Porada International Design Award 2023

The mirror in the historical and collective imagination has multiple meanings, and it is often related to the theme of the double, the inverted world, beauty and divination.

One of the most popular meanings of the mirror is see it as a door to an elsewhere, an inverted, alien, sometimes utopian sometimes dystopian world. From the classic Alice through the looking glass, to the modern Passe-miroir, the art has always been fascinated by the “mirror as a door to elsewhere.”

This object so imaginative and so present in human history will be the star of the Porada International Design Award 2023

PORADA ARREDI srl, with POLI.design announces XI edition of the competition challenging participants to identify innovative concepts on different types of mirrors: table, wall, wall mirror, mirror, structure or furnishing accessory, free-standing or incorporated in a piece of furniture.

The reflective surface should be the dominant part of the designs. Alongside it, the use of solid wood must also be prevalent, which will have the purpose of conveying the values and identity of the Porada brand and may be combined with other materials such as metals and glass.

The use of innovative technologies of solid wood processing and ennobling will be one of the main aspects of the projects that the challengers will have to take into account during the study and design of their works. However, they will not have to neglect the more technical and less artistic aspects that such objects will have to have: they will have to comply with current safety regulations, of compliance with ergonomic requirements and attention to environmental and sustainable design requirements.

Participating challengers will have to submit their projects to a jury composed of representatives from Porada, POLI.design, ADI – Association for Industrial Design, and five representatives from the Design Professions and Sector Publishing.

Research into new design solutions for solid woodworking; experimentation with materials and surface finishes; originality of submitted concepts; and the ability to anticipate the times and habits of use.

These will be the main characteristics with which the jury will evaluate the works that the challengers create, always keeping an eye toward typological, technological and morphological determinations.

Prizes and winners

The total prize money of € 11,000.00 will be distributed as follows:

PROFESSIONALS Category:

1st prize € 3,000.00

2nd prize € 2,000.00

3rd prize € 1,000.00

STUDENT Category:

1st prize € 2,000.00

2nd prize € 1,200.00

3rd prize € 800.00

There will also be an additional “Giacomo Allievi Special Mention” prize to be awarded to a student or professional.

This prize will be awarded by a dedicated jury that will evaluate all works and elect as the winner the one that most distinguished itself for the best balance between traditional craftsmanship associated with woodworking and modern design expressed in the structural and creative development of the project.