Press Release
Giuliano Ricciardi Receives the A' Design Award for Forrest Bench in Garden and Outdoor Furniture Design
The international grand jury of the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes Giuliano Ricciardi for garden and outdoor furniture design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 28, 2022 /DesignNewswire/ Forrest Bench by Giuliano Ricciardi, designed for d-Lab studio, has been granted the A' Design Award in the Garden and Outdoor Furniture Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. 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 assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the A' Design Award Means
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.
Regarding Forrest Bench
Forrest is a monolithic bench which bases its elegance to the minimal and clean shape and to its projecting structure covered with porcelain stoneware that embellishes the surfaces. Thanks to these elements, it's possible to perfectly emulate any stone, wood or metal while maintaining the technical advantages (durability, lightness, resistance, etc.) that such materials usually do not provide. The structure is completed by the lightened corten support made almost evanescent by plasma cutted textures and by the led light placed under the projection that offers pleasant plays of shadows.
About Giuliano Ricciardi
Giuliano Ricciardi approached design shortly after finishing high school practicing at a carpentry workshop of where he learned the basics and manual skills needed to wood work. This learning experience lasted 3 years, until he was noticed by the owner of an important Architect Studio in Taranto who offered Giuliano to join his team at KinoWorkshop,as a draftsman. these professional experiences inspired him to pursue Graduate Studies in Industrial Design.
Award Record
This recognition makes Giuliano Ricciardi a winner of 6 A' Design Awards. The awards span the editions from 2018 - 2019 to 2021 - 2022 of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Garden and Outdoor Furniture Design Award
The A' Outdoor Furniture Design Award is an international furniture design competition recognizing good outdoor furniture by designers and brands worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to outdoor furniture designers, product designers, industrial design studios and outdoor furniture brands from all countries. Entries typically include deck chairs, garden benches, picnic tables, patio sets, outdoor daybeds and hammocks. Awarded outdoor furniture designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/outdoor-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/138382
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/138382
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!138382
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/180616
- Further Information from the Laureate: http://dlabstudio.it
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
- Forrest Bench
- Function
- Bench
- Category
- Garden and Outdoor Furniture Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Silver, White Smoke, Dark Slate Gray, Gray and Black
- Images
- 5
- Client
- d-Lab studio
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Giuliano Ricciardi
- Country
- Italy
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2021 - 2022
- Design ID
- #138382
Credits
- Image Credits
- #1 Designer Giuliano Ricciardi, Forrest 01, 2019 #2 Designer Giuliano Ricciardi, Forrest 02, 2019 #3 Designer Giuliano Ricciardi, Forrest 03, 2019 #4 Designer Giuliano Ricciardi, Forrest 04, 2019 #5 Designer Giuliano Ricciardi, Forrest 05, 2019
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The Forrest bench is a monolith which bases its elegance to the minimal shape and to its projecting structure covered with porcelain stoneware that embellishes the surfaces. Thanks to these elements, it's possible to perfectly emulate any stone, wooden or metal material while maintaining the technical advantages (durability, lightness, resistance, etc.) that such materials usually do not provide. The structure is completed by the lightened corten support made almost evanescent by plasma cutted pattern.
- Inspiration
- Thinking of a bench, the first picture that comes to mind is probably the “Forrest Gump” movie. The main character, sitting on a bench, deeply describes his life to the different people who exchange seats, while they wait for their buses passing. Bench is a meeting place, it’s a place of exchange, expectation, conversation, meditation and confidence; is not only a place for rest, is a means that brings travellers together, no matter if they know each other.
- Research
- Market research analysis showed that the bench has always perceived as a poor and vaguely crude looks object. It is often made by low quality and easy to find materials. These conditions, reduce elegance and value of a useful object that could enrich an urban landscape, a park, or a museum or residential space. Forrest is the answer to the current need of living in a refined design setting while respecting the sustainable consumption of natural raw materials.
- Challenge
- The main challenge was to provide lightness to a heavy-looking monolith, by replacing marble with other materials, like the mdf for the support and the porcelain stoneware for coating. These materials, when appropriately cut, would keep the texture continuity and allow to create a storage space. The secondary challenge was to give emphasis to the seat with a corten made support, which the aesthetic and structural features would make the bench complete.
- Realization and Technology
- Plasma cutting for Corten, waterjet cutting for Gres
- Operation and Interaction
- The bearing structure of Forrest consists of a mdf box which could be accessed through a door on the side for storing functions like mats, books, etc. The corten support element has a pure static and decorative function. The associated texture with corten and the specific stoneware crafting and finishing, allow for a better bench definition and adaptation to any stylistic and environmental context. The strip led below has a soft light touch function both for indoor and outdoor settings.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started and ended in September 2019 in Taranto. It obtained the first prize in the "Design With Gres" contest organized by SpazioBianko with Arch. Bernardo D'Ippolito, CEO of KinoWorkshop srl, as jury president and was prototyped to be exhibited at the award ceremony during the Gres & Dress event
- Specifications
- 2400 mm x 800 mm x 400 mm
- Keywords
- bench, gres, corten, led, laser cutting, waterjet, marble, luxury, seat
