Press Release
Little Thunder Armchair by Grasset Francois Is Granted the Silver A' Design Award in Furniture Design
Grasset Francois honored for furniture design by the international grand jury of the 2019 - 2020 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 23, 2020 /DesignNewswire/ Little Thunder Armchair by Grasset Francois, designed for Briant Sellerie, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The award was conferred within the 2019 - 2020 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached 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.
More About Little Thunder Armchair
Little Thunder is an armchair designed for homes and workplaces. The structure is based on a vault, a half-cylinder shape used in architecture since antiquity. The vault gives the armchair strength while using materials sparingly. A seat and a backrest are added to the basic curved form. The armchair is made of multi-layer wood panels shaped in large moulds. The surface can be lacquered in several colours or covered with walnut veneer. The armchair measures 800 mm in width, 630 mm in depth and 730 mm in height.
Award Record
With this recognition, Grasset Francois is a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
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. It 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. Typical entries include chairs, tables, sofas, beds, cabinets and shelves. The awarded furniture designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/furniture
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is 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. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously 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. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which 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, uploading a work and receiving a 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. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/93114
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/93114
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!93114
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/221051
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
- Little Thunder Armchair
- Function
- Armchair
- Category
- Furniture Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Chocolate, Tomato, Sienna, Coral and Dark Salmon
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Briant Sellerie
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Grasset Francois
- Country
- France
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2019 - 2020
- Design ID
- #93114
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- This armchair employs a vault shape, which is one of the most robust structure possible with these materials. It also is highly decorative – examples of this architecture can be found going back to antiquity. Little Thunder’s timeless design means it will be a prized piece for years, isn't it the hallmark of a truly environmentally and social responsible design ?
- Inspiration
- The Little Thunder armchair was born of our desire to create a very geometrically stable seat while using materials rigorously. The idea of a half-cylinder soon became obvious because its structure is so effective. Simply adding a seat and backrest to the basic shape can bring the same strong sensations as a summer thunderstorm.
- Research
- This armchair was developed for business and home uses. It will fit perfectly in an office or waiting room setting as well as in a living room or home office.
- Challenge
- The challenge was to design a furniture item, visually powerful enough to represent the diversification strategy of the company. It had to be manufactured in small series, ideally by one or several craftsmen.
- Realization and Technology
- After making the foundational decision to adopt an vault structure, the design process progressed rather quickly. The fine-tuning process was meticulous, as we had to account for ergonomic factors. The manufacturing process requires specific skills, including multi-layer wood panels using large moulds. The suggested model is lacquered (with several colour options) or uses walnut wood veneer.
- Operation and Interaction
- This armchair is designed to create a visual impact on its environment. Its shapes and geometric curves give it a highly graphical and surprising character. The lines crisscross but never clash, after numerous attempts to find a clean, comfortable result. Several finishes are offered to best match your desired indoor decoration. Finally, further studies have yielded versions with wider armrests and strengthened, decorative bases.
- Project Duration and Location
- We first began designing this armchair about a year and a half ago (in early 2018). After a number of sketches and 3D-printed scale models, we adjusted the shape to best suit ergonomic seating positions. The study and production of the laminated timber armchair were done in Chambéry (Savoy), France.
- Specifications
- Width : 800 mm, depth : 630 mm, Height : 730 mm.
- Keywords
- Armchair, arch, vault, wood, Little Thunder.
