Weaving Wood Gabinete by ZKW Studio is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 A' Design Award de Bronce in Diseño de Mobiliario Competition Category.

BronceMobiliario· 2025

Weaving Wood Gabinete

by ZKW Studio

Client: ZKW Studio

A' Design Award de Bronce Winner in Mobiliario Category

13,125

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #172721

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Weaving Wood Gabinete

Weaving Wood Cabinet es un gabinete trapezoidal de nogal que presenta tres paneles laterales construidos con un textil de chapa de nogal tejida. La densidad del tejido varía a lo largo de la superficie, produciendo un sutil degradado de textura. Este proceso manual, inalcanzable mediante medios mecánicos, combina la rigidez estructural de la madera con la flexibilidad del textil. Al exponerse a la luz solar, la superficie proyecta sombras superpuestas, y la alineación de la veta de la madera contribuye a un ritmo visual consistente.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award de Bronce

Weaving Wood Gabinete ha ganado el A' Design Award de Bronce, un reconocimiento sumamente prestigioso concedido a diseños sobresalientes que se distinguen por su creatividad, ingenio y astucia. Los ganadores de Bronce son artefactos ampliamente hábiles y sorprendentemente creativos que acreditan la vasta experiencia, imaginación e ingeniosidad de sus diseñadores. Se espera que Weaving Wood Gabinete sea un objeto muy apreciado, admirado y querido, notablemente profesional e innovador. Este diseño ganador del A' Design Award de Bronce incorpora las mejores prácticas del arte, la ciencia, el diseño y la tecnología, y es excelente por su atención al detalle. Weaving Wood Gabinete satisface espléndidamente las necesidades, toca los deseos, encanta los sentimientos y atrae la curiosidad.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: This piece of furniture employs a unique weaving technique that integrates walnut veneer into textile, transforming the originally fabric into a unique screen. When exposed to sunlight, the woven surface casts delicate and beautiful shadows. Weaving veneer into textile is a unique technique that machines are not capable of doing. Each wooden board undergoes a meticulous selection based on its grain and color, building a consistent sense of nature beauty.
Dimensions & Packaging: W * D * H : 508 * 304 * 1118 mm
Tags: Cabinet, Veneer Textile, Furniture, Material Innovation, Indoor Furniture
Production Technology: This cabinet is entirely handcrafted from walnut, including the textile panels on both sides, which are woven from a combination of cotton thread and walnut veneer. The technique of integrating wood veneer into textile weaving is a process that cannot be replicated by machines. Due to the hardness and thickness of the walnut veneer, the tension of the weave must be carefully and continuously adjusted—tight enough to securely hold the veneer strips in place, yet flexible enough to maintain structural integrity without causing displacement.
Design Challenge: The project posed creative and technical challenges, particularly in adapting thick wood veneer for weaving. Wood veneer lacks the tension typically required by a loom and thread fabric, making it necessary to carefully calculate the spacing between each column to maintain a good structure. Beyond the textile, the frame designed to hold the textile became another big technical challenge. Though the grooves are invisible from the outside, there are 28 hidden channels that secure the woven surface in place. Due to their seamless requirement and the thinness of each wooden board, cutting precise grooves along narrow edges proved fine-tuned craftsmanship, merging material research with construction precision.
Research: The project is rooted in a deep investigation of materials and making techniques, centering on a textile innovation that integrates thin walnut veneer into a woven structure using a loom. The process involved extensive experimentation, beginning with a series of prototypes that tested veneer thicknesses, thread weights, and weaving patterns. A key challenge was preserving the tension necessary for weaving while accommodating the rigidity of wood—an issue resolved through careful calibration of spacing, tension, and structural support.

Traditional weaving tools were adapted for this process, with each strip of veneer hand-cut and softened for flexibility before being woven alongside cotton thread. Machines proved incompatible with the delicacy and precision required, making the technique entirely dependent on manual craftsmanship. The final textile achieves both strength and fluidity, allowing the wood grain to appear continuous across a pliable surface.

In parallel with material research, the project draws on classical furniture forms—particularly the trapezoidal cabinet, a shape now rare in contemporary contexts. Reinterpreted through this new textile language, the form is both familiar and reimagined, merging historic references with a distinctly modern sensibility.
Inspiration: Inspired by the balanced spirit of nature, this cabinet reinterprets a classic trapezoidal form with three side panels composed of walnut veneer textile. The veneer is woven more densely near the frame, creating a visual and tactile gradient , not only in the viewing but also in the tactile experience. By blending rigid walnut with flexible textile, the piece explores harmony through material, offering a unique sensory experience that invites closer interaction and touch.
Project Duration: The project started in October 2023 and finished in March 2024 in United States, and was exhibited in ICFF WANTED in May 2024.
Operation Flow: The cabinet features a slender profile suited for storing small objects, making it well-suited to living spaces and compact interiors. Its low height allows it to sit neatly beside a television, serving as a functional storage piece. Designed to be freestanding, the cabinet reveals its tactile quality when illuminated. Sunlight filtering through the woven textile creates a soft interplay of light and shadow. The pale-toned fabric responds gently to natural light, introducing a sense of airy and a renewed lightness to the surrounding space.
Team Members: Textile Partner: Huining Liu