Optique Bench by Albert Potgieter Wins the A' Design Award in Furniture Design

Albert Potgieter acknowledged for furniture design by the international grand jury of the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 22, 2022 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category for Optique Bench by Albert Potgieter, designed for Albert Potgieter Designs. The award was conferred within the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached 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.

The A' Design Award Explained

The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.

More About Optique Bench

The Optique bench was designed to be a functional art piece. The focus of this design lies in its visual aspect, hence the name, Optique. Being designed in Africa, it carries some of the properties of nature and wildness. It captures the attention as it gives the impression of movement and being alive. The Optique Bench is made out of many separate pieces of solid wood which gets cut, sanded, prepared, oiled and then glued together and like a puzzle gets built up into a solid furniture piece.

About Albert Potgieter

Albert Potgieter Designs was started on the dream to make a difference. To use art and design and creativity to uplift people. To get people off the streets or bad situations into the business and teach them, mentor them and give them a skill and most of all to give back. This is what the business or vision or goal is all about. Every piece that is designed or created is aimed to reach this goal. Albert Potgieter was a Physiotherapist, but started the business in Furniture design to give back to those that haven’t been given the opportunities that he has. Albert Potgieter regards what he achieves not as important, but what is important, is the why behind the what.

Award Record

With this recognition, Albert Potgieter is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards. All of the awards belong to the 2021 - 2022 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/129032
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/129032
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!129032
Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/313830
Further Information from the Laureate: http://albertpotgieter.com

Media Contact

Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953

###

Fact Sheet

The Work

Project: Optique Bench
Function: Bench
Category: Furniture Design
Discipline: Industrial Design
Industry: Furniture & Home
Colors: Saddle Brown, Gray, Dark Olive Green, Dim Gray and Rosy Brown
Images: 5
Client: Albert Potgieter Designs

The Recognition

Laureate: Albert Potgieter
Country: Netherlands
Recognition: A' Design Award
Edition: 2021 - 2022
Design ID: #129032

Credits

Image Credits: Photographer Martijn Roos, Optique Bench, 2020

Design Details

Unique Properties: The Optique bench was designed to be a functional art piece. To be a unique furniture piece in the house, but that also gives an atmosphere to the room it’s in. The uniqueness of this design lies in its visual aspect, hence the name, Optique. It captures the attention as it gives the impression of movement and being alive. Being designed in Africa it also carries the properties of nature and wildness with it, giving it a very special, unique look. The core of the design is to attract, to gather around and to enhance the space it fills.
Inspiration: Many of Albert Potgieter's inspiration comes from the awe of observing nature, the lines and shapes that it produces. The Optique Bench design is no exception. The inspiration came whilst being on the family game farm in South Africa, observing tree lines, golden grass fields waving in the wind and the many intricacies of the bushveld. The design idea that started in South Africa, together with the need to produce an environmentally friendly design by using off-cut pieces of wood, turned into the first prototype of the Optique bench. This design still carries those raw, wild yet linear lines and awe that is seen in nature.
Research: Research, when it comes to designing, cannot necessarily be define as something specific or to a date or time. It is a way of living, keeping your eyes open to what is around you. Seeing the abstract forms or the natural lines of nature outside. The cracks and grooves in a tree trunk, the way leaves are scattered on the ground, the shapes it makes, the ripples in water when the wind blows over it. That is the kind of constant research that in the end accumulates and comes together into a product, such as the creation of the Optique Bench.
Challenge: The hardest part of this design was to make the Optique Bench strong enough so that it can be moved around etc. Since there are so many joints, this can cause a problem in durability. The first prototype was made by using screws at every joint, but this causes the wood to split in some places and it is actually not as strong as wood glue. In the second bench, no screws were used, only wood glue. The joints were strong to use and sit on, but moving the bench around too much caused some of the joints to split open slightly. A solution was found by strengthening every joint with a wooden dowel or domino, causing the bench now to be strong for use and for transport.
Realization and Technology: The Optique Bench came to be in a very unique way. Only an idea or part was designed on paper at first, when Albert jumped into the building process. This turned the building and designing process into one and as a result, caused the bench to form organically into the piece it is today. The Optique Bench is all handmade in solid hardwood. Piece by piece it’s cut, set in the right position, glued together and slowly it is built up into bigger and bigger pieces. Only wood and glue is used in the production of the Optique Bench while a tiny bolt is used in the bottom of the leg to give a bit of detail.
Operation and Interaction: The Optique Bench is considered functional art- it has the ability to create an atmosphere of comfort and community, while it also has the ability to initiate conversation as only art can while you are admiring the visual aspects of the design. It was designed to be visually attractive while still being used functionally and through this, has the ability to change the atmosphere of a home.
Project Duration and Location: The designing process started in December 2018 on the Family game farm in South Africa, and the production was finalized in February 2019 in Rotterdam, Netherlands
Specifications: Length 1600mm x Width 550mm x Height 450mm
Keywords: bench, interior, handmade, seating, home, art, living room, design