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DesignNewswire · COMO, Italy ·

Bica Lounge Lounge Chair by Alexandre Caldas Receives the Bronze A' Design Award in Furniture Design

Alexandre Caldas recognized for furniture design by the international grand jury of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 23, 2021 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Bronze A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category for Bica Lounge Lounge Chair by Alexandre Caldas, designed for Bicachair. The result belongs to the 2020 - 2021 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 evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

What the Bronze A' Design Award Means

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 Bica Lounge Lounge Chair

Bica Lounge is a lounge chair inspired by a Portuguese chair from 1950. The design keeps the original lines while raising the level of comfort. Bica Lounge stands between a traditional chair and a chaise longue, and measures 800 by 600 by 800 millimetres. The frame is made of steel, a widely recycled and recyclable material, and waterless degreasing and finishing solutions are applied. Natural cork upholstery honours the Portuguese cork tradition and is suitable for both homes and contract interiors.

About Alexandre Caldas

I`m Alexandre Caldas and i`m relevant like everyone else. Regard the importance, i think it`s better than being famous. To be important means to engage in people`s heart, not by imposition but because they care about us or our work. As for everything else, I offer 46 years of victories and defeats and my work reflects that. I Love what I and leave the evaluation for others, I don`t think that is wise the self evaluation.

Award Record

With this recognition, Alexandre Caldas is a winner of 3 A' Design Awards. The awards were granted between the 2013 - 2014 and the 2020 - 2021 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

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
Bica Lounge Lounge Chair
Function
Lounge Chair
Category
Furniture Design
Discipline
Industrial Design
Industry
Furniture & Home
Colors
Sienna, Saddle Brown, Chocolate, Peru and Indian Red
Images
5
Client
Bicachair

The Recognition

Laureate
Alexandre Caldas
Country
Portugal
Recognition
Bronze A' Design Award
Edition
2020 - 2021
Design ID
#113365

Credits

Image Credits
Alexandre Caldas

Design Details

Unique Properties
The Challenge was to create a unique product based on a classic Portuguese design from the 50s but for another function . Appealing design and comfort were the non-negotiable starting points. But more than that , we seek to embrace an environmental and social responsibility increasingly important .
Inspiration
Inspired by the original BICAchair from 1950, the BICAlounge tried to raise the standard of comfort without ever distorting the original lines . In fact, the challenge was to create a highly versatile piece, with a consensual design, beautiful and extremely comfortable, without ever escaping the basic principles composed of two unique pieces that make up the model. The use of natural cork was an added element to honour the art of the Portuguese tradition in cork transformation, unique in the world. It was the way to make this model even more Portuguese .
Research
This whole project has as inspiration a Lisbon chair from 1950 . The initial idea was to grab those cultural roots and completely transform the concept, both in design and use. Then we matured the idea and made it deliberately contemporary, i.e. to build a piece with as many parts as possible that respected the environment and at the same time supported the local economy. One of the fundamental questions was the search for sustainable solutions for its construction (wood, steel, fabrics, finishes, etc.) and leave a social contribution with its commercialization.
Challenge
It was simple . It was Designed in my head for almost 20 years , so to be honest , it was easy ! The must difficulte part was to find in Portugal a machine that could bend the 28mm round tube with the perfection I wanted .
Realization and Technology
In this project we used steel as one of the most recycled and recyclable materials in the world. We also looked for waterless degreasing and finishing solutions and for upholstery, we choose a natural product, that use in our days has a highly technological process of production able to be used both in bouth home and contract market.
Operation and Interaction
This Lounge chair is a compromise between a traditional chair and a "chaise Long " . the comfort is enviable as are its proportions . We were able to spend hours sitting down effortlessly .
Project Duration and Location
This piece was idealised in 2001 and materialised only as a prototype in 2016 for a 5 star Hotel project ( TOUREL AVANTGARDE in Porto / Portugal). In April 2021 it will be officially presented to the general public.
Keywords
Lounge Chair BICALounge, BICAlounge, Portuguese lounge Chair, Portugues contemporary lounge chair, Alexandre Caldas Lounge Chair,BICAchair Lounge , Cork Lounge chair,

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