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Sempoa Àga Ìsinmi by New Elegant Co., Ltd.

Sempoa Àga Ìsinmi by New Elegant Co., Ltd. is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Fàdákà A' Design Award in Àpẹẹrẹ Ohun-èlò Ilé Competition Category.


FàdákàOhun-èlò Ilé· 2025

Sempoa Àga Ìsinmi

by New Elegant Co., Ltd.

Client: New Elegant Co., Ltd.

Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Fàdákà A' Design Award Winner in Ohun-èlò Ilé Category

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Verified Award Winner

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Colors

The Design

About Sempoa Àga Ìsinmi

Àga Sempoa dapọ̀ èròngbà ìbílẹ̀ àti iṣẹ́ṣíṣe ìgbàlódé. Nípa èròngbà láti inú ohun èlò ìṣirò Soroban ti Japan, ó ní ẹ̀yìn àga pẹ̀lú àwọn ilẹ̀kẹ̀ tó ń gbé tó ń fúnni ní ìfọwọ́kàn àti ipa ìfọwọ́fà ara tó wúlò. Àwọn ilẹ̀kẹ̀ náà, tí a fi sórí ọ̀pá irin aláìlábàwọ́n tí àwọn ìrámọ́ igi tó rọ̀ tó lè tẹ̀ dì mú, ń rìn pẹ̀lú ara olùlò. A ṣẹ̀dá rẹ̀ láti inú àwọn pákó igi líle tó kọjá ara wọn, àpẹẹrẹ náà ṣe ìwọ̀ntúnwọ̀nsì ẹwà tó ní ètò àti àìkúnà, ó sì ń ṣe ìdánilójú ìdúró ṣinṣin, ẹwà, àti ìfọwọ́kàn olùlò.

The Recognition

About the Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Fàdákà A' Design Award

Sempoa Àga Ìsinmi jẹ́ olùborí Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Fàdákà A' Design Award, ìdánimọ̀ onípọ̀nlé lọ́nà àrà ọ̀tọ̀ tí a fún àwọn àwòṣe ìpele gíga jùlọ tó dára tó sì ń kan ọkàn. Àwọn olùborí Fàdákà jẹ́ àwọn iṣẹ́ tó ń tàn yòò gidigidi tó sì ní ìṣẹ̀dá púpọ̀ tí wọ́n ń ṣàfihàn ìmọ̀ ìjìnlẹ̀, ẹ̀bùn àti ìmọ̀ràn àwọn olùṣàwòṣe wọn. A retí pé Sempoa Àga Ìsinmi yóò jẹ́ iṣẹ́ àgbàyanu, àpẹẹrẹ rere, ti ọ̀jáfáfá lọ́nà tó ṣe pàtàkì tó sì ní ìmúṣẹ̀dá tuntun jinlẹ̀. Àwòṣe tó borí Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Fàdákà A' Design Award yìí jẹ́ ohun ìmúṣẹ̀dá tó hàn gbangba gidigidi tí a mọrírì tó ń ṣe anfàní tó sì ń tì ààlà iṣẹ́ ọnà, sáyẹ́ǹsì, àwòṣe àti ìmọ̀-ẹ̀rọ síwájú. Sempoa Àga Ìsinmi jẹ́ ẹ̀dá tí ọ̀pọ̀lọpọ̀ ń ṣe ìlara, tó ń jí ìfẹ́ inú, tó ń mú ìmọ̀lára rere wá tó sì ń jí ìyàlẹ́nu àti ìyanu.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties
For a long period of time, Abacus has been an important part of life of businessman, employees, even students. This simple yet useful hand operated tool becomes a symbol of hardworking people. In modern days, where digital calculator has been embedded inside our most important tool-smartphone, an abacus is slowly being forgotten. An idea emerges repurposing an abacus in our daily life as a reminder of our hard works while still physically functional giving relaxation massage sensation for the user.
Dimensions & Packaging
Width: 720 mm
Depth: 820 mm
Height: 800 mm
Seat Height: 440 mm
Seat Depth: 510 mm
Tags
Chair, Life, Work, Massage, Abacus, Wood, Joinery
Production Technology
The expectation to create the most favorite piece of furniture in our living room, build quality is the priority allowing the user to rely on it for decades. With that mindset, straight solid rubberwood is decided for its well-known balance between strength, lightweight and cost. The curved shapes are realized from a bentwood forming the backrest and seat frames that wraps around the user’s body. The large area of the seat allows the user to sit cross-legged, thus velvet fabric is chosen to give a gentle touch to the skin, maximizing comforts.
Design Challenge
From the beginning of research, blending an abacus in a piece of furniture, the inorganic shape of the abacus reduces the possibility of the chair shape exploration. As ergonomic is a crucial part in designing a chair, the shape cannot be too rigid but on the other hand it becomes irrelevant to the abacus if the chair is too organic. Second hurdle is finding the balance thickness of the bentwood rails of the abacus. It must be thin enough to flex, yet strong enough to support the user’s body while holding all the stainless-steel rods. The frame also required to have spaces for the rails to slide smoothly without affecting the overall rigidity.
Research
Creating a product that will be cherished by the user is the wish of all designers and producers. Providing a solution in the product that also connects to the user’s heart, the research focused on blending the historical elements of abacus as an aesthetic feature and a concrete function of the whole product. Thus, by reinventing abacus as a flexible backrest, not only it acts as a piece of art in the living room, but also provides a soothing massage effect for the user. It combines a cultural element with practical benefits, creating a chair that feels both familiar and innovative.
Inspiration
In this era, most of our daily activity is sitting. Either it is working, meeting, eating or even relaxing. Twelve hours on average sitting on the same spot happened to many people especially those who works from their home. Inspired by wooden massage lumbar support used by many taxi drivers in Vietnam, the idea is to implement wooden massage beads built into a lounge chair for people who works tirelessly and relax infinitely in front of screens all day long.
Project Duration
The project was designed and developed in Ho Chi Minh from August 2023 until August 2024.
Operation Flow
Crafting Sempoa chair focused on touches between users’ body and the edges of the beads. Knowing the fact that responses to sharp edges are different for every person, the rails of the abacus are made of flexible thin bentwood to be able to adapt to the user’s rear body shape. The stainless-steel rods act as the bones of the bentwood rails giving strength to support the user’s weight. Not only that, the abacus horizontal direction combined with the stainless steel rods, permit the beads to slide and spin freely, allowing the user to move around unbound while sitting.
Team Members
Director: Wei-Liang Chou
Designer: Aditya Cipta Sugandha
Image Credits
Aditya Cipta Sugandha, 2024.

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