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Press Release

DesignNewswire · COMO, Italy ·

Crested Ibis Furniture Collection by Wei Jingye and Gu Mingtian Receives the A' Design Award in Furniture Design

Wei Jingye and Gu Mingtian recognized for furniture design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 28, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category for Crested Ibis Furniture Collection by Wei Jingye and Gu Mingtian, designed for Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts. The award was conferred within 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.

What the A' Design Award Means

The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.

Regarding Crested Ibis Furniture Collection

Crested Ibis is a furniture collection inspired by the endangered crested ibis. The collection includes a desk, a shelving unit and a screen partition. The forms follow the wings, neck, legs and feathers of the bird. Each piece is 3D printed with a biodegradable polylactic acid composite using fused deposition modelling. Main structures are formed in one piece for stability. Larger parts are printed separately and joined by hidden mortise and tenon joints, so assembly needs no tools. The collection supports biodiversity awareness and sustainable production.

Award Record

Wei Jingye and Gu Mingtian is a winner of 42 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards span the editions from 2016 - 2017 to 2025 - 2026 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
Crested Ibis Furniture Collection
Function
Furniture Collection
Category
Furniture Design
Discipline
Industrial Design
Industry
Furniture & Home
Colors
Dark Gray, Gray, Dim Gray, Silver and Light Gray
Images
5
Client
Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts

The Recognition

Laureate
Wei Jingye and Gu Mingtian
Country
China
Recognition
A' Design Award
Edition
2025 - 2026
Design ID
#182667

Credits

Team
Wei Jingye, Gu Mingtian, Yu Xiaowei and Shen Qingqing

Design Details

Unique Properties
This Crested Ibis Bionic Furniture Series takes the endangered crested ibis as its design prototype, with bionic innovation in form, structure and function. Integrally 3D printed with naturally degradable materials, it balances organic aesthetic, lightweight and high load capacity, and practical functions. It embodies biodiversity conservation and sustainable design, integrating design innovation and technological breakthrough.
Inspiration
This Crested Ibis Bionic Furniture Series draws core inspiration from the elegant form and biological structure of the endangered crested ibis. Its desk, shelving units, and screen partition mimic the bird's wing, neck, legs, and feather traits, integrating natural grace with lightweight strength, stable load-bearing, and functional daily design.
Research
This study designs a crested ibis inspired bionic furniture series. It adopts industrial Fused Deposition Modeling 3D printing and Polylactic Acid material, with one piece molding for low carbon production without molds. The series combines organic aesthetics, practical functions, biodiversity conservation and sustainable design, providing a reference for furniture innovation.
Challenge
The core challenge of this study lies in simultaneously balancing and integrating the furniture practical functions, structural mechanical stability, 3D printing process feasibility, and sustainable environmental protection concepts on the basis of organic form bionic design that accurately restores the biological characteristics of the crested ibis.
Realization and Technology
The Crested Ibis Bionic Furniture Series is 3D printed with single color Polylactic Acid composite. Formaldehyde free and biodegradable, it has high load bearing strength, aligning with sustainable design. Main structures use one piece molding to restore bionic forms and ensure stability. Oversized parts adopt split printing with hidden mortise and tenon assembly, reaching over ninety five percent material utilization and low carbon emission.
Operation and Interaction
Designed for home study rooms and living rooms, this furniture series also adapts to diverse spaces like open work areas and entryways. The entire collection is easy to install without tools,just place the main structure in position for immediate use. The modular components can be quickly assembled by hand using hidden mortise and tenon joints.
Project Duration and Location
The design had started in Shenyang in January 2025, completed in Shenyang in June 2025, and displayed in the museum of Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts in Shenyang in June in 2025.
Specifications
Bionic Desk 1800 mm x 800 mm x 750 mm. Bionic Shelving Unit 1200 mm x 400 mm x 1800 mm, with customizable layer count and height. Wing bionic Screen Partition 500 mm x 1800 mm x 60 mm per module, supporting module splicing. The series takes Fused Deposition Modeling 3D printing as its core method. It has a simple processing flow with no special technical thresholds, high molding freedom without mold opening, and supports both mass production and personalized customization.
Keywords
Bionic Design, 3D Printed Furniture, Environmentally Friendly Furniture, Organic Form Furniture

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