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DesignNewswire · COMO, Italy ·

Modern Chinese Chair by Jonathan Nieh Is Granted the Silver A' Design Award in Furniture Design

Jonathan Nieh acknowledged for furniture design by the international grand jury of the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 28, 2022 /DesignNewswire/ Modern Chinese Chair by Jonathan Nieh, designed for Niehworks, 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 2021 - 2022 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 evaluated 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 Modern Chinese Chair

Modern Chinese is an armchair intended for seating and also suitable for display as an art piece. The form borrows from the traditional Chinese armchair and from Marcel Breuer's No. B33 chair. CNC processing shapes plywood and solid walnut into a fluid and seamless outline, replacing the angular parts and woodworking joints of traditional construction. The structure and the strength of the wood were calculated to support body weight. A metal tube frame was studied first, but wood was chosen for its warmer appearance.

About Jonathan Nieh

Niehworks is founded by designer and artist Jonathan Nieh. Jonathan is passion about furniture and product design as a way to expressing the designer’s inner self. Fusing form and function by using simple lines and minimal shapes, Jonathan aims to create a playful yet elegant design to bring quality and style to our everyday items.

Award Record

Jonathan Nieh is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards span the editions from 2017 - 2018 to 2021 - 2022 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

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
Modern Chinese Chair
Function
Chair
Category
Furniture Design
Discipline
Industrial Design
Industry
Furniture & Home
Colors
Gainsboro, Silver, Dim Gray, Dark Gray and Gray
Images
5
Client
Niehworks

The Recognition

Laureate
Jonathan Nieh
Country
Canada
Recognition
Silver A' Design Award
Edition
2021 - 2022
Design ID
#127614

Design Details

Unique Properties
The overall concept is to borrow the shape of traditoinal Chinese armchair and fused with current technology and material such as CNC processing and plywood to create a modern and organic looking Chinese style furniture.
Inspiration
Modern Chinese Armchair was inspired by traditional Chinese armchair and Marcel Breuer's No. B33 chair design. The original motive was not to simplified a traditional Chinese armchair into a modern looking one, but to borrowed the design from the past and infused with present technology and material to expand a new style of Chinese furniture.
Research
For this project the idea/design was just pop into my head when I was reading a book called "Encyclopedia of China Traditional Furniture Making and Appreciation" Therefore, it is difficult to position this chair as a design piece or an art work.
Challenge
The most challenging part of this chair concept is to design proper structure and calculate wood strength enable to support people's weight. The original idea was to use metal tube and bending technique to create the chair structure, but the finish appearance looks too cold and contemporary, therefore, the material was switched from metal back to wood.
Realization and Technology
CNC Processing, Plywood, solid wood(walnut)
Operation and Interaction
Modern Chinese Armchair is mainly for sitting purpose but can also be viewed as piece of art work.
Project Duration and Location
The project started in March 2021 in Taipei, Taiwan and minor changes are undergoing
Specifications
Width 765mm x Depth 650mm x Height 800mm Seat Height 420mm
Keywords
chair, furniture, minimalism, simplicity, creative, oriental, Chinese, design, artistic, beautiful

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