Calligraphy Study 书桌 by Bai Xiangyu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2024 A' Design Award 银奖 in 家具设计 Competition Category.

银家具· 2024

Calligraphy Study 书桌

by Bai Xiangyu

Client: Two square meters Smart Home Technology Co. Ltd.

A' Design Award 银奖 Winner in 家具 Category

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Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #152931

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

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The Design

About Calligraphy Study 书桌

《书法研习》是一款为学习中国书法的儿童设计的电动升降书桌。书法通常需站立书写，因此桌面高度可在56至110厘米之间调节，并配有显示当前高度的控制面板。桌面可在0至60度范围内倾斜，便于绘画与阅读。桌架采用实木制作，运用传统榫卯工艺接合，屏板则以藤编饰面。木质笔架通过磁吸固定毛笔，另配有小型移动柜，可收纳纸卷与卷轴。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 银奖

Calligraphy Study 书桌是 A' Design Award 银奖得主，这是授予顶级、华美而令人印象深刻的设计的极为崇高的认可。银奖得主是极其卓越、极具创造力的作品，展现出其设计师杰出的专业技能、才华与敏锐。预计Calligraphy Study 书桌将成为一件出色的典范之作，兼具非凡的专业性与深刻的创新性。这件赢得 A' Design Award 银奖的设计是一项备受瞩目、令人钦佩的发明，造福并拓展艺术、科学、设计和技术的边界。Calligraphy Study 书桌是一件令人羡慕的创作，它唤起渴望，带来积极的情感，并激发惊叹与赞叹。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

Unique Properties: Calligraphy is a treasure of traditional Chinese culture, but practicing calligraphy requires standing. The electric calligraphy learning desk allows for quick adjustment of the desk height, enabling children to practice calligraphy more conveniently and switch between sitting and standing postures. The wooden accessories on the desk screen can magnetically hold specially designed calligraphy brushes for easy access and storage. Additionally, the accompanying small mobile cabinet can store calligraphy essentials such as paper rolls and scrolls that are often difficult to organize. The electric calligraphy learning desk inherits classical culture in a modern way, accompanying children throughout their growth journey.
Dimensions & Packaging: To accommodate the space requirements of different families, the length of the calligraphy desk can be adjusted by adding side panel modules. The main desktop has a length of 110cm, while the length of the left and right side panels is 22cm each. The depth of the desk is 65cm, and the height can be adjusted between 52cm and 110cm.
Tags: desk, chinese, traditional, calligraphy
Production Technology: The calligraphy study desk is a children's study desk that combines modern technology with traditional culture. It incorporates traditional Chinese wickerwork and solid wood craftsmanship, enveloping a modern industrialized electric height-adjustable structure to present traditional calligraphy art in a new form. The desk's height can be freely adjusted within the range of 56cm to 110cm, suitable for children in any age group during their growth. The desktop can also be tilted from 0 to 60 degrees, facilitating children's activities such as drawing and reading.
Design Challenge: The innovation of the calligraphy learning desk lies in its clever combination of traditional Chinese craftsmanship and modern electric height-adjustable legs. The greatest challenge was how to securely connect the electric height-adjustable legs to the solid wood frame. The design team ultimately drew inspiration from traditional Chinese mortise and tenon joinery, using angled wooden blocks and metal inserts to firmly stabilize the table legs.
Research: The design team conducted user interviews with over 100 households and discovered an increasing number of families guiding their children to learn calligraphy, a traditional Chinese culture. However, we found that calligraphy requires standing to write, and using regular desks often leads to discomfort in the users' back and waist. Additionally, calligraphy paper is usually long and doesn't fit well in ordinary bookcases, often requiring storage in the form of rolled-up scrolls.
Inspiration: Traditional culture is a national treasure, with calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting as its important components. For children, learning these traditional arts not only fosters their creativity and artistic sensibility but also contributes to the preservation of China's rich cultural heritage.
Project Duration: The project started in August 2022 in Hang Zhou and finished in May 2023 in Hang Zhou.
Operation Flow: The operation of the calligraphy learning desk is extremely straightforward thanks to its electric height-adjustable legs. By gently pushing or pulling the control panel in front of the desk, the desk can effortlessly ascend or descend. The control panel also displays the current desk height. For tilting the desktop, simply press the concealed tilt handle beneath the desk slit, enabling tilt angles between 0 and 60 degrees.
Team Members: Bai Xiangyu, Fei Panyan, Wang Lei, Xiao jiangbo and Yang Ruixue
Image Credits: Image #1: Photographer Two square meters Smart Home Technology Co. Ltd., 2022.
Optional Image #1: Photographer Two square meters Smart Home Technology Co. Ltd., 2022.
Optional Image #2: Photographer Two square meters Smart Home Technology Co. Ltd., 2022.
Optional Image #3: Photographer Two square meters Smart Home Technology Co. Ltd., 2022.
Optional Image #4: Photographer Two square meters Smart Home Technology Co. Ltd., 2022.