LAS VEGAS MARKET: Three winners this year in Three Good Chairs competition

Judges opt to give three finalists each $2,000

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, September 17, 2009

At the One Good Chair awards presentation in Las Vegas are some of the top entries and their designers, including Susan Drescher, left, Helen Cany, Azul Cadenas, Ryan Horsman, Muhammad Hussain, Brian Novello, Benjamin Bakas and Andrej Blazon.

LAS VEGAS — Judges in the One Good Chair here were so impressed with the three finalists that they changed the name of this year's design competition to "Three Good Chairs: Fit Right Here."

Jury chair Lance Hosey said that instead of choosing a $5,000 first price, the judges opted to give each of the three finalists $2,000 because there was so much debate about the merits of each chair.

The competition and an awards reception Tuesday are part of the World Market Center's Brave New World Environmental Leadership Series. Designers were invited to create an iconic eco-chair representing a region-specific design - like the Adirondack chair or the Barcelona chair.

And the winners are:

• Andrej Blazon, Movo Mesto, Slovenia, for the Charity Chair. It is made of recycled/recyclable materials and its Escher-like shape is inspired by the cornets (hats) worn by the Daughters of Charity order of nuns.

• Azul Cadenas, Miami Shores, Fla., for the BAMTAK Chair. It pays homage to the chaise lounges in which Argentinians sit during "asados," or barbecues. Made of bamboo found near the Delta River in Buenos Aires, the chair is a more compact version of the traditional chaise, aimed at urbanites looking to lounge without taking up too much real estate.

• Helene Cany, Cambrai, France, for the Sediliegi Chair. Designed to evoke the sensibilities of Turin, Italy, the Sediliegi was inspired by the seats in Fiats and Ferraris (both made in Turin). Made of molded cork, with seating for two, the lounge chair is easy to transport and a comfortable spot from which to gaze at the Alps.

"We were pleased to see a range of entries from all over the world," Hosey said. He added that this year's program emphasized regional traits and indigenous materials as well as conservation of resources, including even scrap materials.

This year's competition also featured a People's Choice Award based on polling last week on treehugger.com, with the BAMTAK winning 51% of the vote compared with 25% for the Charity Chair and 24% for the Sediliegi.

Judges also awarded an honorable mention to the Chopstick/Steamer stool, designed by Ryan Horsman and Jason Dembski, advised by Mary-Ann Ray and Robert Mangurian. This chair took cues from the Chinese culture, and re-used traditional, everyday items (including dumpling steamers and chopsticks) to create a piece of furniture.

The semi-finalists included:

• Susan Drescher's Sling chair, manufactured by Patagonia Legacy, which was created from trees that fall naturally in the United States due to storm and disease.

• The XVIIIE chair, designed by Brian Novello Benjamin Bakas and Muhammad Hussain, which evokes images of Paris' 18th Arrondissement Montmartre, where you can visualize it resting comfortably among French box easels and folios, surrounded by tourists and French artists.

After the awards presentation, Hosey moderated a panel discussion featuring Roger Thomas, executive vice president, Wynn Design & Development; Susan Szenasy, editor in chief, Metropolis Magazine; Margaret McCurry, principal, Tigerman McCurry Architects; and Michelle Addington, associate professor of architecture, forestry and environmental studies, Yale University.

McCurry said that each chair in the competition had to address issues surrounding design, comfort and seat ability. Now that the prototypes are made, these issues can be more deeply explored, she said.

Other topics included how seating comfort may be different for men and women, depending on the chair. Another discussion honed in on fabric issues.

Some of the entries will be featured in Hosey's forthcoming book, "The Shape of Green: Aesthetics, Ecology, and Design."

Detailed information on the winners and 20 of the top entries is online at onegoodchair.com.

More Las Vegas Market September 2009 Coverage