Press Release
Repose Lounge chair by John G Williams Wins the A' Design Award in Furniture Design
John G Williams acknowledged for furniture design by the international grand jury of the 2018 - 2019 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 25, 2019 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category for Repose Lounge chair by John G Williams, designed for John G Williams Fine Furniture. The result belongs to the 2018 - 2019 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.
Regarding Repose Lounge chair
Repose is a lounge chair made from solid hardwood timber. The frame is American ash, and the seat and back are American walnut. The deep curved seat is formed by laminating shaped pieces of timber with angled edges, an extreme version of the coopering method used to build barrels. The inner curves are machined smooth with custom tooling, while the arm tops keep a segmented texture. The rear legs are steam bent and help to stabilize the arms. Draw bore tenon joints add strength. The aim was to reach the comfort of an upholstered chair using solid wood alone.
About John G Williams
John G Williams Fine Furniture attempts to take bespoke timber design and craftsmanship to a new level. Traditional techniques are taken from their original context and applied in daring new ways to generate designs that are distinctive and fresh. The designs are luxurious without being fussy – they pair beautiful hardwood timbers with elegantly sweeping ash frames to deliver high impact furniture. The work captures the overall lightness of the Scandinavian style, while celebrating the rich colour and intensity of American and African hardwoods.
Award Record
John G Williams is a winner of 4 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards span the editions from 2017 - 2018 to 2018 - 2019 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/75298
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/75298
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!75298
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/194456
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.johngwilliamsfinefurniture.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
- Repose Lounge chair
- Function
- Lounge chair
- Category
- Furniture Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Dark Olive Green, Black, Dim Gray and Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- John G Williams Fine Furniture
The Recognition
- Laureate
- John G Williams
- Country
- South Africa
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2018 - 2019
- Design ID
- #75298
Credits
- Image Credits
- All images: John G Williams
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The Repose lounge chair is constructed from solid timber. The curved form is realized by an extreme form of the 'coopering' process - similar to the process used to construct round barrels from staves of timber.
- Inspiration
- The inspirational question behind Repose was: if the design language at the core of the Beke and Zene dining ranges were extended to lounge furniture, what would that look like? Could a form be created out of beautiful solid hardwood timber that was profoundly comfortable even though it may be challenging to manufacture? Could some sort of modern shell design be crafted out of solid timber to yield a beautiful striking new design ?
- Research
- The method drew heavily on the methods used in earlier designs (eg Zene submitted last year), but took these to extremes to experiment with the art of the possible. New tooling was developed, in the form of a type of drum sander run between centres on a woodworking lathe, to machine the large concave curves
- Challenge
- The major unknown was how strong the seat section would be in bending - in other words if someone sat on the arms, would they break? It became apparent that the arms would need additional support given the depth of the form, and the inevitable flexibility (despite steps taken to add strength in the manufacturing process). It was found that the support pins at the rear of the arms were sufficient to stabilize the entire form - which was confirmed through trial and error. Overall the challenge was to create a lounge chair that, despite being solid timber, would be as comfortable as an upholstered equivalent
- Realization and Technology
- This chair is not moulded, as some might expect, but is formed from solid timber. The deep sweeping form of the seat is made by laminating various pieces of timber, with angled edges, to form the desired curves. The inside curves are machined into smooth curves with custom made tooling; but the arm uppers retain some of the segmented feel - smooth enough and yet conveying a sense of where the piece came from. The rear legs are steam bent, to retain the overall simplicity, and to attenuate and stabilize the top part of the chair arms. The backrest is also a curved laminated, solid-wood form.
- Operation and Interaction
- The user settles comfortably down into the seat using the armrests. Various postures are supported sitting comfortably down in the seat. Getting back out of the seat is very easy, and facilitated by the arms.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project was designed and the first prototype built in 4 weeks, starting Dec 2018 and completing in Jan 2019 in Johannesburg South Africa. The design was refined and built in finished materials (Ash and Walnut) over the following 4 weeks.
- Specifications
- W 800, D 800, H 830 mm Constructed from solid hardwood timber. Frame: American Ash. Seat and Back: American Walnut. Joints use draw bore tenon joints for extra strength
- Keywords
- Lounge, chair, wooden, artisanal, Danish, timber, art
