Silver Furniture Design · 2026
Alvorada Armchair
- A' Design Award 2026 Silver Winner in Furniture Design
- Awarded April 15, 2026
- CLIENT: Larissa Sanches Design
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 30,301
- Verification code A9565FED72 · Verify this award
About Alvorada Armchair
Inspired by the quiet transition of dawn, the Alvorada Armchair reflects moments of pause, renewal and introspection. Its enveloping laminated wood shells evoke distant mountains on the horizon, while the integrated upholstery and matching ottoman create a supportive and tactile seating experience that encourages relaxation and mental restoration. By combining organic references with ergonomic precision, the armchair offers a sense of comfort and balance, reinforcing the home as a place of refuge, presence and well being.
Larissa Sanches's Alvorada Armchair emerges from a rich tradition of craft-oriented furniture design that honors the expressive potential of natural materials while embracing contemporary formal investigations into organic geometry and human-centered ergonomics. The work participates in an ongoing dialogue between Scandinavian design heritage, with its emphasis on honest material expression and democratic comfort, and more recent explorations of biomorphic sculptural furniture that treats seating as both functional object and aesthetic statement. The designer demonstrates exceptional command of bent laminated wood construction, achieving curves of remarkable fluidity that wrap around the sitter in a protective embrace, the continuous flow from backrest through armrest to base creating visual unity while providing intuitive armrest placement. The chromatic restraint operating within warm naturalistic tonalities allows material qualities to communicate directly, the golden oak grain patterns contributing visual rhythm while the textured bouclé upholstery promises tactile pleasure and thermal comfort. Particularly notable passages include the seamless transition zones where wood meets textile, the tapered leg profiles suggesting organic growth patterns, and the proportional relationship between chair and ottoman that creates functional poetry in the domestic landscape. The work invites contemplation of how furniture might function as both physical support and emotional sanctuary, how natural materials processed through skilled craft can achieve forms that feel simultaneously designed and discovered, and how the rituals of rest and contemplation find their material embodiment in objects of considered beauty.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The Alvorada Armchair translates the sensory atmosphere of dawn into a contemplative seating experience. Its distinctive feature is the fusion of a sculptural laminated wooden shell with an integrated upholstered interior, generating a continuous transition between structure and comfort. The matching ottoman extends ergonomic support and reinforces visual lightness and tactile softness, redefining everyday seating as an experience of pause, balance and well-being.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Armchair dimensions: W 840mm x D 920mm x H 900mm
Ottoman dimensions: W 600mm x D 520mm x H 410mm - Tags
- Alvorada Armchair, armchair with ottoman, lounge chair, furniture design, product design, ergonomic seating, contemporary furniture, Brazilian Design, Larissa Sanches
- Production Technology
- The structure is composed of a laminated wood shell, CNC cut and produced through mold pressing, responsible for the main structural performance and visual identity of the product. Solid wood legs are integrated into the shell. The inner surfaces are upholstered in boucle fabric. The laminated construction enables the double-curved geometry while maintaining structural continuity and controlled thickness.
- Design Challenge
- The first challenge of the project during the concept phase is translating the subtle symbolism of dawn into an armchair that balances comfort, expression and production feasibility. The second major challenge lies in the fabrication of the laminated wood structure, which requires precise control of double-curved geometry through CNC-cut veneers and mold pressing to ensure structural and visual continuity, as well as to properly accommodate the integrated internal upholstery.
- Project Duration
- The armchair was developed between December 2025 and January 2026 in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
- Operation Flow
- The Alvorada Armchair is designed to provide relaxed, ergonomically balanced seating, suitable for prolonged use in living and reading areas. Seat proportions, backrest inclination and upholstery thickness ensure continuous lumbar and upper back support. The seating accommodates a range of postures, from attentive sitting to reclined positions, while the ottoman enables full leg extension. Within the living space, it assumes an iconic role as a singular element that integrates use and presence.
- Research
- This project arose from the premise of how biophilia can translate the sensations of calm and renewal found in nature into furniture. Natural references such as horizons, sunrise light, soft landscapes and organic contours guided the study alongside ergonomic analysis of relaxed seating. The research led to a seating piece conceived as a moment of pause within daily life, where form, comfort and atmosphere encourage mental restoration and a renewed sense of balance.
- Inspiration
- The Alvorada Armchair was inspired by the calm freshness of dawn, a moment of softness, renewal and quiet introspection. Its enveloping forms invite pause and reconnection, echoing rituals of self-care in contemporary domestic life. The rounded and overlapping laminated wooden shells recall distant mountains on the horizon and embrace a light and generous upholstery that enhances tactile comfort and ergonomic support, creating a quiet refuge for the body and a restorative pause for the mind.
- Image Credits
- Images: Larissa Sanches Design