Press Release
Ayse Ozlem Ozaltin Is Honored with the Silver A' Design Award for Curvline Bookcase in Furniture Design
Ayse Ozlem Ozaltin honored for furniture design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 25, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Curvline Bookcase by Ayse Ozlem Ozaltin, designed for Sotil Studio, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category. The result belongs to the 2025 - 2026 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.
The Silver A' Design Award Explained
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 Curvline Bookcase
Curvline is a self supporting bookcase that explores the structural transformation of thin metal through curvature. Inspired by the dual nature of metal, both flexible and resistant, the design converts material vulnerability into strength by bending and folding the surface. The continuous form acts simultaneously as structure and storage, eliminating the distinction between frame and shelf. With its modular configuration, Curvline allows adaptable compositions while maintaining a clear sculptural identity defined by balance, tension, and refined minimalism.
About Ayse Ozlem Ozaltin
Özlem Özaltın is a Turkey-based architect and designer working across architecture, interior design, and contemporary furniture. She holds a Master’s degree in Architecture, where her research examined the relationship between housing and modernity. Her work focuses on material behavior, fabrication processes, and structural logic. In product design, she develops objects through a process of reduction and refinement, emphasizing clarity, precision, and the intrinsic qualities of materials. Alongside her architectural practice, she produces design objects through her independent studio, contributing to contemporary design culture.
Award Record
This recognition makes Ayse Ozlem Ozaltin 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/169808
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/169808
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!169808
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/340046
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
- Curvline Bookcase
- Function
- Bookcase
- Category
- Furniture Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Lavender, Gray, Dim Gray, Light Gray and Dark Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Sotil Studio
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Ayse Ozlem Ozaltin
- Country
- Turkiye
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #169808
Credits
- Image Credits
- Photographer Tolga Aslanturk, 2023; Creator Ayse Ozlem Ozaltin, 2025
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The natural properties of sheet metal have directly shaped the design approach of the Curvline Bookcase. Through bending and curving, an ideal form has been achieved - one that is both self-supporting in structure and functional as a bookshelf and display unit. Function, aesthetics, sculptural presence, and structural integrity are resolved within a single, unified design language. Form and function are seamlessly intertwined.
- Inspiration
- By its nature, metal resists tension with its high tensile strength, yet in thin forms, it becomes more vulnerable under compression. These slender forms are flexible and malleable. However, bending them is precisely what transforms this weakness into strength. As the metal folds, it gains structural rigidity, balancing the contradictions within its own nature. This design takes inspiration from that transformation, uniting strength and the aesthetic of form into a harmonious whole.
- Research
- This research was a design-based study aimed at creating a modular, self-supporting bookcase. Metal behavior was explored through sketches, 3D models, and physical prototypes. Data was collected by testing forms, curves, and load capacity, including computer simulations to determine metal thickness and weight limits. Experiments also focused on using thin metal forms in furniture design. Results showed that curved forms provide both strength and aesthetic appeal. The research informs real-world furniture design, offering flexible, durable, and visually striking solutions for homes, offices, and public spaces.
- Challenge
- The hardest part was shaping thin sheet metal to stand on its own while keeping a light, elegant look. Balancing strength and flexibility required many form tests and precise bending experiments. Limited production tools and metal thickness constraints challenged the process, but these limits inspired a refined, minimal structure that merges aesthetics with structural efficiency.
- Realization and Technology
- The production of the bookcase involves precision bending and Atomic Hydrogen Welding (AHW), ensuring structural integrity, dimensional accuracy, and refined craftsmanship. The surface is coated with electrostatic powder coating, providing long-lasting durability and a high-quality finish.
- Operation and Interaction
- Curvline Bookcase is easy to use and adapt. You can place units side by side or stack them to fit your space. Its curved metal form stands firmly without extra support, creating a sculptural yet practical piece. By simply changing its arrangement, it transforms from a single shelf into a continuous display, combining elegance, strength, and flexibility in everyday use.
- Specifications
- 1200 x 300 x 600mm It is made of 3 mm thick metal sheet coated with electrostatic powder paint.
- Keywords
- Curved bookcase, modular design, metal bookshelf, contemporary furniture, space-saving storage, self supporting structure, minimalist aesthetic, durable materials
