Weaving Wood Kabineti by ZKW Studio is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Bronz in Nhazi Ngwá Ụlọ Competition Category.

BronzNgwá Ụlọ· 2025

Weaving Wood Kabineti

by ZKW Studio

Client: ZKW Studio

Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Bronz Winner in Ngwá Ụlọ Category

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The Design

About Weaving Wood Kabineti

Kabineti Osisi Akpara bụ kabineti walnut nwere ọdịdị trapezoidal nke nwere akụkụ atọ e ji akwa veneer walnut a kpara mee. Njupụta nke ịkpa akwa ahụ na-adị iche n'ebe dị iche iche n'elu ya, na-emepụta mgbanwe nwayọọ nwayọọ n'ụdịdị ntụ aka. Usoro ọrụ aka a, nke enweghị ike iji igwe mee, na-ejikọta ike nhazi nke osisi na ịdị nro nke akwa. Mgbe ìhè anyanwụ na-amụkwasị ya, elu ahụ na-atụ onyinyo dị n'ọtụtụ ọkwa, ma nhazi nke mkpụrụ osisi ahụ na-enyekwa aka n'ịmepụta usoro anya kwụ ọtọ.

The Recognition

About the Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Bronz

Weaving Wood Kabineti meriri A' Design Award nke Bronz, nnabata dị oke ugwu e nyere design ndị pụtara ìhè nke a ma ama maka nzụlite ihe, ọgụgụ isi na nghọta. Ndị meriri na Bronz bụ ihe e mere nke ndị nwere nka nke ukwuu ma dị mma n'imepụta nke na-egosi ahụmahụ buru ibu, echiche na ọgụgụ isi nke ndị designer ha. A na-atụ anya na Weaving Wood Kabineti ga-abụ ihe a na-asọpụrụ nke ukwuu, a na-eto na a hụrụ n'anya, nke dị oke ọrụ ma dị ọhụrụ. Design a meriri A' Design Award nke Bronz na-agụnye ụzọ kacha mma n'ime nka, sayensị, design na teknụzụ, ma dị mma nke ukwuu maka nlebara anya ya n'obere ihe. Weaving Wood Kabineti na-emezu mkpa nke ọma, na-emetụ ọchịchọ aka, na-adọrọ mmetụta obi ma na-adọta ọchịchọ ịmara.

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