Press Release
Glider Chair by Lars Angaard Madsen Wins the A' Design Award in Furniture Design
Lars Angaard Madsen acknowledged for furniture design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 28, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Glider Chair by Lars Angaard Madsen, designed for PlanAbacus, has been granted the A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category. 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 A' Design Award Means
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.
More About Glider Chair
Glider is a lounge chair inspired by origami and by the lightness of a glider plane. The seat fold is shaped from a single rectangular sheet of 9 mm Merino wool felt. The flat stainless steel frame is bent from one piece and faceted to follow the geometry of the fold. A tubular cantilever base of chromium plated carbon steel provides balance and a gentle bounce. A custom hub and a flex bolt with an integrated O-ring form a flexible joint between frame and base. The seat cover can be replaced by the user, and the wide armrests add comfort.
About Lars Angaard Madsen
Lars Angaard Madsen is a self-taught Danish artist and furniture designer whose road into the world of design has been unconventional. Whilst doing his master’s degree in music and art history at The University of Copenhagen, he developed a keen interest in the structural correlation of music and art. This resulted in the Abacus Sound Sculpture, a stringent translation of Pierre Boulez’ epoch-making serial music composition Structures 1a for two pianos from 1951, in the form of a sound sculpture. As a paraphrase of the sound sculpture, he designed the Triptych Sofa, which was exhibited at Superstudio Più, Temporary Museum for New Design 2012, Milan.
Award Record
This recognition makes Lars Angaard Madsen 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/179992
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/179992
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!179992
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/370968
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.planabacus.com/glider-chair-beuys-series
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
###
Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Glider Chair
- Function
- Chair
- Category
- Furniture Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Light Slate Gray, Gainsboro, Dark Gray, Dim Gray and White Smoke
- Images
- 5
- Client
- PlanAbacus
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Lars Angaard Madsen
- Country
- Denmark
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #179992
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Glider Chair evokes images of a glider plane's aerodynamic lightness and memories of childish delight in folding a paper plane. Like origami, its basic elements are created solely through folding and bending. The focus of this project has been on ensuring a harmonious and intuitive expression, despite the chair's complexity. Made from 9 mm wool felt, the chair features a seat cover that users can easily replace themselves, potentially with a rug, highlighting the original folding principle.
- Inspiration
- Inspired by origami, the aim was to design a sculptural yet comfortable chair through uncompromising folding and bending. The Beuys Series references Joseph Beuys and his symbolic use of felt, while the forthcoming Hodja Series, crafted from rugs, draws on the Danish children's tale of Hodja and his flying carpet, fulfilling the idea of folding a rug into a chair.
- Research
- Research focused on whether a folded sheet could form a self-supporting functional seat. Early tests in 4 mm grain leather explored stiffness, comfort and load, and used a Hub with a C-clamp to avoid perforation. These tests revealed the need for sheet inserts. Felt was later introduced for its aesthetic qualities and material flexibility, while the Hub evolved, now perforating the fabric. Current research includes conceptual studies toward a fully self-supporting metal mesh version.
- Challenge
- Glider Chair is built around the tapered T-shape of the seat-fold, which demands unconventional design solutions for the chair's other parts, such as shaping the flat metal frame to follow the seat-fold as closely as possible so the chair's beauty is apparent from every angle, and designing the iconic Hub and special fittings such as the Flex Bolt to ensure strength and stability with the single rear support point. The cantilever base required its own extensive material and bending research.
- Realization and Technology
- Glider Chair is constructed through textile folding and precision-engineered metalwork, staying true to the origami-inspired concept. The seat-fold is shaped from a single rectangular sheet, the flat metal frame is bent from one piece and faceted to follow the fold’s geometry, and the tubular cantilever base provides balance and a gentle bounce. A custom Hub connects directly to the skeleton, and a Flex Bolt with an integrated O-ring creates a flexible, seamless joint between frame and base.
- Operation and Interaction
- The chair fits, with its blend of geometric and organic elements, both traditional and modern spaces. The wide armrest adds the presence of a fully upholstered armchair, while the merino wool keeps the body at a comfortable temperature, is self-cleaning thanks to its natural lanolin, and provides sound-absorbing qualities. The cantilever offers a gentle, natural bounce. With tassels hanging from the front, the stage is set for an open, informal and playful conversation.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project began in 2009, when a paper model led to a three-week residency at the Danish Art Workshops to build the first prototype. Early versions in 4 mm grain leather explored self-supporting folding, but the design evolved as comfort and strength required a more traditional construction. The final prototype was completed in 2025 in Copenhagen and exhibited at Superdesign Show during Milano Design Week. Work now continues on a self-supporting metal mesh version.
- Specifications
- Width 780 mm, Depth 650 mm, Height 790 mm. Weight 22 kg. Seat fold made from 9 mm Merino wool felt. Cushion made from foam. Skeleton made from aluminium. Flat metal frame made from stainless steel. Hub made from stainless steel with small rubber inserts. Tubular cantilever base made from chromium plated carbon steel.
- Keywords
- conceptual furniture, origami furniture, felt furniture, tubular cantilever chair, sheet metal furniture, lounge chair, magic carpet, rug, tassels, Superdesign Show 2025, Milano Design Week 2025, PlanAbacus, Angaard, Glider Chair, Beuys
