The Sustainable Furnishings Council and World Market Center Las Vegas are proud to once again bring you One Good Chair Design Competition.

Intro

All sustainability is local, the saying goes. But how can manufactured, transportable products such as furniture become “local”? In a global market, can there be a truly regional product?

Historically, many chairs evolved out of the subtle relationships between culture and climate, people and place. The low tilt of the Adirondacks Chair nestled into the mountainous terrain of upper New York State, mingling among the hemlocks from which it was made, and its wide arms speak of lazy summer days. The springy Joggling Bench is the very picture of Charleston’s narrow porches and hot, sticky evenings. And both use little material—the original Adirondacks Chair was made from a dozen pieces cut from a single board, and the Joggling Bench is a single board.

How we sit relates more to culture than anatomy, and many cultures are chair-free. Ghandi sat on the floor as a way to resist “Westernization” and honor local customs. The hammock originated 1,000 years ago in migratory cultures of Central America—woven from the bark of the Hamack tree, it traveled light, floated above the ground to fend off insects, and breathed in the humid air.

Challenge

Design an original chair that embodies and enhances a particular place, anywhere in the world but one you know and love, even if you don’t live there. We hope to see ideas from across the globe. Your concept might reinterpret local customs or start from scratch, but either way it should stimulate a tangible sense of belonging to its cultural and natural context. Demonstrate visually and verbally how your design springs from local conditions:

• Identity of place
• Regional ecology
• Indigenous materials
• Conservation of resources through form
• Culturally determined notions of comfort
• Social history

How does your design fit—right here? How does it create a good fit between people and place, a good fit for the body, a good fit for the ecosystem?

The focus of the competition is the lounge chair or similar casual seating-simple objects to assist the body in repose. Commercial office chairs and other specialized functions are not appropriate, but otherwise you have as much latitude as you can explain and illustrate in a convincing way. Outdoor and public furniture are especially encouraged. Entries are restricted to original concepts that have not been built. Commercially sold products are prohibited.

In addition to the special criteria of the “Fit Right Here” challenge, entries should demonstrate the three basic principles of “One Good Chair”:

* Make good (Material conservation). How can shape optimize resources in design, fabrication, and shipping? What forms create little waste but lots of taste?
* Feel good (Physical comfort). How can shape aid the body in the act of sitting? How do different people sit? How might they?
* Look good (Emotional resonance). What kinds of images create emotional bond between viewer and product? What is the intersection of sustainability and sensuality?

Some of the participants and winners of last edition |

Prizes

Cash awards to be announced.

Prototypes of the finalist entries will be built, pending sponsorship. Details to be announced.

Winners and finalists will be published in a variety of media outlets to be announced.

Select entries may be featured in Lance Hosey’s forthcoming book, The Shape of Green: Aesthetics, Ecology, and Design
PROCESS

Dates and details subject to change. More information to be announced.

Phase 1

Concepts
Phase 1 will consist of digital concepts submitted on line.

Judges will select up to 10 runners-up to receive recognition, including or in addition to approximately 5 finalists to continue to Phase 2.

Phase 2

Finals
Prototypes built (pending sponsorship). Details to be announced.

Finalists will travel to Las Vegas (expenses covered), where the prototypes will be judged in person by a finalist jury to be determined.

The awards ceremony will take place at the annual Las Vegas Market at the World Market Center, September 14-17.
SCHEDULE

Dates and details subject to change. More information to be announced.
Phase 1 April 6 Registration opens
May 1 Entries accepted
May 30 Registration closes
June 15 Final questions due
June 30 ENTRIES DUE @ 5pm
Phase 2 August 1 Finalists informed
Prototypes fabricated
Sept. 14-17 Judging and awards ceremony, Las Vegas Market

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