Press Release
Cass Saldanha Receives the Bronze A' Design Award for Desafinado Bench in Furniture Design
Cass Saldanha recognized for furniture design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 22, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ Desafinado Bench by Cass Saldanha, designed for SAL+Co, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The result belongs to the 2025 - 2026 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.
More About Desafinado Bench
Desafinado is a bench designed as a study in balance and restraint. The form follows Scandinavian clarity, with straight lines and simple geometry, combined with the weight and directness of Brazilian brutalist modernism. Low proportions invite a relaxed posture, and the split between seat and back creates visual tension. A deliberate overhang balances the seat and the back in opposite directions. The bench is made almost entirely of European oak with a black stain, and a thin hand-stitched cushion in Brazilian saddle leather completes the seat.
About Cass Saldanha
Cassiano Saldanha is a highly accomplished creative professional with over 25 years of experience in design, advertising, and marketing. He founded and sold a successful digital agency before making significant contributions as a graphic designer, art director, and creative lead at renowned advertising agencies across São Paulo, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Miami. His exceptional portfolio features award-winning work for brands like Nike, Google, Netflix, and Apple, where he served as a Creative Lead for Latin America and the Caribbean, overseeing marketing communications and driving regional success.
Award Record
Cass Saldanha is a winner of 3 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards were granted between the 2021 - 2022 and the 2025 - 2026 editions 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. It 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. Typical entries include chairs, tables, sofas, beds, cabinets and shelves. The awarded furniture designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/furniture
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is 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. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously 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. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which 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, uploading a work and receiving a 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. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/180459
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/180459
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!180459
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/260107
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
- Desafinado Bench
- Function
- Bench
- Category
- Furniture Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Gainsboro, Silver, Dark Gray, Black and Dark Slate Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- SAL+Co
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Cass Saldanha
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #180459
Credits
- Image Credits
- Cassiano Saldanha
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The Desafinado bench is conceived as a study in balance and restraint. Rooted in Scandinavian design, it relies on simple, straight lines and clear geometry. The low-lying proportions invite a relaxed posture, while the split between back and seat creates a visual tension. An intentional overhang balances the extended seat and back to opposite directions, turning structure into function.
- Inspiration
- The piece draws from Scandinavian clarity, but it is grounded in Brazilian brutalist modernism. Its forms are direct and architectural rather than delicate or refined. The bench avoids excessive polish, embracing weight, presence, and material honesty. This subtle roughness distinguishes it from Japanese minimalism and reinforces its brutalist character.
- Realization and Technology
- The bench is built almost entirely from a single material: European oak. Finished with a black stain, the wood emphasizes grain, mass, and shadow. This restrained material choice reinforces the clarity of the design, allowing form, proportion, and structure to define the piece without distraction. The bench is complemented with a thin, hand-stitched seat cushion upholstered in authentic Brazilian saddle leather forced from local small business.
- Operation and Interaction
- Beyond simple seating, the Desafinado Bench invites multiple uses: a surface to recline or stretch, a platform for books and objects, or an architectural element that works as a space divider or low table. It shifts easily between function and presence, adapting to the way the body and the room engage with it.
- Project Duration and Location
- Conceived in Miami in 2022, the project evolved through an intensive four-month prototyping phase and reached its final form in August of that year. The bench exists as a true one-of-one piece; all remaining prototypes were deliberately destroyed upon completion, reinforcing its singularity.
- Specifications
- Materials: Black Stained Oak Seat in saddle leather Dimensions: Width: 130 inches or 39624 mm Depth: 16 inches or 4876.8 mm Height: 22 inches or 6705.6 mm Seat Height: 12 inches or 3657.6 mm
- Keywords
- Bench, Brazilian, wood, Balance, furniture
