Iron Furniture Design · 2026
Virella Furniture
- A' Design Award 2026 Iron Winner in Furniture Design
- Awarded April 15, 2026
- CLIENT: Ghazal
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 5,018
- Verification code 355EE75039 · Verify this award
About Virella Furniture
This design is inspired by natural forms interacting with urban environments and features a twisting wooden structure that expresses movement and transformation. It integrates greenery, seating, and subtle lighting to create a balanced relationship between aesthetics, functionality, and sustainability. The structure is modular and ergonomically designed, supporting comfort and social interaction. Materials include durable timber, metal supports, and integrated ambient LED lighting, contributing to its adaptability and presence within a range of urban contexts.
Virella Furniture by Ghazaleh Abbasian engages contemporary discourse surrounding biophilic urbanism and the integration of living systems within designed public infrastructure, positioning itself within traditions of landscape furniture that seek to dissolve boundaries between built environment and natural processes. The work demonstrates compositional sophistication through its asymmetrical tripartite organization, where two seating zones flank a central planted cavity, creating rhythmic variation and functional differentiation within a unified linear system. Chromatic restraint characterizes the timber palette, which ranges through warm earth tones suggesting either natural weathered wood or carefully selected composite materials treated to evoke organic authenticity, while the verdant planted accent introduces essential chromatic vitality and seasonal variability. Technical accomplishment appears in the precise vertical slat assembly, where uniform spacing and alignment create visual rhythm and material integrity, the narrow board widths generating delicate linear texture across the horizontal mass while maintaining structural coherence. The central planter volume represents a particularly successful passage, where the recessed cavity creates sculptural complexity and the triangular void beneath introduces negative space that lightens the visual mass while potentially serving functional purposes for drainage or material economy. Formal choices throughout serve expressive ends celebrating environmental responsibility and human connection to living plant systems, the integrated greenery transforming static seating into dynamic ecological participant that changes across seasons and invites ongoing observation and care. Thematically, the work explores relationships between infrastructure and nature, utility and beauty, permanence and growth, suggesting that urban furniture might serve not merely functional accommodation but environmental remediation and psychological restoration through contact with living vegetation. The asymmetrical composition, rather than adhering to conventional bilateral symmetry often found in public seating, introduces visual interest and spatial flexibility, potentially accommodating varied user behaviors from solitary contemplation near the planted section to social gathering along the extended bench zones. Material selection, whether authentic timber or sustainable alternative, signals environmental values increasingly central to contemporary design discourse, while the elevated positioning on minimal supports maintains ground plane permeability important for urban water management and ecological connectivity. The work participates in evolving typologies of urban green infrastructure, where designed objects increasingly serve multiple functions including aesthetic enhancement, social gathering, environmental performance, and biodiversity support, moving beyond singular utility toward complex integrated systems. One might observe how the planted cavity invites questions about urban stewardship and collective care, whether such integrated furniture relies upon institutional maintenance or invites community participation in nurturing the living component, and how seasonal change in the planted species might mark time and connect users to natural cycles often obscured in built environments. The piece suggests possibilities for urban furniture as active ecological agent rather than passive infrastructural backdrop, inviting consideration of how design interventions might support both human community formation and environmental health simultaneously.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- This design stands out through its sculptural wooden form that seamlessly integrates seating, greenery, and lighting. The twisted geometry enhances ergonomic comfort while maintaining visual dynamism. Its modular structure allows flexible placement in various urban contexts, promoting both social interaction and ecological awareness.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Height = 30 cm, Diameter = 30 cm
- Tags
- Furniture, Sustainable, Bench, Public space.
- Production Technology
- The product is composed of wooden planks in varying lengths, a linear LED light, and metal supports that ensure the bench remains level.
- Design Challenge
- The main challenge is creating a piece that can be used for seating in public spaces while being both environmentally friendly and made from natural materials . At the same time, it must respect personal boundaries, bringing people together in a way that allows them to feel comfortable and at ease.
- Project Duration
- Two months - Melbourne, Australia
- Operation Flow
- The overall design of this product is composed of wooden planks arranged side by side, forming a twisted parametric shape. In the upper surface and central section of the bench, some of these planks are removed to create space for planting flowers and greenery. A linear LED light is integrated beneath the bench, following its curved form to illuminate the surrounding area in harmony with the design.
- Research
- This qualitative research explores how urban furniture design shapes user behavior and social interaction. Using observations, interviews, and ergonomic analysis, it found that thoughtful design guides behavior, respects boundaries, and fosters social harmony. The study highlights integrating ergonomics, psychology, and aesthetics to create inclusive, user-centered urban spaces.
- Inspiration
- The design is inspired by the continuity of natural forms and their interaction with the urban environment. The gradual twist of the wooden structure evokes a sense of movement, flexibility, and transformation. Integrating greenery within the form symbolized the return of natural life to urban spaces, where contemporary design, functionality, and environmental sustainability find a balanced harmony.
Colors of Virella Furniture
Grand Interview about Virella Furniture
The idea came from thinking about how public furniture can do more than simply provide a place to sit. I wanted to design a sculptural urban bench that could encourage social interaction, while still giving people a subtle sense of personal space in a public environment.The gradual twist allowed the bench to change direction and create different seating orientations, so people could choose to sit together, beside each other, or slightly apart. At the same time, integrating greenery into the center helped soften the object and bring nature into the urban space. That was the moment I realized the twist was not only a visual gesture, but also a functional strategy for comfort, privacy, and social connection.
I believe Virella Furniture reframes urban furniture as more than a functional object. It becomes a small social and emotional space within the city. The use of natural material, especially timber, helps create a warmer and calmer experience for users, compared to more rigid or cold urban elements.The integrated greenery also plays an important role. It softens the public environment, keeps visual openness, and at the same time creates a gentle sense of separation between users. This can help people feel more comfortable and secure in public spaces, regardless of their age or background. In this way, Virella supports both social interaction and personal ease, which are very important in contemporary urban life.
For me, the greenery in Virella is not just a decorative element. By removing some of the timber planks and creating planting pockets, nature becomes part of the structure and part of the user experience. It reflects the idea that urban spaces should not be made only of hard surfaces, but should bring back small moments of natural life into everyday public environments. This integration helps soften the furniture visually and emotionally. It also creates a more pleasant micro-environment for users, while maintaining openness and a sense of connection to the surroundings.From a practical point of view, this decision required careful consideration of the timber, drainage, soil depth, and plant selection. The wood would need to be durable and properly protected against moisture. The planting pockets would need waterproofing, drainage, and enough space for roots. The plants should also be hardy, low-maintenance, and suitable for outdoor public spaces, preferably species that can tolerate sun, wind, and limited irrigation.
For me, the most socially significant dimension of Virella Furniture is its ability to create a more human, calm, and inclusive experience in public space. It is not only a place to sit, but a small urban moment where people can pause, interact, feel connected to nature, and still maintain a comfortable sense of personal space.I hope this recognition helps extend the idea that urban furniture can be more than a functional object. It can become an artistic and ecological element within the city. My hope is to see a new generation of urban furniture forms that are inspired by nature, visually distinctive, and meaningful in everyday public life. With the support of manufacturers, urban planners, and decision-makers, these types of designs can move beyond concept and become part of people’s daily experience in cities.
The most difficult moment was finding the right balance between openness and separation. I wanted the bench to invite people to share the same public object, but I did not want the experience to feel forced or uncomfortable. In public spaces, people often need both connection and a sense of personal boundary.The gradual twist became the key solution. It allowed the seating areas to change direction naturally, so users could sit close enough to feel part of the same social setting, but not necessarily face each other directly or invade each other’s personal space. The integrated greenery also helped create a soft visual buffer without closing the space.Working through this challenge helped me understand that public furniture is not only about function or aesthetics. It can quietly guide social behavior. It can offer comfort, choice, privacy, and connection at the same time, which makes it a meaningful part of everyday urban life.
The design process moved between digital control and human comfort. Parametric design helped me control the gradual twist by adjusting the length and angle of the timber planks. However, the form also had to respect the physical properties of wood, such as strength, thickness, connections, and outdoor durability.At the same time, I constantly considered how people would sit, rest, and orient themselves on the bench. So Virella was not designed only as a digital sculpture; it was shaped through the balance between geometry, material behavior, and ergonomic comfort.
I see Virella Furniture as a starting point for a broader design direction in my future work. The main principles behind it — organic form, human comfort, modularity, and the integration of living greenery — are ideas that I would like to continue developing in future urban and public space projects.Looking ahead, I believe urban furniture will need to become more adaptable, more ecological, and more emotionally responsive to people. Public objects should not only serve a basic function, but also improve the quality of everyday urban life. They can bring people closer to nature, support social interaction, and create moments of calm within busy cities.For me, the relationship between urban furniture and living systems will become increasingly important. I hope to explore designs that are not static objects, but flexible and meaningful elements within the city — pieces that respond to human needs, respect the environment, and contribute to a more pleasant and human-centered public realm.
One dimension that I feel deserves more attention is the quiet role of Virella Furniture in guiding human behavior. At first glance, people may notice the sculptural form, the timber, or the greenery, but the deeper intention is how these elements work together to create a more comfortable and inclusive public experience.The different seating orientations, the soft separation created by greenery, and the ergonomic form allow people to choose how they want to use the space. They can sit alone, share the bench with others, interact socially, or maintain a sense of personal distance. This flexibility is very important in public spaces, because people have different needs depending on their age, mood, culture, or situation.What I would like urban designers, city planners, and furniture designers to better understand is that public furniture can quietly influence social harmony. It does not need to control people directly; it can simply offer comfort, choice, and a sense of ease. For me, that is one of the most meaningful aspects of Virella.
The idea behind integrating the LED lighting was to make Virella active and meaningful not only during the day, but also at night. I did not want the lighting to feel like an added decorative element. By placing it beneath the curved form, the light follows the geometry of the twist and gently emphasizes the movement of the structure. The ambient light also improves the user experience in public space. It creates a softer and safer atmosphere without being too strong or visually aggressive. In this way, the bench becomes a warm presence in the urban environment after dark.I was also interested in the contrast and harmony between natural timber and artificial light. Timber brings warmth, texture, and a human feeling, while the continuous LED light highlights the parametric movement of the form. Together, they reinforce each other: the wood makes the light feel warmer and softer, and the light reveals the sculptural quality of the timber structure at night.
What I would want a young designer to understand is that advanced design tools come with responsibility. Parametric geometry should not be used only to create complex or visually impressive forms. When an object is designed for public space, it will be used, touched, shared, and experienced by many different people, so the form must always remain connected to human comfort, accessibility, safety, and emotional experience.For me, Virella Furniture shows that formal experimentation can be meaningful when it serves people and the environment. The twist, the timber, the greenery, and the lighting are not separate decorative gestures; they work together to create a more comfortable and human-centered public experience.I would encourage young designers to use digital tools with sensitivity. Beauty and innovation are important, but they should be balanced with empathy, material awareness, ecological thinking, and respect for the diversity of people who will use the design in everyday life.