Press Release
Walky Chair by Armando Mora Medina Wins the Bronze A' Design Award in Furniture Design
Armando Mora Medina acknowledged for furniture design by the international grand jury of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 23, 2021 /DesignNewswire/ Walky Chair by Armando Mora Medina, designed for Viviane & Armando Design, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The result belongs to the 2020 - 2021 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 Walky Chair
Walky is a chair designed to bring a sense of movement into interior spaces. The form captures the moment of a person walking, and several chairs placed together create an impression of dynamism and social activity. The rear legs end in shaped wooden shoes, which give the chair a playful character. Walky is made of solid ash and walnut. The central connector is bent-laminated wood, routered and shaped by hand. The seat is cut with a CNC machine, while the backrest, legs, structure and shoes are shaped and turned by hand. The chair measures 500 mm in width, 590 mm in depth and 790 mm in height.
About Armando Mora Medina
Armando Mora Medina is a Designer pursuing an MFA in Furniture Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design. He believes that furniture must have a fascinating conversation and interaction with its users. Born in Mexico, he earned a BFA in Architecture at the ITESM Campus Guadalajara and did an Erasmus program at the ETSAB in Barcelona. Following his studies, he co-founded a local architecture firm in his native city where he learned how to lead and manage responsibilities. Years later, he received a furniture design certificate at FIDI in Florence, which made him understand he had a big passion as a designer expanding his capabilities beyond architecture.
Award Record
This recognition makes Armando Mora Medina 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/106723
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/106723
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!106723
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/279800
- Further Information from the Laureate: http://www.design-va.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
- Walky Chair
- Function
- Chair
- Category
- Furniture Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Rosy Brown, White Smoke, Sienna, Dim Gray and Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Viviane & Armando Design
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Armando Mora Medina
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2020 - 2021
- Design ID
- #106723
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Walky is a chair that challenges the rigidity and monotony existing in design by adding movement and energy over conventional motionless designs. This chair re-defines today's models with three main drivers: Curiosity, Interaction, and Personality. Walky expresses itself uniquely to every user and evokes emotional memories and connections through its playful walking shoes, transforming the personal interaction with its users into a unique dialogue and memorable moments.
- Inspiration
- The human has forgotten how to build community, he designs and produces individualistic objects continuously, not focusing on the importance of social and human connections in today's world. Additionally, movement is an essential component of life, and today's pandemic situation has exposed it as a critical void that design must incorporate into interiors. Walky Chair captures the moment of a person walking, and multiplied within a space, provides a sense of dynamism and social activity.
- Research
- A thorough secondary and comparative research, of what the market offered and why the chair design world is where it is, indicated a void in motion and personality in chair design. Most of the chair designs only vary through shape and materials and does not address the personal dialogue with the user psyche. Sitting is a personal and dynamic activity, and it makes no sense why the chair design is so static and lacks interaction and dialogue between user and product.
- Challenge
- The hardest part of this project was bringing the idea to life. The design has no flat surfaces or edges, so the construction of the prototype required of previous study mock-ups and high precision craftsmanship to make it possible. It was a challenge to make the central bent piece that connects the chair parts and to make it look like a dowel. Also, it was tricky to find the right woods and type of joints for the back legs resistant enough to support the weights required.
- Realization and Technology
- Solid ash and walnut. Bent-laminated wood routered and hand-shaped to make the central connector of the chair. Hand-shaped backrest. CNC Seat Hand-turned legs, structure, and shoes.
- Operation and Interaction
- Walky is a comfortable ergonomic chair made for personal and social activity. The experience the user has when sitting on it is unique, and it varies from person to person. The chair brings back infinite memories, connects with people because of its human attributes, and brings an energetic, playful character to any place it touches. The back legs, combined with the shoes, and their position, make the chair feel light and moving. Walky is a chair that evokes movement without moving.
- Project Duration and Location
- This project started in September 2019 and finished in November 2019 in Savannah, GA. It got the 2020 NYCxDesign Award in the student category and will be part of the SaloneSatellite 2021 Exhibition.
- Specifications
- Width: 500mm Depth: 590mm Height: 790mm
- Keywords
- Chair, Bistro, Moving, Walking, Playful, Character, Shoes
