Press Release
Zig Stool by Jules S. Jaffe Is Granted the A' Design Award in Furniture Design
Jules S. Jaffe acknowledged for furniture design by the international grand jury of the 2019 - 2020 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, May 4, 2020 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Zig Stool by Jules S. Jaffe has been granted the A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category. The award was conferred within the 2019 - 2020 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached 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.
The A' Design Award Explained
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.
More About Zig Stool
The design is inspired by the desire to showcase the unique properties of wood in the context of the technical challenges that require both beauty and functionality. To Jules S. Jaffe, this is the challenge of furniture design. The stool employs a unique triple mitered joint that did not exist before. The challenge here was to provide stability and strength to accommodate a feeling of lightness and tension in the final design. The resultant stool has exemplary strength but also has a feeling of lightness and peacefulness that the geometry, dating back to the Pythagoreans from whom the designer takes inspiration.
About Jules S. Jaffe
For the most part, I invent sensor systems to study the underwater environment. Given the climate changes that are happening, I feel it is important to document these changes in an esthetic way. My photographs find a nice home in showing the microscopic world (having won awards in microscopy) and takes us on a voyage to our own planet, but at a different scale.
Award Record
Jules S. Jaffe 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/89459
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/89459
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!89459
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/122225
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
###
Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Zig Stool
- Function
- Stool
- Category
- Furniture Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Burly Wood, Peru, Dark Salmon, Wheat and Antique White
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Jules S. Jaffe
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2019 - 2020
- Design ID
- #89459
Credits
- Team
- Jules S. Jaffe (only)
- Image Credits
- Jules S. Jaffe, 2019. Optional image #2 Jules S. Jaffe, 2019.
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The stool employs a unique triple mitered joint that did not exist before. The challenge here was to provide enough stability and strength to accommodate a feeling of lightness and tension in the final design.
- Inspiration
- Overall the stool is an homage to Gerrit Rietveld. However it incorporates a Zen-like feeling of peacefulness and rest but with the tension of a cantilever. Hence, it uses contrasting elements to achieve its unique design. The stool inspires sitting upright in a meditative position and is also excellent for artists such as guitarists and cellists to use as it has no protruding parts and the base retracts from the seat edge. It is very stable but allows freedom of movement.
- Research
- As with all projects the tension between good design and stability and strength in construction is paramount. In this case, many of the preliminary designs, when constructed cracked under the weight of the sitter. In addition, since the surface between the base and the supporting rod and the supporting rod and the seat are not orthogonal, it took a great deal of geometric reasoning to make those top and bottom surfaces parallel, as in any design close to this.
- Challenge
- The continuous challenge of creating functional items that are also aesthetically pleasing is a constant challenge. Research in form, function and the engineering needed to accomplish the mutual goals of fulfilling those aspirations is a constant pursuit. Ancient concepts related to the golden triangle and its harmony with human perception is related to the construction of this stool as it incorporates a triangular structure that also needs to be extremely stable. The final realization was an exercise in precise and multi-dimensional angles.
- Realization and Technology
- The design was realized in maple because it has the requisite capability to be accurately cut without worrying about splintering. This is actually version 4.2 that took place over 2 years with a variety of materials (oak) and a variety of machining techniques. Ultimately, a set of table saw fixtures that were precisely measured and inclined were used to have the surface meet with extremely high accuracy. The challenge with any cantilever is strength and stability. Hence the large mating surfaces. There are no screws or any other metal parts used in construction. Only wood. Purity of materials was a prime consideration.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project took 2 years to execute in a workshop in La Jolla, CA, USA.
- Keywords
- stool, chair, sitting device
