Hsu-Hung Huang Receives the Bronze A' Design Award for Tao Rocking Chair in Furniture Design

Hsu-Hung Huang recognized for furniture design by the international grand jury of the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 22, 2022 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Bronze A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category for Tao Rocking Chair by Hsu-Hung Huang, designed for Hsu Hung Huang Design Lab. The result belongs to the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided 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 Bronze A' Design Award Means

The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.

More About Tao Rocking Chair

The name comes from the Tao people who live on Orchid Island in eastern Taiwan. Also, these indigenous people are well-known for their traditional canoe craftsmanship. Inspired by the crafts of Tao, Hsu-Hung Huang integrated their boat-building craftsmanship into a piece of furniture. Furthermore, the designer hoped to transfer the experience of rowing the Tao canoe into the joyfulness of swinging in a rocking chair. Ultimately, the project explored the preservation of intangible cultural heritage and translated it into stylish and elegant artwork through contemporary design methods.

About Hsu-Hung Huang

Hsu-Hung Huang (b. 1984) is an interior and product designer, with a Master of Arts (Merit) in Product & Furniture Design from Kingston University in London, England. He aims to re-build a bridge for dialogue between the world and Taiwan’s culture through contemporary designs. To be more precise, he hopes to figure out how to value and transform cultural environment much longer than just a trend, meaning culture must survive in these concrete structures that cannot be removed, yet must be reformed in a way that is elegant and beautiful for our time.

Award Record

Hsu-Hung Huang is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.

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/139815
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/139815
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!139815
Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/328578
Further Information from the Laureate: http://bit.ly/3NpGFVN

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: Tao Rocking Chair
Function: Rocking Chair
Category: Furniture Design
Discipline: Industrial Design
Industry: Furniture & Home
Colors: Tan, Rosy Brown, Silver, Gainsboro and Gray
Images: 5
Client: Hsu Hung Huang Design Lab

The Recognition

Laureate: Hsu-Hung Huang
Country: Taiwan (China)
Recognition: Bronze A' Design Award
Edition: 2021 - 2022
Design ID: #139815

Credits

Image Credits: Photographer Shih, Po-Yang, Tao Rocking Chair I, 2017. /; Photographer Shih, Po-Yang, Tao Rocking Chair II, 2017. /; Photographer Shih, Po-Yang, Tao Rocking Chair III, 2017. /; Photographer Chien, Chih-Lin, Tao Rocking Chair and Hsueh, Yu-Hsien I, 2018. /; Photographer Chien, Chih-Lin, Tao Rocking Chair and Hsueh, Yu-Hsien II, 2018.

Design Details

Unique Properties: Taiwan is a picturesque and mountainous island on the Pacific Ocean and it demonstrates tremendous diversity in its cultural heritage. Especially, indigenous nations who have various legends, crafts, and ceremonies strongly represent Taiwan’s unique marine culture and spirit. To preserve this precious and traditional culture, the designer attempts to embed spiritual and societal knowledge and practices into material design.
Inspiration: Inspired by the craft of Tao, a Taiwan indigenous people, the designer has integrated their maritime culture into furniture design. Their knowledge and skills strongly represent Taiwan’s unique oceanic culture and spirit. By combining traditional and contemporary methods, this furniture design hopes to inform people of the culture of Taiwan’s indigenous people.
Research: The Tao Rocking Chair was inspired by the boat-building methods of the Tao Indigenous community, previously of Orchid Island, a rugged and remote island off the southeastern coast of Taiwan. Respecting cultural heritage, a crucial part of Tao life centres upon the building of traditional fishing boats for the Tao people. Hence, addressing the issue of culture preservation, the designer aims to communicate Taiwan’s unique culture to the world via this project and transfer the experience of rowing the Tao canoe into the joyfulness of swinging in a rocking chair.
Challenge: Mirroring the traditional boat building method, multiple wooden compartments were joined together by tenons and mortises; additionally, the mechanical characteristics of various wood species are considered to make the rocking chair the distinctive piece that it is. Thus, the structure of the furniture is more durable in resisting deformation significantly against changes in environmental humidity. Through applying the hand-rubbed Danish oil finish, this method provides a natural and original wood texture to the furniture. Ultimately, by combining traditional craft with contemporary fabrication, an elegant and simple rocking chair was made.
Operation and Interaction: The designer felt that sitting on Tao Rocking Chair is similar to taking a boat. When users sit on the rocking chair and get it going, the rocking chair will look like a real boat that is slipping on the vast sea.
Project Duration and Location: The project started in May 2017 in London and finished in September 2017 in London, and was exhibited at Viaduct Showroom London, Goldsmith University London and Eslite Bookstore Taiwan in July 2018 and 2019.
Specifications: Length 1300mm* Width 500mm* Heigth 900mm/ Sit Height 450mm
Keywords: Rocking Chair, wood furniture, culture, Taiwan indigenous people, boat