Press Release
Silver A' Design Award in Furniture Design Goes to Tokyo Lounge Chair by Isabelle De Mari
Isabelle De Mari of Olho Moveis Autorais recognized 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/ Tokyo Lounge Chair by Isabelle De Mari of Olho Moveis Autorais 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 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.
About Tokyo Lounge Chair
Tokyo is a lounge chair made of solid Brazilian sucupira hardwood. The frame is fully exposed, showing the joinery and the shaped wooden parts. The arms and back supports are turned on a lathe under manual control, with concave detailing at the ends. A natural leather inlay is recessed into each armrest and finished with stitching. The seat and back cushions combine layered polyurethane foam and feather filling, upholstered in brown linen. Surfaces are hand sanded and finished with a matte varnish. The design applies Japanese woodworking principles to a Brazilian material.
About Isabelle De Mari
Isabelle De Mari is a furniture designer and creative director of OLHO Móveis Autorais, a Brazilian brand focused on design, material, and craftsmanship. With a background in architecture, her work explores form, use, and materiality. Her practice emphasizes construction processes and traditional techniques, translated into contemporary furniture with identity and longevity.
About Olho Moveis Autorais
OLHO MOVEIS AUTORAIS is a company focused on the production and sale of exclusive and original furniture and accessories. Located in São Paulo, it serves the entire Brazilian luxury market.
Award Record
Isabelle De Mari of Olho Moveis Autorais is a winner of 3 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. All of the awards belong to the 2025 - 2026 edition 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
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/181979
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/181979
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!181979
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/380409
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://bit.ly/-olho
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
- Tokyo Lounge Chair
- Function
- Lounge Chair
- Category
- Furniture Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Dim Gray, Dark Olive Green, Linen, Gray and Rosy Brown
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Isabelle De Mari
- Country
- Brazil
- Brand
- Olho Moveis Autorais
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #181979
Credits
- Team
- Filipe Melo
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Tokyo asserts craftsmanship as structure and expression. Defined by its fully exposed wooden frame in solid Brazilian sucupira, the lounge chair reveals precision woodworking through manually operated lathe-turned arms with subtle concave detailing at the ends. An inlaid leather armrest refines the tactile experience, balancing substantial material presence with aesthetic lightness and disciplined form.
- Inspiration
- Tokyo was inspired by the principles of Japanese woodworking, where precision, restraint and respect for material define construction. The project explores how substantial volumes of solid wood can achieve visual lightness through disciplined detailing and controlled form. By prioritizing hand guided processes, even when using mechanical tools, the design embraces an a mano approach, valuing the artisan gesture over automated production.
- Research
- Research focused on refining solid sucupira structure through controlled manual processes. The objective was to test how lathe shaped components and proportional studies could enhance structural precision. Methodology included full scale prototyping and ergonomic evaluation. Data was collected through physical mockups and material testing. Experiments centered on hand guided finishing. Results confirmed durability and refined surface quality, reinforcing craft driven production in contemporary furniture.
- Challenge
- The main challenge was achieving formal discipline while working with substantial volumes of solid wood. Balancing structural mass with refined proportion required precise control during lathe shaping and manual finishing. Internally, the project sought to reinterpret Japanese woodworking principles within a Brazilian material context. Externally, contemporary production constraints demanded efficiency without compromising craft integrity, requiring careful coordination between technique, material and artisanal execution.
- Realization and Technology
- Tokyo is manufactured in certified solid Brazilian sucupira hardwood. Structural components are precision machined, with arms and back supports shaped on a mechanically driven lathe under manual control. Armrests incorporate recessed detailing for flush leather inlay. Elements are hand sanded to refine concave terminations. The base is assembled from solid planks with radiused edges. Upholstery combines multi density polyurethane foam and feather filling. Finished with water based matte varnish.
- Operation and Interaction
- Tokyo is experienced as a balance between structure and comfort. The solid wood frame provides visual stability, while the layered cushions offer a soft and supportive seat. The recessed leather armrest enhances tactile contact, creating a refined resting point for the hands. Its proportions encourage a relaxed posture without excess, allowing the user to feel supported by craftsmanship rather than hidden structure.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in July 2025 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and was completed in October 2025. It was officially launched in November 2025 as part of the Tokyo Collection, a broader furniture series inspired by Japanese culture and craftsmanship.
- Specifications
- Dimensions: 700 mm W x 800 mm D x 700 mm H. Weight: approximately 30 kg. Structure: solid sucupira wood. Armrests with recessed natural leather inlay and stitching. Seat and back cushions with layered foam and feather filling, upholstered in brown linen. Finish: matte acrylic varnish. Non disassemblable construction.
- Keywords
- Lounge chair, Solid wood furniture, Japanese craftsmanship, Brazilian sucupira, Exposed structure, Artisanal woodworking, Contemporary seating, Minimalist design, Leather inlay
