Press Release
Whorl Coffee Table by Adam Bezzina Wins the Silver A' Design Award in Furniture Design
Adam Bezzina of Acht Studio (Previously Pompous Fox honored for furniture design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 25, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Silver A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category for Whorl Coffee Table by Adam Bezzina of Acht Studio (Previously Pompous Fox, designed for Pompous Fox Wood Co.. The result belongs to the 2025 - 2026 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 Silver A' Design Award Means
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
More About Whorl Coffee Table
Whorl is a sculptural coffee table crafted from sustainably sourced ash through an advanced bent lamination technique. Its flowing, ribbon-like legs rise from a tapered solid top shaped in custom jigs and vacuum molds. The design merges structural integrity with organic movement, transforming rigid wood into a fluid form that feels alive. Balancing innovation, craftsmanship, and material honesty, Whorl challenges traditional furniture design while celebrating the expressive beauty of natural wood.
About Adam Bezzina
Adam Bezzina is the founder of Acht Studio, a multidisciplinary furniture studio based in Barrie, Ontario, producing bespoke pieces in wood, metal, upholstery, glass, and stone for designers, architects, and private clients across North America. Featured in Canadian Woodworking & Home Improvement, Our Homes Magazine, and Barrie Today, the studio is recognized for merging engineering precision with sculptural craftsmanship, building furniture made to last generations.
About Acht Studio (Previously Pompous Fox
Handcrafted modern luxury furniture for the design industry. Solid wood, sculptural detail, reliable partnership. Custom pieces that tell the designer's story—residential and commercial projects.
Award Record
This recognition makes Adam Bezzina of Acht Studio (Previously Pompous Fox a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
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/176140
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/176140
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!176140
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/371323
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://pompousfoxwoodco.com/projects/whorl
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
- Whorl Coffee Table
- Function
- Coffee Table
- Category
- Furniture Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Black, Silver, Gray and Dim Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Pompous Fox Wood Co.
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Adam Bezzina
- Country
- Canada
- Brand
- Acht Studio (Previously Pompous Fox
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #176140
Credits
- Image Credits
- Photographer Ethicious.com, Whorl, 2025; Photographer Ethicious.com, Whorl, 2025 Video Credits: Videographer: Ethicious.com, Whorl, 2025
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- This sculptural coffee table is designed and crafted from sustainably sourced ash, combining a finely tapered solid top with complex bent-laminated legs formed in custom vacuum molds. Unlike conventional tables, its flowing, ribbon-like curves blur the line between furniture and art. Precision joinery seamlessly integrates the base, creating strength within an organic, fluid form. Designed as a conversation piece, it showcases technical innovation and the expressive potential of wood.
- Inspiration
- The inspiration for this table came from a desire to create an organic form guided by the natural possibilities of wood rather than digital modeling. By exploring the limits of bent lamination, the design transforms rigid ash into fluid, ribbon-like curves. The motivation was to craft a functional coffee table that feels sculptural, inviting curiosity and awe at how traditional materials can be reimagined through modern techniques.
- Research
- This project centered on material and form research, exploring methods of bending wood and studying organic shapes. The objective was to showcase the untapped potential of bent wood furniture in North America. Using a scale model, veneer experiments, precision machining, and custom vacuum jigs, these tests refined lamination thickness and showed the limitations when bending wood. Conducted by the designer with support in fabrication, the research revealed new structural and aesthetic possibilities, inspiring future clients and broadening design practice.
- Challenge
- The greatest challenge was achieving the fluid curves of the bent-laminated legs. Bent wood furniture is rare in North America, with limited reference and precedent, requiring extensive self-directed experimentation. Adam built scale models, tested lamination thickness, and developed custom jigs and vacuum molds to push the material to its limits. Integrating these forms seamlessly into a machine-milled top demanded precision, innovation, and persistence to overcome both technical and creative obstacles.
- Realization and Technology
- Constructed from locally sourced ash, the table combines advanced machining with bent lamination. The top was machined to taper from a knife-edge profile to a reinforced center, while the legs were formed from hand-laid veneer strips shaped in custom jigs and vacuum bags. Mortises in the underside receive the laminated legs, achieving seamless structural integration. Finished with eco-friendly hardwax oil to enhance grain and durability.
- Operation and Interaction
- Whorl is designed to be lived with and admired. Its smooth curves invite touch, while the solid ash top provides a practical surface scaled for smaller spaces. Though sculptural in form, it functions seamlessly as a coffee table, offering stability and balance in everyday use. The interaction lies in its presence: a functional object that sparks conversation and wonder by transforming wood into a fluid, unexpected shape.
- Project Duration and Location
- Adam began imagining and designing the piece in the Spring of 2024, in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The finished piece was complete in the Fall of 2024 and was exhibited at the Toronto Interior Design Show in January 2025.
- Specifications
- Width 1220 mm x Depth 508 mm x Height 356 mm
- Keywords
- coffee table, bent furniture, ash furniture, solid wood furniture, wooden table, handmade furniture, organic furniture design, sculptural furniture, wood furniture
