Porada International Design Award 2022

1st PRIZE PROFESSIONAL (€ 3,000): “Ginkgo” by Niccolò Devetag
1st PRIZE STUDENT (€ 2,000): “Xenia” by Benedetta Rocchi

On Friday 3 February, at Villa del Grumello, Lake Como, the jury of the PORADA INTERNATIONAL DESIGN AWARD 2022 selected the winners of the competition, promoted by Porada, a leading company in the furniture manufacturing field, and POLI.design, a consortium company founded by Politecnico di Milano, under the patronage of ADI, the Association for Industrial Design.

There are six winners – three in the Professional category and three in the Students category – who were able to grasp the spirit of the competition by interpreting the distinctive values and identity of Porada, a major brand in Italian design, and proposing innovative and original projects with the Armchair as their theme.

The total prize money of € 10.000 will therefore be distributed as follows:

For the PROFESSIONALS category:
1st prize: € 3.000: Niccolò Devetag (Italy) with “Ginkgo”
2nd prize: € 2.000: Niko Kapa (Greece) with “Stagione”
3rd prize: € 1.000: Federico Degioanni (Italy) with “Allure”
Honourable mention: Marco Valerio Agretti (Italy) with “BOLD”

For the STUDENTS category:
1st prize: € 2.000: Benedetta Rocchi (Italy) with “Xenia”
2nd prize: €1.200: Michela Brescia, Valerio Cormio, Aurora Piccioni (Italy) with “Ruga”
3rd prize: € 800: Andrea Somaschini (Italy) with “Chassis”
Honourable mention: Alireza Borhani (Iran) with “DREAM WINGS”

They are all projects of outstanding quality and innovation, which stood out among the 282 applications submitted from all over the world: 143 in the Professionals category and 139 in the Students category. A great number of applicants were Italian, but the international response was equally positive: Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Spain, France, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Russia, Brazil, Japan, China, Ukraine, Germany, Argentina, USA, UK, Thailand and Cuba are just some of the many countries involved.

The winner of the competition for the Professionals category was Niccolò Devetag with “Ginkgo”, an armchair inspired by nature’s shapes and aiming at creating an innovative design in this kind of furniture. Starting from the frame of a wooden armchair, the designer developed a detail that combines aesthetic and functionality. Indeed, the outer shell is shaped after a Gingko leaf, making it possible to support backrests of different heights whilst giving life to different and complementary products in a simple yet reversible way.

The seat is embraced by a solid canaletta walnut frame where the armrest, point of contact with the body, represents the highest expression of the wood’s aesthetic features. The frame, the details of the stitching and the piping of the cushions convey the all-round craftmanship typical of Made in Italy, while the architecture of the product itself allows the combination of different finishes to the upholstery for a high level of customization.

Niccolò Devetag proves himself once again to be a major player in the Porada International Design Award: indeed, this is the third time he has achieved the first place – for the first time as a professional, after two victories as a student.

Benedetta Rocchi, student of Product and Interior Design at Academy of Arts and New Technologies of Rome, won the Students category prize with “Xenia”. From the desire to recreate a sense of coziness and thus warmth, takes form the design of the armchair, a protective shell that evokes the organic shapes of nature.

Xenia’s morphology is linked to the aesthetic of contemporary taste, as is the choice of the bouclè fabric to cover the upholstered parts of the armchair and the more sculptural character of the wooden slats that connect the legs, which show, through the hidden joints and organic shapes, the company’s mastery in woodworking. At the same time, though, its symmetrical shapes, regular lines and chosen finishes are intended to pay homage to Porada’s timeless style, especially targeting lovers of the Italian tradition.

Xenia is not a revolutionary armchair, but it does deliver a few innovative and fresh ideas to the discerning eye. The width and low profile of the seat provide a comfort that is more contemporary and belongs to a new target of clientèle. Another innovation concerns an aesthetic aspect: unlike any other traditional armchair designs, Xenia appears to be floating as it does not rest directly on the wooden slats. With reference to the choice of the wood, the armchair was originally designed to be in canaletta walnut or Canapa stained ash.

The jury was made up of Tiziano Allievi (Porada C.E.O.), Bruno Allievi (Porada Associate and former C.E.O.), Roberto de Paolis (POLI.design), Antonella Andriani (ADI Vice President), Diane Tevoedjre (South African interior designer), Ilaria Crocco (Viasaterna Gallery owner), Staffan Tollgard (Swedish designer), Tristan Lohner (French designer and RBC Group Deputy General Manager), Stephan Julliard (French photographer).

In reviewing the projects, the jury focused on originality, innovation and the pursuit of new design solutions related to the typical processing of solid wood, experimentation with materials and surface finishes, capacity of projects to define and anticipate scenarios of use and innovative concepts in the use of wooden furniture and contemporary furnishing accessories, with particular regard to typological, technological and morphological determinations.

Please note that the deadline for the competition is extended until 24:00 on January 15th, 2023

Total prize money: € 10.000

Regulations and application details on: www.porada.it, www.polidesign.net and www.porada-design-award.polidesign.net

Armchairs will be the protagonists of the PORADA INTERNATIONAL DESIGN AWARD 2022, the international competition of ideas promoted by Porada, leading brand of Italian design, and POLI.design, founded by Politecnico di Milano, with the patronage of ADI, the Association for Industrial Design.

Originality, innovation and research of new design solutions referred to the typical processing of solid wood are the guidelines that will inspire designers who will decide to participate and interpret the values ​​and identity of Porada, the leading brand of Italian design. The goal of this new edition that is open to Italian and foreign designers and creative people (individuals or groups), professionals or non-professionals, corporate employees and students, is to identify new innovative concepts on different types of Armchairs, in which the use of solid wood is prevalent, although not necessarily exclusive, and which convey the values and the identity of the Porada brand.

The numbers of the competition have become important: in the last edition 343 projects presented to the jury and dedicated to the creation of different types of chairs, of which 165 belonging to the professional category and 178 to the student category. There were many submissions from Italy, but there was an equally positive international response: Taiwan, China, Russia, France, Turkey, Brazil, Japan, India, Serbia, Ukraine, Colombia, Spain, Egypt, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, United Kingdom, USA, are just some of the many nations involved. Six winners – three in the Professional category and three in the Student category – who were able to grasp the spirit of the competition by interpretating values and identity of Porada and by proposing innovative and original projects with the Chair as their theme.

Francesco Canali, student of Nuove Tecnologie dell’Arte, Accademia di Brera, won the prize of the Students category with “FIORDILATTE Chair”, a project stemmed from the desire to create not only a solid and modern in the forms seat but also, and first of all, a relationship, an emotional medium. The winner in the Professional category was Cornelius Comanns with the “Soothy” project, which combines the functions of a rocking chair and a crandle into one piece of furniture that can be used and enjoyed together by parent and child.

Projects relating to the 2022 edition shall be original and unpublished; they must enhance the use of production technologies, woodworking processes and typical finishing of the solid wood. They must respond to the principle of functionality and they must comply with the existing safety standards in force, also respecting ergonomic, environmental and sustainable design requirements. Wood, whether in natural-finish (preferably in finishes mainly used by the company), or lacquered, can be combined with metal, glass, leather, hide leather or fabric.

A jury composed of renowned experts in the field will judge and select the winning projects. In evaluating the entries, the judges will take into account: their originality, the level of innovation and research of new design solutions referred to the typical processing of solid wood, the experimentation on materials and surface finishes, the ability of the projects to define and anticipate scenarios of use and innovative concepts in the use of wood furniture and contemporary furnishing accessories, with particular regard to typological, technological and morphological determinations.

The jury will choose three winners for each of the two categories (Students and Professionals) in the competition, who will receive their awards at a dedicated event.

The total prize money of € 10.000 will be allocated as follows:

PROFESSIONAL Category:

1st prize: € 3.000

2nd prize: € 2.000

3rd prize: € 1.000

STUDENT Category:

1st prize: € 2.000

2nd prize: € 1.200

3rd prize: € 800

For more details on how to participate or to submit an application, designers and creative professionals, both Italian and foreign, should consult the announcement on the site www.porada-design-award.polidesign.net.

Contacts:

Email: award@porada.it

Tel.: [+39]031.766215

Communication Office POLI.design: Veronica Zancarli

Mail: comunicazione@polidesign.net

Tel. [+39] 02.23997226

www.polidesign.net

Communication Office Porada: Laura Allievi

Mail: laura@porada.it

Tel.: [+39]031.766215

www.porada.it