Press Release
Xanxan Shelf by Smallgran studio Receives the Bronze A' Design Award in Furniture Design
The international grand jury of the 2016 - 2017 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes Smallgran studio of Smallgran for furniture design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 19, 2017 /DesignNewswire/ Xanxan Shelf by Smallgran studio of Smallgran has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The recognition forms part of the 2016 - 2017 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided 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.
About Xanxan Shelf
Xanxan is a shelf with customizable configurations, designed to reduce transport and storage space. The design consists of two anchor posts to which a web of strings is fastened. A simple mechanism allows the user to adjust the tension of each string and to create a straight support surface. Xanxan holds the same items as a standard shelf and can also be used as a hanger. Compared with a standard shelf, Xanxan uses seven times less wood, needs nine times less storage space and weighs four times less. The anchor posts are made of maple wood.
About Smallgran studio
Our story begins in the summer of 2014, when we returned to Valencia to found the studio, after having been learning around Europe. The three of us were partners in the university, where we realized that we agreed on values. So, our work is intended to making the design noticeable and understandable for the general public, ensuring the comprehension of its value, through functionality, closeness and our idealism.
About Smallgran
We are a product design studio. We offer graphic and product design services to national and international companies. At the same time, we produce and sell our own designs, such as the Álsol Pitcher, which has been recognized by significant means.
Award Record
Smallgran studio of Smallgran is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.
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/57563
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/57563
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!57563
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/183926
- Further Information from the Laureate: http://tinyurl.com/xanxansg
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
- Xanxan Shelf
- Function
- Shelf
- Category
- Furniture Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Gainsboro, White Smoke, Light Gray, Dim Gray and Tan
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Smallgran studio
- Country
- Spain
- Brand
- Smallgran
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2016 - 2017
- Design ID
- #57563
Credits
- Team
- Luis Herram, Carles Marquina Selfa, Francesc Duart Escribà, Carlos Carrasco Fraile and Borja Miret García
- Image Credits
- Smallgran, Xanxan, 2016.
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Xanxan is a shelf featuring customizable configurations and optimized transport and storage space. The product consists of two anchor posts to which a web of strings is fastened. It includes a simple mechanism that allows the user to adjust the tension of each string in order to provide a straight support surface. Xanxan can hold everything a standard shelf holds and it can act as a hanger, too. But more importantly: compared to a standard shelf, Xanxan uses seven times less wood, requires a storage space nine times lower and weights four times less.
- Inspiration
- Xanxan was first conceived under the challenge of reducing the material cost and ecological impact of an existing concept. As market research went on, the lack of flexibility and adaptability of the existing shelves to user and space needs drove the project to the final solution. The project was self-commissioned from the studio itself as a means to prove its design skills.
- Research
- This project was driven by market research and experimentation. After finding a market niche in adaptable shelves, the concept design phase was based on modeling and testing. We had to meet the requisites fixed by the best-selling shelves, so we developed several prototypes and tested them. The final solution was picked based on its simplicity, performance and interaction. At the detailed design phase, we worked with master carpenters to pick the best materials and shape manufacture-wise.
- Challenge
- The main design challenge was to develop a fresh solution while reducing the material and ecological cost of an existing concept. From the technical perspective, we had three challenges: - Designing a tensioning mechanism. It had to fix the strings allowing for progressive tensioning and we needed to keep it simple to maintain the cost low. - Finding a wood that is light-weight, cheap, resistant and tough enough. - Finding a rope that holds its mechanical and dimensional properties over time.
- Realization and Technology
- The wooden pieces are formed by lathing the hard Maple Wood and later drilling the holes: three for the screws at the base and four for the strings at the pole. This process can be done by hand for loose units or through automated processes for industrial scale units. The string is a standard Paracord that the user cuts at a specific length according to the distance at which the two anchor posts are installed.
- Operation and Interaction
- For the installation, the user first needs to decide the position of each post. With the anchor posts fixed, four string segments are then tied to them in a zig-zag manner. After the strings are installed, the pegs must be turned. With every turn, the strand twists on itself increasing its tension becoming able to support weight. Once the strings are taut, the shelf can be filled with books, Cd's, etc. Over time the shelf can lose its tension, this is fixed by giving the pegs a few more turns.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in the Polytechnical University of Valencia, where its first 5 months of development took part. After finishing their degree, Smallgran founders created the Valencia based studio where the design was then finished after 7 more months of work.
- Specifications
- Product: 300-1500* mm x 220 mm x 85 mm. * This dimension depends on how it is installed. Package: 90 mm x 70 mm x 245 mm Weight supported: up to 20 kg.
- Keywords
- Xanxan, Minimum Shelf, Shelf, Adaptable, Customizable, Hanger, Space Saving, Material Saving, Sustainable, Cord, Rope
