Press Release
Gera Chair by Alessandra Delgado Receives the Golden A' Design Award in Furniture Design
The international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes Alessandra Delgado of Alessandra Delgado Design for furniture design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 25, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ Gera Chair by Alessandra Delgado of Alessandra Delgado Design has been granted the Golden A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The recognition forms part of the 2025 - 2026 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 scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Golden A' Design Award
The Gold A' Design Award is granted to designs that demonstrate a high level of innovation and a significant impact on their intended audience. Recognized as a major achievement by the A' Design Awards, these designs are characterized by their visionary approach and the exceptional skill of their creators. Winners of the Gold A' Design Award are noted for their ability to push the envelope in art, science, design, and technology, delivering solutions that not only meet but exceed expectations. These designs serve as benchmarks for excellence, encouraging further innovation and inspiring future generations of designers.
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.
About Alessandra Delgado
Alessandra Delgado is a Brazilian furniture designer and founder of Alessandra Delgado Design, a São Paulo based studio dedicated to authorial furniture and collectible objects. With more than two decades of professional practice, she works through structural research, material investigation and controlled production processes. Her projects examine geometry, ergonomics and material clarity while integrating circular strategies and responsible sourcing. Operating as both designer and entrepreneur, she oversees development from concept to fabrication, ensuring coherence between design intention and everyday use.
About Alessandra Delgado Design
Alessandra Delgado Design is a Brazilian furniture design studio in Sao Paulo led by Alessandra Delgado, creating authorial furniture and collectible objects with international recognition.
Award Record
This recognition makes Alessandra Delgado of Alessandra Delgado Design a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
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/173664
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/173664
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!173664
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/357988
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://bit.ly/gera-chair
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
- Gera Chair
- Function
- Chair
- Category
- Furniture Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Sienna, Saddle Brown, Peru, Rosy Brown and Tan
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Alessandra Delgado
- Country
- Brazil
- Brand
- Alessandra Delgado Design
- Recognition
- Golden A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #173664
Credits
- Image Credits
- Photografer Alessandra Delgado Design, 2025
Design Details
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Realization and 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.
- Operation and Interaction
- 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.
- Project Duration and Location
- 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.
- Specifications
- 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.
- Keywords
- Chair, Gera Chair, Wood, Dinning Chair, Wooden Chair, Sustainable materials
