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Press Release

DesignNewswire · COMO, Italy ·

Robot Door Handle by Davide Diliberto Receives the Silver A' Design Award in Furniture Accessories, Hardware and Materials Design

Davide Diliberto recognized for furniture accessories, hardware and materials design by the international grand jury of the 2019 - 2020 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 23, 2020 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Robot Door Handle by Davide Diliberto, designed for Ento, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Furniture Accessories, Hardware and Materials Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2019 - 2020 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 scored 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 Robot Door Handle

Robot is a door handle designed as a small architecture. The shape recalls a simple profile from which surfaces extend and rotate to give the right grip for the palm and the thumb. A horizontal plane protrudes from the top so the palm can push the handle down, while the main surface extends in two directions to invite the thumb to push forward. Squared shapes and sharp corners let the handle blend with the architectural environment. The handle is made from one piece of brass, offered in polished chrome, satin chrome, satin graphite or matt black enamel finishes.

About Davide Diliberto

Davide Diliberto is an industrial designer focusing on the shape of a product as the most relevant aspect, the core of its aesthetic. Their products often should be looked closely, designed with a delicate touch and defined by details. He looks for integration with the environment and the architecture, rather than products too noticeable. His goal is to raise the perceived brand image by design and art direction.

Award Record

With this recognition, Davide Diliberto is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards. The awards were granted between the 2018 - 2019 and the 2019 - 2020 editions of the A' Design Award & Competition.

About the A' Furniture Accessories, Hardware and Materials Design Award

The A' Furniture Accessory Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good furniture accessories by leading designers and brands worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to furniture accessory designers, hardware designers, material designers and industrial design studios from all countries. Typical entries include knobs, handles, hinges, casters, sliders and brackets. The awarded furniture accessory designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/furniture-accessory

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

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
Robot Door Handle
Function
Door Handle
Category
Furniture Accessories, Hardware and Materials Design
Discipline
Industrial Design
Industry
Furniture & Home and Manufacturing
Colors
Light Slate Gray, Lavender, Silver, Slate Gray and Light Gray
Images
5
Client
Ento

The Recognition

Laureate
Davide Diliberto
Country
Italy
Recognition
Silver A' Design Award
Edition
2019 - 2020
Design ID
#92482

Credits

Image Credits
Photographer Davide Diliberto, Robot Door Handle on a door, 2020.; Photographer Davide Diliberto, Robot door handle polished chrome, 2020.; Photographer Davide Diliberto, Robot pull handle polished chrome, 2020.; Creator Davide Diliberto, Robot door handle photomontage, 2020. Video Credits: Creator Davide Diliberto, Robot door handle concept, 2020.

Design Details

Unique Properties
Robot is a family of door handles inspired by the concept of transformation. Its shape reminds a regular profile from which surfaces extend and rotate to ensure the right grip and comfort for the palm and the thumb. Squared shape, sharp corners and three dimensional planes made the handle visually fuse together with the architectural environment. It is also intended as an extended range with all the related products and accessories obtained by just three moulds.
Inspiration
A door handle is usually a piece of metal without special features or moving parts. I figured out a technological tool shaped with a different idea of ergonomics, inspired by robots and the way they change their shape to better operate specific tasks. As a micro architecture, Robot handle ideally extends and rotates surfaces in order to offer the right grip for the palm to push it down and for the thumb to push it forward. This way material is used just where it is needed, with weight and size reduction.
Research
The brand philosophy is based on the door handle as a complementary part of the whole project. In order to design a product which embodied such a concept, I wanted to give it an architectural look by flat surfaces and squared shapes. I had to verify if multiple planes and sharp edges were feasible. This handle has been unveiled as a prototype in 2018, so together with the company, I made a market research to test the best expected length of the grip for the final production version. Sales managers suggested to slightly increase the overall length about 5 mm compared to the first prototype.
Challenge
The moulded raw piece needs to be finished by tool grinding and polishing. Due to the geometric shape, a particular care is required in order to keep regular planes, sharp edges and the original design. All these operations have to be manually executed, especially for the satin finishes where the grinding lines are visible and must be perfectly oriented. Is one of the most complex door handles of the market.
Realization and Technology
The door handle is one piece of brass, finished in polished chrome, satin chrome or high performance satin graphite. It is also available in a special matt black enamel coating that ensures the same demanding performances of the faucet industry. It features special 6 mm thick rose and escutcheon.
Operation and Interaction
The shape is intended to suggest the most efficient way to operate it. An horizontal plane protrudes from the top to give the palm the right surface to push down the handle; in the same way, the main surface extends in two directions to visually invite the thumb to push forward. Even if the overall design is squared, the body is thick enough and the rear is rounded to ensure a comfortable grab.
Project Duration and Location
The first concept has been shown to the company based in Brianza on November 2017. Then a refined prototype was unveiled at 2018 Milan Design Week, with all the range of related accessories. Following some suggestions from clients, the production version is slightly longer and has been unveiled at 2019 Milan Design Week and permanently placed into the Archiproducts Milano headquarters, in Via Tortona.
Specifications
Size of the handle without any rose or plate, width 133 mm, depth 49 mm, height 26 mm. Size with standard round rose, width 141 mm, depth 60 mm, height 50 mm.
Keywords
handle, robot, transformation, grip, surface

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