Silver Furniture Design · 2025
Anima Armchair
- A' Design Award 2025 Silver Winner in Furniture Design
- Awarded April 15, 2025
- CLIENT: Pietro Luigi Verona
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 50,509
- Verification code 76CF3E27A2 · Verify this award
About Anima Armchair
The Anima armchair is a notable design that takes its cues from the forms and materials present in nature. By focusing on playful and symmetrical shapes, it seeks to create positive experiences for its users, evoking the uplifting sensations often associated with natural elements. Designed through meticulous observation of Brazil's diverse fauna and flora, the armchair transforms these inspirations into a concrete product. It reflects the striking silhouettes found within Brazil's ecosystems, highlighting both the authenticity of its playful features and the elegance of its organic lines.
Within the distinguished lineage of furniture design that celebrates the marriage of structural innovation and material warmth, Pietro Luigi Verona's Anima Armchair emerges as a compelling meditation on the dialogue between support and comfort, rigidity and yield, the skeletal and the enveloping. The work appears to draw upon the rich heritage of organic modernism while asserting a distinctly contemporary voice, its walnut framework demonstrating a sculptor's sensitivity to the continuous curve and the joiner's mastery of seamless transition. The designer seems to have conceived the wooden structure as both functional armature and aesthetic statement, each element tapering and flowing with a logic that suggests careful study of both biomechanical requirements and visual rhythm. The generous bouclé cushions, rendered in a warm ivory that complements rather than competes with the timber's rich coloration, appear to float within their wooden cradle, their soft volumes offering visual and tactile counterpoint to the frame's linear discipline. Technical accomplishment manifests in the sophisticated joinery visible at intersection points, where multiple curved members meet with fluid continuity that speaks to advanced woodworking methodology and refined design development. The chromatic strategy establishes an immediately welcoming presence through its warm-neutral palette, suggesting domestic comfort while maintaining the visual sophistication expected of award-recognized design. This armchair invites consideration of how contemporary furniture makers continue to explore the expressive potential of natural materials, and how the seated body might be supported with equal attention to physical comfort and aesthetic pleasure, perhaps prompting viewers to reflect upon the objects with which they choose to share their most intimate domestic moments.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The creative process was entirely manual, from the concept with hand drawings, to its construction and improvement in the wooden piece, the design was improved with 3D scanning technology of the physical prototype, facilitating the manufacturing process on the 5 axis CNC and guaranteeing lines organic and aesthetic that reflect the authenticity of natural forms. The piece offers visual and emotional comfort, bringing the essence of nature to indoor environments.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Width 880 mm x Depth 900 mm x Height 700 mm
- Tags
- armchair, wood, design, soul, handmade
- Production Technology
- Materials are Tauari Brazilian reforestation Wood. Natural Fabric from Brazil cotton.
the design was improved with 3D scanning technology of the physical prototype, facilitating the manufacturing process on the 5 axis CNC and ensuring organic and aesthetic lines that reflect the authenticity of natural forms. - Design Challenge
- The greatest challenge was understanding the elements that contribute to nature’s beauty and translating them into an armchair design. We immersed ourselves in observation, sketching organic lines, symmetry, and playful forms found in the natural world. Once the design was finalized, the next step was crafting a prototype using natural materials such as wood and cotton fabric. Working freehand, we constructed the wooden armchair's base, ensuring that the intricate, handmade quality from our drawings was preserved in the final product. This process beautifully linked nature’s essence with our craftsmanship.
- Project Duration
- January 2024 and finished June 2024. It was made in Nova Petropolis, Rio Grande do Sul. Brazil
- Operation Flow
- Imagine sinking into the Anima armchair after a long day. Its organic and natural curves invite you to relax, wrapping you in a cocoon of comfort with the Tauari wood. As you settle in, the playful lines and natural aesthetic create a soothing atmosphere, reminiscent of a serene walk in nature. You might take a moment to enjoy a good book, the chair cradling you like a gentle embrace.
- Research
- Brazil is home to one of the world's richest biodiversities. The objective of our research was to explore and understand the elements that contribute to the beauty of our native flora and fauna. We employed a hands-on approach, venturing into the field to closely observe various plants and animals. As we explored, we sketched our observations, capturing the intricate details and characteristics that make these living beings remarkable. This immersive method not only enhanced our appreciation of nature but also informed our design concepts, allowing us to translate this beauty into our work.
- Inspiration
- From the shapes and materials of the armchair, the project aims to express the positive experience transmitted in the beauty of nature's playful and symmetrical forms, giving us good feelings, which we experience when we are in contact with natural elements. The Anima armchair was designed based on the observation of aspects present in both Brazilian fauna and flora, with the aim of transmitting the beauty perceived through the interpretation of shapes.
- Image Credits
- Pietro Luigi Verona
Colors of Anima Armchair
Get Anima Armchair
Handcrafted Nature-Inspired Furniture
We create original furniture pieces that bring Brazilian nature's playful beauty into your home. Each handcrafted design captures organic forms from our diverse fauna and flora, transforming natural elegance into joyful, functional art. Our collection celebrates craftsmanship and authenticity.
G0E26 ShopGrand Interview about Anima Armchair
Brazil's biodiversity is one of the most extensive in the world. Observing nature here is a gift, the Anima armchair carries in its lines the general characteristics of the biodiversity observed as inspiration while I designed it: The organic, playful, continuous shape, bringing harmony and proportion to all observable points of the Anima armchair.
The combination of hand-drawn and hand-crafted woodworking with the technological aspects of 3D scanning and production is truly a unique combination that allows for interesting shapes to be achieved. The technology used in production allowed me to design the chair without constraints, allowing me to freely explore the natural forms that inspire me: the organic and playful aspects of nature, focusing on the beauty of forms.
The psychological comfort aspect comes from the beauty used in the shapes of the Anima armchair, based on the inspiration applied to its design: nature. If we observe the nature around us, we will notice some curious aspects, such as harmony, playful and organic lines, cheerful and elaborate colors and shapes. When we are in nature, we feel good, complete, and because the Anima armchair is inspired by these aspects, it is possible to feel comfortable when observing the lines of the armchair, as well as when using it, sitting and enjoying the moment.
Here in Brazil, there are several types of reforested wood available for manufacturing new products. Tauari is one of these woods and the reason it was chosen is that, in addition to being reforested, it has beautiful visual patterns, is resistant and easy to work with.
It was extremely fun to create the Anima armchair. During the creative process, I sat at my desk with several plants around me and, between observations and meditations on shapes, I drew, by hand, an infinite number of alternatives. I sought to achieve, just like in the plants I observed, harmony and joyful shapes, so I drew by hand several alternatives and, in the end, I think I achieved my goal.
The prototyping phase was challenging because in order to use 3D scanning technology, it was necessary to produce a model piece. This model piece was handmade and crafted in wood. During this phase, there were still several moments of improvement in the shape and creation, which is not possible to observe when drawing by hand on paper. That is why the patient work of altering the material in search of the ideal shape is essential!
In my opinion, the two things complement each other: When you seek true beauty of form, you automatically achieve ergonomic beauty and comfort.
I live the joy of dancing and the dance music of the 70s and 80s, and I also appreciate the cheerful and authentic designs of those decades. In my creative process, while I draw, music and dance are already involved: between one drawing and another, I make sure to get up and do a dance step! The moments of creating the Anima armchair were really fun and full of life.
I would be very happy if the Anima armchair influenced design in Brazil more, seeking inspiration from the fauna and flora of this country, which is extremely rich in these aspects. I think it would make a huge contribution to the development of furniture design in Brazil.
The strongest and most contributing aspects of the design of the anima armchair are authenticity and the relentless pursuit of achieving beauty in the formal aspects of the piece.