5x5 Nofoa by Barbara Princic is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2014 A' Design Award Ario in Mamanu Meafale Competition Category.

ArioMeafale· 2014

5x5 Nofoa

by Barbara Princic

Client: Sijaj Hrastnik

A' Design Award Ario Winner in Meafale Category

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Verified Award Winner

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Colors

The Design

About 5x5 Nofoa

O le nofoa 5x5 o se masani masani poloketi poloketi pe a fai o le tapulaʻa iloa ai o se luʻi. O le nofoa o le nofoa ma le pito i tua e faia i xilith lea e faigata tele ona mamanuina. O le Xilith o le raw material lea e mafai ona maua i le 300 mita i lalo o le lauʻeleʻele luga ma o loʻo tuʻu faʻatasi ma se koale. Le taimi nei o le tele o o mea mata 'ua lafo ese. Mai mea tau i le siosiomaga o mea ia e gaosia le otaota i luga o le fogaeleele. O le mea lea, o le manatu e uiga i le nofoa fuafuaina e foliga mai e sili atu faaosooso ma faigata.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Ario

O le A' Design Award Ario na manumalo ai 5x5 Nofoa, o se faamaoniga matuā mamalu e tuuina atu i mamanu sili ona lelei, matagofie ma mataʻutia. O ē manumalo i le Ario o galuega susulu tele ma fatufatuaʻi e faaalia ai le poto, le taleni ma le atamai o tagata mamanu. E faamoemoeina 5x5 Nofoa e avea ma galuega matagofie, o se fesuiaiga mo isi, e iloga i le tomai faapolofesa ma mea fou loloto. O lenei mamanu na manumalo i le A' Design Award Ario o se mea e iloga, ua mataʻina e aogā ma tuleia atu tapulaʻa o le faatufugaga, saienisi, mamanu ma tekonolosi. 5x5 Nofoa o se mea e fiafia i ai le toatele, e fafagu ai manaʻoga, aumaia ai lagona lelei ma tupu ai le ofo.

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.