Press Release
Nimbus Lounge Chair by Simone Villéla Is Granted the Silver A' Design Award in Furniture Design
Simone Villéla acknowledged 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/ Nimbus Lounge Chair by Simone Villéla, designed for Simone Villéla Atelier, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The result belongs to the 2025 - 2026 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 assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Silver A' Design Award
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 Nimbus Lounge Chair
Nimbus is an armchair and ottoman set designed for residential interiors. The design is inspired by the lightness of clouds, combining soft upholstered volumes with a precise wooden structure. Arms and base are made of solid jacaranda wood, shaped with careful joinery for durability. High-density layered foam and elastic webbing provide ergonomic comfort. The ottoman is multifunctional and can serve as a footrest, an extra seat, or a compact side table when fitted with a removable wooden top. The set brings handcrafted detailing into scalable industrial production.
About Simone Villéla
Simone Villéla is a Brazilian architect and furniture designer focused on the development of authorial products for industry. Her work explores the relationship between aesthetics, function, and experience, translating concepts into pieces that engage with the body, use, and time. Her approach integrates research, creative process, and industrial feasibility, resulting in products with conceptual clarity and precise positioning. Awarded at Design Tank Brasil, Salão de Gramado, and Móvel Brasil, her practice connects aesthetic sensibility, product strategy, and formal consistency within contemporary design.
Award Record
Simone Villéla is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.
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/179718
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/179718
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!179718
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/376037
- Further Information from the Laureate: http://www.simonevillela.com.br
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
- Nimbus Lounge Chair
- Function
- Lounge Chair
- Category
- Furniture Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Gainsboro, Gray, Sienna, Rosy Brown and Light Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Simone Villéla Atelier
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Simone Villéla
- Country
- Brazil
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #179718
Credits
- Image Credits
- Image Credits: Studio Moresco, Still Photography, Nimbus Armchair and Ottoman Set, 2026. Graphic Design Credits: Ezequiele Panizzi, Graphic Art and Layout, 2025. Video Credits: Simone Villéla Atelier, Direction and Editing, 2026.
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Nimbus is a contemporary seating system inspired by the gentle lightness of clouds. Designed for modern living, it combines sculptural presence with ergonomic comfort and multifunctionality. The transformable ottoman serves both as a footrest and as a side table, offering adaptability and practicality. Nimbus balances emotional design with everyday use, creating a warm, iconic solution for contemporary interiors.
- Inspiration
- Nimbus was inspired by the idea of visual lightness translated into structural solidity. The design contrasts soft, enveloping volumes with a precise wooden base, creating balance between comfort and architectural clarity. It explores the dialogue between handcrafted expression and industrial feasibility, bringing artisanal warmth into scalable contemporary production.
- Research
- Nimbus was developed through research on emotional design, ergonomic seating, and multifunctional furniture for compact living. The process included sketch exploration, proportion studies, and material testing with wood and upholstery to achieve softness and structural clarity. User comfort, visual lightness, and adaptability were key outcomes, resulting in a refined seating system for contemporary interiors.
- Challenge
- The main challenge in developing Nimbus was achieving structural durability while preserving its soft, cloud-inspired volume. Research focused on ergonomic proportions, material resistance and foam performance under prolonged use. A layered seat system combining elastic webbing and differentiated foams was tested to balance weight support and comfort. The final structure ensures stability, longevity and visual lightness without compromising tactile softness.
- Realization and Technology
- The Nimbus Armchair and Ottoman combine solid jacaranda wood craftsmanship with advanced upholstery techniques. Carefully shaped joinery ensures durability and visual lightness. High-density foam and elastic webbing provide ergonomic comfort, while all elements are designed for efficient manufacturing without losing refined artisanal detailing.
- Operation and Interaction
- Nimbus is designed to create an intuitive comfort experience. The armchair provides a supportive, enveloping seat for relaxation, while the ottoman enhances interaction by adapting to different needs. It can be used as a footrest, an extra seat, or paired with a removable wooden top to become a compact side table. This flexibility allows Nimbus to support everyday living in a warm and effortless way.
- Project Duration and Location
- The Nimbus Armchair and Ottoman were designed and developed between 2025 and 2026 in Vila Velha/ES, Brazil, at Simone Villéla Atelier. The collection was later executed in Bento Goncalves/ RS, Brazil in partnership with Voltoni, combining authorial design research with industrial craftsmanship. The project reflects a contemporary approach to comfort, sculptural form, and production-ready furniture for modern interiors.
- Specifications
- Nimbus is a contemporary armchair and ottoman system designed for residential interiors. Armchair dimensions: 760 mm height × 745 mm width × 765 mm depth, with a seat height of 455 mm. The round ottoman measures 370 mm height × 540 mm width × 540 mm depth. The rectangular ottoman version measures 485 mm height × 430 mm width × 615 mm depth. Materials include solid wood structure, upholstered foam seating, and an optional wooden tabletop surface. The ottoman is multifunctional, serving as footrest or compact support table.
- Keywords
- Armchair design, Multifunctional ottoman, Contemporary furniture, Ergonomic seating, Sculptural form, Brazilian design, Wood craftsmanship, Soft upholstery, Modular comfort, Living room furniture
