Press Release
Cork Block Sofa by Miguel Arruda Receives the Silver A' Design Award in Furniture Design
The international grand jury of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes Miguel Arruda for furniture design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 23, 2021 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Silver A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category for Cork Block Sofa by Miguel Arruda, designed for Miguel Arruda Arquitectos Associados, Lda. The recognition forms part of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the Silver A' Design Award Means
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
More About Cork Block Sofa
Cork Block is a modular sofa made from recycled cork agglomerate. The material combines cork granulate with polyurethane, both recycled and joined with a binder inside a metal mold under pressure and heat. The resulting blocks are cohesive, elastic and pleasant to touch. Nine blocks form the single seat layout and thirteen blocks form the double seat layout. The blocks are cut in six shapes, so many combinations are possible. Selected blocks can be replaced by upholstered versions in different colors. Supports for the back and arms allow several levels of comfort.
About Miguel Arruda
Miguel Arruda, develops his work in the areas of Sculpture, Design and Architecture. In 1968 he completed his studies in sculpture at the University of Fine Arts of Lisbon and in 1989 received a degree in architecture from the Faculty of Architecture of Technical University of Lisbon. Starts working as a university professor in 1969, having obtained the title of Full Professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Lisbon in 2003. Here he is coordinator of the Course of Equipment Design (1998-2006) and president of its Board of Directors (2004-2008).
Award Record
With this recognition, Miguel Arruda is a winner of 6 A' Design Awards. The awards span the editions from 2016 - 2017 to 2020 - 2021 of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Furniture Design Award
The A' Furniture Design Award is an international furniture competition recognizing good furniture designs by best furniture designers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to furniture designers, product designers, industrial design studios and furniture brands from all countries. Entries typically include chairs, tables, sofas, beds, cabinets and shelves. Awarded furniture designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/furniture
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/124323
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/124323
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!124323
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/168236
- Further Information from the Laureate: http://miguelarruda.com/
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Cork Block Sofa
- Function
- Sofa
- Category
- Furniture Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Gray, Dark Olive Green, Rosy Brown and Dark Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Miguel Arruda Arquitectos Associados, Lda
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Miguel Arruda
- Country
- Portugal
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2020 - 2021
- Design ID
- #124323
Credits
- Image Credits
- Pedro Sadio; Miguel Arruda
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The cork agglomerate, results from a composition of cork granulate with polyurethane,both recycled and consolidated through compression, heat and the use of a binder inside a metal mold. The physical, elastic and tactile quality of the material and the possibility to add upholstery solutions with different colors, provides several different confort and ambience solutions, achieving diferent supports to the coccyx, back and arms, for different effective comfort levels.
- Inspiration
- The observation of nature, where the cork oak tree has a strong sculptural volumetry, the technological possibility of recycling cork and the technology employed that allows an adequate degree of elasticity for the new agglomerate designated by reference 5058, naturally gave space to imagine a diversified association of nine blocks that build the single sheet sofa and of thirteen blocks for the double seet layout. Other combinations appeared during the process, which is not closed but rather available for each user design experiences.
- Research
- The cork agglomerate by Amorim Composits, from recycled cork granulate particle size 2 to 3 mm with polyurethane, generates a rectangular block resulting from the above described operation with 90 x 90 x 19 cm. Its cohesion, elasticity and overlap adherence, suggested the possibility of composing a set of nine blocks of different shapes for a sofa. In indoor spaces, some volumes can be replaced by identical ones covered with fabric of different colors and with a more flexible interior.
- Challenge
- It was necessary to find a binding agent that could merge the recycled cork and plastic particles granting the volume a degree of elasticity and comfort in the sitting position in order to achieve the proper stability and the durability needed for its use. After that first step, finding the right proportions and a reduced number of pieces/bricks needed to assemble each model became a fun but challenging game.
- Realization and Technology
- A agglomerate from cork granulate and polyurethane, both recycled and consolidated with a binder, is launched inside a metal mold with 90 x 90 x 38cm, and subjected to pressure and temperature, allowing at the end a compression strength of 100, a recovery of 70 and a weight of 230kg pcm. This blocks of physical, elastic and tactile quality material, are usually used only for technical acoustic solutions, are cutted allowing six types blocks, intended to combine for two different sofa solutions.
- Operation and Interaction
- The rectangular blocks of the Cork Block Sofa are cut in different shapes, allowing it to have several combinations, intended to combine in several shapes and sitting positions. The physical, elastic and tactile quality of the material and the possibility to add upholstery solutions with different colors, provides several diferent confort and ambience solutions, achieving diferent supports to the coccyx, back and arms, for different effective comfort levels.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in February 2018 and finished in October 2020, both in Lisbon.
- Specifications
- Width 120 or 180cm x Height 57cm and Depth 90cm
- Keywords
- Sofa, Seat, Furniture, Cork, Recycled
