Press Release
Yilmaz Dogan Is Honored with the Silver A' Design Award for Topkapi Sideboard in Furniture Design
Yilmaz Dogan honored for furniture design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 19, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Topkapi Sideboard by Yilmaz Dogan, designed for QZENS Furniture, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category. The award was conferred within the 2024 - 2025 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 scored 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.
About Topkapi Sideboard
Topkapi is a sideboard that blends traditional woodworking with modern technology. Its design features geometric motifs rooted in Turkish-Islamic art and Anatolian heritage, drawing inspiration from Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque. Crafted with high-quality lacquer, natural wood, brass details, and patina brushed copper, the piece integrates Cnc precision with artisanal handcrafting to connect historical tradition with contemporary production methods.
About Yilmaz Dogan
Yılmaz Doğan is a designer who has been interested in interior architecture and product design since childhood and started to develop his skills in this field at a young age. His design journey began as an apprentice in his family's carpenter's workshop in Siteler, Ankara, where he quickly realized the importance of structure in both space and furniture design. His passion for pushing structural boundaries led him to study civil engineering at university. With his unique style that blends engineering and design disciplines, he has won many prestigious national and international design awards, including the iF, Red Dot and the A' Design Award.
Award Record
This recognition makes Yilmaz Dogan a winner of 9 A' Design Awards. The awards span the editions from 2018 - 2019 to 2024 - 2025 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/168210
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/168210
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!168210
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/231445
- Further Information from the Laureate: http://www.qzens.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
- Topkapi Sideboard
- Function
- Sideboard
- Category
- Furniture Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Gray, Rosy Brown, Black, Dark Slate Gray and Dim Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- QZENS Furniture
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Yilmaz Dogan
- Country
- Turkiye
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #168210
Credits
- Image Credits
- A. Murat ARIK Erinç ULUSOY Giray AYDOS
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Topkapi is a sideboard design that combines traditional woodworking techniques, which feature motifs inspired by geometric patterns dating back thousands of years and holding significant importance in Turkish Islamic art, with modern technology, resulting in finely crafted cover surfaces. The motifs, carrying the rich heritage of Anatolian architecture and Turkish Islamic art, add a mystical and unique touch of the East to your living space.
- Inspiration
- The decorative style of geometric ornamentation, based on different geographies and cultures, particularly advanced with the development of geometry knowledge in Egypt and Sumer. The geometric pattern and ornamentation style reached its peak in Islamic civilizations, symbolizing the infinite nature of the universe. Named after Topkapi Palace, where these patterns were used on walls, it draws inspiration from the six-minaret Blue Mosque for the design of its six blue front legs with brass tips.
- Research
- Topkapi is the result of an in-depth research process that explores the intricate geometric patterns and woodworking traditions of Islamic architecture. The "Mukarnas" and "Zencerek" patterns, commonly used in Ottoman and Seljuk architecture, have been elaborated in the design and reinterpreted through Cnc machining technology.
- Challenge
- The greatest challenge of this design was to seamlessly blend traditional woodworking craftsmanship with modern production techniques. The three-dimensional sense of depth on the doors was successfully achieved through the combination of Cnc machining and handcraftsmanship. The brass details used in the leg structure, inspired by the foot designs of Ottoman palace furniture, bring together the past and the future through its design language.
- Realization and Technology
- The body of Topkapi is crafted from high-quality lacquer and natural wood surfaces, shaped with Cnc technology. Geometric patterns on the doors are created through precision cutting and handcraftsmanship, adding depth and rich texture. The interior features a lacquer finish, with red tones enhancing the luxurious, mystical Eastern ambiance. Tapered legs have brass detailing, while the perforated top panel, made of patina-brushed copper, is meticulously handcrafted by skilled artisans.
- Operation and Interaction
- Topkapi creates an emotional connection by taking the user on a historical and cultural journey. The Cnc machined door surfaces provide a tactile sense of depth. The door mechanism features a soft-opening system for smooth operation. With a spacious four-door storage area, it offers a perfect balance of functionality and aesthetics. The interior shelf system is optimized for items of varying heights. A centrally located wide drawer provides ideal storage for small and valuable items.
- Project Duration and Location
- The design process of the Topkapi sideboard began in June 2022 in the garden of Topkapi Palace on Istanbul's historic peninsula, marking the beginning of a creative journey. After an extensive development phase, it was completed and produced in Ankara in February 2023.
- Specifications
- Width: 221 cm, Height: 80 cm, Depth: 50 cm.
- Keywords
- Focal, Bookcase, Neoclassic, Art Deco, Asymmetry, Wood, Brass, Modern, Elegant, Architecture
