Press Release
Decker Folding Yacht Chair by Cameron Smith Wins the A' Design Award in Furniture Design
Cameron Smith acknowledged for furniture design by the international grand jury of the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 28, 2022 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category for Decker Folding Yacht Chair by Cameron Smith, designed for Furniture Smith. The result belongs to the 2021 - 2022 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 scored 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.
About Decker Folding Yacht Chair
Decker is a folding chair designed for use on yachts. The chair opens as a low lounge chair and folds to a compact form only 100 millimetres thick. The frame is made of stainless steel with trapezoidal tubing and cast lugs, joined by brass hardware at the pivot points. Teak slats are attached to webbing straps rather than to the frame, so the seat and back flex with the user. An over-centre geometry holds the straps in tension when the chair is open. A jog in the seat frame forms a carrying handle, and magnets keep the folded legs in place.
About Cameron Smith
Cameron Smith has a passion for design and approaches everything he does as a design challenge. With design training from Stanford University’s renowned design program, he’s built a successful design career founding and running a product development consulting firm. With 30 years of design experience, he has been honored with international awards for furniture, lighting and product designs. His background in mechanical engineering and industrial design helped shape his design philosophy which centers around exploring design and the interaction between people and the products they use in both technical and emotional ways.
Award Record
This recognition makes Cameron Smith a winner of 3 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/137461
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/137461
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!137461
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/322924
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.furnituresmith.com
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
- Decker Folding Yacht Chair
- Function
- Folding Yacht Chair
- Category
- Furniture Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Gray, Gainsboro, Dark Gray, Rosy Brown and Light Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Furniture Smith
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Cameron Smith
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2021 - 2022
- Design ID
- #137461
Credits
- Team
- Adam Smith
- Image Credits
- photo - Cameron Smith
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Inspired by the need for quality compact furniture on yachts, the Decker folding yacht chair easily folds from a lounge chair to a compact form factor. Teak wood slats are secured to webbing straps rather than the stainless steel frame to provide flex and added comfort in the seat. A jog in the seat frame creates a handle when folded and allows the needed geometry for an over center design that keeps the webbing in tension and the backrest open while in use. The teak seat and back slats are secured to webbing straps that run from the front of the seat to the top of the back. When unfolded, the unique over-center design provides tension on the straps holding the teak seat and back.
- Inspiration
- There is not a lot of room on yachts, but they maintain a high desire to have flexible furniture that can be easily stowed when not in use. Plastic chairs or bulky furniture aren't at home on expensive yachts. The Decker folding yacht chair can be used on deck and easily stowed when needed.
- Research
- A lower lounge chair was selected to aid the ability to fold and nest shorter legs. An ergonomic model was created that allowed for adjustment of the angle and height of the seat and back.. Adjusting the angles and length of the components allowed for the geometry to be tested by various users for maximum comfort.
- Challenge
- The chair has a simple design, yet there were several challenges in the design. Creating tension in the webbing and teak slats through the over center design of the backrest required multiple prototypes and webbing materials to be tested. The simplicity of the pivots required design iterations to create surfaces that interact with each other while the chair was open and closed. These simple details become the highlight of the chair.
- Realization and Technology
- Materials common in yachts such as stainless steel, brass and teak are used in the Decker chair. The stainless steel frame is fabricated with trapezoidal tubing and cast lugs. The tubing and lugs are welded and finished to create a seamless frame. Brass hardware is used for pivot joints and fastening hardware. An optional pad with outdoor fabric withstands the elements encountered by yachts.
- Operation and Interaction
- The folding chair is simple to use. To close the chair simply flip the backrest down onto the seat. The teak slats relax when folded as the webbing is no longer under tension. With the backrest folded, the chair can be picked up by the handle on the back of the seat frame. The front legs are then folded followed by the back legs. The legs are held in place by magnets embedded inside the tubing. The same process is used to unfold the chair. First the legs are unfolded and the chair placed on the legs. The backrest is opened and the teak slats are tightened with the webbing is tightened.
- Project Duration and Location
- Design completed January 2022 with prototype units completed March 2022 in Seattle, Washington USA.
- Specifications
- Open 660 mm wide x 730 mm deep x 673 mm tall 26” wide x 28.75” deep x 26.5” tall Folded 660 mm wide x 570 mm deep x 100 mm thick 26” wide x 22.5” deep x 4” tall
- Keywords
- folding chair, yacht chair
