Is Granted the Bronze A' Design Award in Furniture Design
Xu Le acknowledged for furniture design by the international grand jury of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 23, 2021 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Smile Chair by Xu Le, designed for Zhijiang college of zhejiang university of technology, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category. The result belongs to the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Bronze A' Design Award
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
Regarding Smile Chair
Smile is a wooden chair designed for everyday use. The backrest is shaped like a slightly raised corner of a mouth, which gives the chair its name. The armrests, front legs and rear legs appear as one piece of wood that has been split and has grown, reflecting the idea of the growth of all things. The curved lines of the armrests and backrest are light, smooth and full, and they create a soft shadow effect. The chair is made of beech and North American walnut, shaped by a wood bending process. The seat and the backrest are refined to improve comfort.
Award Record
With this recognition, Xu Le is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards. All of the awards belong to the 2020 - 2021 edition of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Furniture Design Award
The A' Furniture Design Award is an international furniture competition recognizing good furniture designs by best furniture designers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to furniture designers, product designers, industrial design studios and furniture brands from all countries. Entries typically include chairs, tables, sofas, beds, cabinets and shelves. Awarded furniture designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/furniture
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/122545
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/122545
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!122545
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/157570
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Smile Chair
- Function
- Chair
- Category
- Furniture Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Rosy Brown, Tan, Light Gray, Gray and Wheat
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Zhijiang college of zhejiang university of technology
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Xu Le
- Country
- China
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2020 - 2021
- Design ID
- #122545
Credits
- Team
- Xu Le, Bao Liyuan, Yang Cunyuan, Xia Yingchong and Zhang Wen
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The chair adopts advanced cold-curved wood technology in the process, uses the least materials to achieve the noble material sense of natural solid wood, and also fully uses the toughness of the wood itself. The rigorous and meticulous production process conveys the warmth of ingenuity and allows the owner to produce a heart of love.
- Inspiration
- The backrest of the chair is like a slightly raised corner of the mouth, hence the name "Smile - Chair". The armrests, front legs, and rear legs of the laughing chair are visually like a piece of wood that has been split and grown, reflecting the concept of growth of everything. The delicate lines of the armrest and backrest are like silk, light and supple, full and exquisite, and extremely tension, and create a special shadow effect.
- Research
- Design background: I hope that designing a comfortable chair will also allow users to have a love of things and experience the aesthetics of life. Method: The ancient people's philosophical ideas were extracted, and the concept of the growth of all things was incorporated into the shape of the chair. In terms of aesthetics, the connection between the armrest and the stool leg grew like a piece of wood after being split. Incorporate the degree of line changes in traditional painting and calligraphy works into the lines of the chair, giving the shape a sense of integrity.
- Challenge
- The connection between the armrest and stool leg of the chair works like a piece of wood that grows after being split. These flowing curves increase the difficulty of production, and are also a great challenge to the production process. Before production, the designer prints out drawings and 3D printed models. Designers and woodworkers have discussed the appearance, dimensions, and craftsmanship many times to minimize errors in production and better restore the design of drawings. Designers use wood's hot bending technology to make handrails. In addition, the connecting part on the seat back has chosen the domino connection structure to restore the drawings as much as possible.
- Realization and Technology
- Production technology: wood bending process. Materials: Beech, North American walnut.
- Operation and Interaction
- Chairs are so common that few people care about them. The design of Mua Chair is to improve the details of chair surface and backrest to enhance the comfort, and the curve design of armrest can let users experience complete smoothness.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in April 2019 in Hangzhou and finished in August 2020 in Hangzhou.
- Specifications
- Product Size: 597*484*760 (mm) Product weight: 4.8 kg Product volume: 0.22 m3
