5x5 Stoel by Barbara Princic is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2014 A' Design Award in Zilver in Meubelontwerp Competition Category.
ZilverMeubels· 2014
5x5 Stoel
Client: Sijaj Hrastnik
A' Design Award in Zilver Winner in Meubels Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #31513The Design
About 5x5 Stoel
De 5x5 stoel is een typisch ontwerpproject waarbij de beperking als een uitdaging wordt erkend. De zitting en de rugleuning van de stoel zijn gemaakt van xilith dat erg moeilijk te vormen is. Xilith is de grondstof die zich 300 meter onder het grondoppervlak bevindt en wordt gecombineerd met een kool. Momenteel wordt het merendeel van de grondstof weggegooid. Vanuit milieuoogpunt genereert dit materiaal afval op het aardoppervlak. Daarom leek het idee over het stoelontwerp erg provocerend en uitdagend.
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award in Zilver
5x5 Stoel is winnaar van de A' Design Award in Zilver, een buitengewoon prestigieuze erkenning die wordt toegekend aan topontwerpen die prachtig en indrukwekkend zijn. Winnaars in Zilver zijn enorm briljante en uiterst creatieve werken die de uitmuntende expertise, het talent en de scherpzinnigheid van hun ontwerpers illustreren. 5x5 Stoel wordt verwacht een prachtig paradepaardje te zijn dat opmerkelijk professioneel en diepgaand innovatief is. Dit ontwerp dat de A' Design Award in Zilver heeft gewonnen, is een hoogst opmerkelijke, bewonderde uitvinding die baat en de grenzen van kunst, wetenschap, ontwerp en technologie verlegt. 5x5 Stoel is een zeer benijde creatie die verlangens oproept, positieve gevoelens brengt en verbazing en verwondering doet ontvlammen.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- The 5x5 chair is a typical design project where the limitation is recognized as a challenge. The chair's seat and the back are made of xilith which is very difficult to be shaped. Xilith is the raw material that can be found 300 meters under the ground surface and is comined with a coal. But it is nither the coal nor the wood. Currently the majority of the raw material is thrown away. From environmental point of view this material generates waste on the earth surface. Therefore the idea about chair design seemed to be very provocative and challenging. The scientific methods of the material's final surface treatment have been explored so if applied properly the final look can be close to that of ebony.
Each chair is unique as neither two tiles look the same. Therefore the chair can have more brown or more black look depending on the tiles collected together. - Dimensions & Packaging
- Width 470 mm x Depth 540 mm x Hight 840 mm
- Tags
- xilith, tiles, metal, elegant, thin, material innovation, experiment
- Production Technology
- Chair's structure:
- metal tub legs, surface nickel treated
- seat and back support made of laser cutted metal sheet, surface nickel treated
- Xilith tiles, cut, surface treated with linseed oil;
tiles glued on metal sheet surface - Design Challenge
- Material's unique visual properties, physical characteristics and manufacturing limitations were challenging.
The design challenge was simply how to make a chair from little tiles? how to connect them? How to make the underneath seat's metal sheet stiff but yet almost invisible, thin. - Research
- It was all about experimental work with this unique material. The scientific methods of surface treatment were examined years before within Biotechnological Faculty, University of Ljubljana. If the surface is treated properly, the outcome look is similar to ebony.
- Inspiration
- As explained in the project explanation; material's unique visual properties, physical characteristics and manufacturing limitations were challenging.
Xilith is the raw material that is very hard and fragile. Therefore the tile's dimension 5x5 cm is the maximum still acceptable dimension for manufacturing since the material itself is very difficult to be manufactured and shaped. - Project Duration
- The project started in May 2008 and finished in October 2008 in Slovenia. It was exhibited at several exhibitions like
- Month of Design, October 2008, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Reader-friendly Design, January 2010, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- The Design Assembly, May 2010, Graz, Austria
- IDEA Award Winners and Finalists exhibition, August 2010, Henry Ford Museum, Michigan USA
- Charm of wood, spring 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Ambient, furniture fair, October 2013, Ljubljana, Slovenia - Operation Flow
- It enables very comfortable and ergonomic sitting.
- Team Members
- Barbara Princic, designer
Mr. Miran Drac, technologist - Image Credits
- Images No.1-5, photographer Miha Benedicic, 5x5 chair, 2009.
Sponsored
Explore Beyond Designers.org
Discover products, services and opportunities from our advertising partners.
More to Explore
Related Designs
Explore more award-winning designs from the same category, selected by merit.
