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Asia: Design And Award by Michael Buckley

By Michael Buckley, FIWSc FRSA

“Design underpins every form of creation from objects such as chairs to the way we plan and execute our lives.” So said video game developer Dino Dini at a Game Design and Technology Workshop held recently by Liverpool JM University in the UK. Design DNA (Develop capability, Nurture local talent and Accelerate business growth) is now the typically pragmatic approach of the Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC) to the needs of Singapore and its furniture industry. Nurturing Asian design talent has also been the aim of the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) since 1992 by sponsoring design awards from Japan and Korea to Singapore and Vietnam, albeit with a strong emphasis on, but not exclusive to, wood.

In this troubled global market when so many promotional activities are becoming perceived as non-essential and thus under threat, and with supporters of awards hard to find, AHEC has strengthened its long-term support for nurturing design talent, particularly in Southeast Asia. Already this year, a new Design Camp was held in Thailand in collaboration with the Thai Furniture Industries Association (TFA). Support was given to Singapore’s FLIP Challenge and Furniture Design Awards, and total commitment was made in Vietnam with the Hoa Mai competition, where AHEC joined with an industry that increasingly understands the importance of design.

Hardly a single furniture show was opened in Southeast Asia this year without the call to furniture makers by politicians to upgrade their design element. Perhaps only in the Philippines, where arts and crafts are an indigenous natural resource, can design be said to be entirely at the heart pf production. Elsewhere, design generally has to be coaxed out, by way of colleges and courses of which there are many in Singapore, but few in Vietnam. In this economic climate, it is government agencies and some trade associations which really seem to know the long-term value of developing a local design culture.

With the crop of Southeast Asian design awards already complete, one is able to review what was achieved in 2009, and ask why organisations like AHEC paid such attention to the development of design. Looking further back, it is already possible to see some winners of previous competitions coming through in their own right, having been nurtured in the past and now developing their own talent. Lui Hon Fay and Cici Chen with their Cilicon Faytory; Jarrod Lim; Jeremy Ong; as well as Nathan Yong with his very well established Air Division, are all cases in point. They have gone on to develop their own design businesses in furniture, encouraged by their success in earlier awards and the exposure and networking opportunities that they bring.

The Naked Chair

Winner of the Open category in the Furniture Design Awards (FDA) in Singapore in March this year was “The Naked Chair” by the Outofstock Design Team with their minimalist design, which earlier had been exhibited at IMM Cologne. Made from folded steel sheets and European beech wood, it is lightweight, available in a range of distinct colours and comes flat packed. The judges were unanimous about the appeal of this chair, which perhaps makes its environmental contribution by its limited use of materials and conservative need for transport space and weight and, incidentally, reflects the current frugality of the global economy.

Furniture Design Award*

FDA, run by SFIC in Singapore, is a high profile international competition of three categories which attracted 637 entrants from 24 design institutions in 19 countries including Australia, Belgium, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Philippines, Spain, Thailand, the US and Vietnam as well as Singapore. Of 18 entries shortlisted, six featured wood and one bamboo – a well-known grass!

Of the solid wood finalists Hye Jin Kim from South Korea entered a red oak “Customizing Shoe Rack” in the Young Designer’s category with her intriguing use of corrugated dividers in what was a rather over-engineered piece. Minimalist was certainly not her forte.

Jorge Moreno from Mexico received an Honourable Mention for his set of furniture “Justin Time” in MDF brightly painted for little people.

Vincent Cantaert and Barbara Widiningtias from Belgium in the Open category also received an Honourable Mention for their recycled teak “Honeymoon Lounger” which is already in commercial production and was displayed at the Singapore furniture show, at which all the awards entries were on show in the dedicated foyer area.

In the final adjudication of the Student category the judges were unable to agree a winner, simply because the standard of the top few entries was so high that nothing stood between them, so three were awarded Honourable Mentions.

FL!P Challenge*

This year’s theme for students was “Flip a chair” in which one American Red Oak dining chair “Erpo” was provided to each entrant by Star Furniture Industries Pte Ltd. In Singapore 69 students from 12 design colleges were challenged to re-create and re-design a different piece of furniture that retained the function of seating and resting – using the material from the original chair. Seventeen entries were shortlisted in October 2008 and prototypes were produced by the students for inspection in March 2009 by a panel of SFIC nominated judges including designer Naoto Fukasawa from Japan.

Gold Award for the FL!P was “Torsion: The Act of Twisting” by Nway Yu Win Sein and Lina Fong Mingli from Temasek Polytechnic. “Pogee” by Liang Yanjie and Lim Qi Lun Royston won Silver with “Ko.King Chair” by Deric Shen Mao Zheng and Erlina Chang taking Bronze.

Design Camp, Thailand

The approach to Thailand’s American Hard-wood Design Camp furniture project was quite different, by working with Associate Professor Boonsanong Ratanasoontragul, Vice President at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology, one of the country’s leading design schools. The camp was initiated with a week of workshops, followed by a period of consultations with lecturers and manufacturers leading to the development of the final display.

No awards were intended for individual furniture projects which were designed exclusively in three American hardwood species – red oak, tulipwood and hard maple. The prize was that final pieces were displayed on a well-located, high quality exhibition stand at the furniture show in Bangkok, drawing huge attention from many visitors and the Thai media. Opening the show, Porntiva Nakasai, Thai Minister for Commerce, gave full acknowledgement to AHEC for its support and cooperation with TFA, represented at the event by Jirawat Tangkijngamwong.

Hoa Mai, Vietnam

As in past years, AHEC has again worked closely with the Handicraft & Wood Association of HCMC (HAWA) by sponsoring American red oak and tulipwood lumber for this annual student DESIGNdesign competition held every spring since 2002. Hoa Mai means apricot blossom.

The 2009 programme, attended by AHEC Chairman Orn Gudmudsson and John Chan AHEC Southeast Asia & Greater China Regional Director, had commenced with a seminar workshop entitled “Furniture Design Professional” sponsored by AHEC. And then in October 2008, 156 entries were received; and through a short-listing process eight were later awarded various prizes and merits.

The successful entries were displayed on a central exhibition stand at Saigon furniture show and featured in a dedicated publication about the competition. Overall winners were Tran Minh Toan and Lam Phan Anh Tuan with their innovative design for star-shaped furniture in red oak.

In all of these competitions there is always a hidden element of support from the many companies that provide materials, help with prototypes, fund travel, provide expertise and pay sponsorships. The extent of this support to the industry associations that organise the events, together with time contributed by judges and mentors and encouragement from governments, amounts to a team effort for improved furniture design that is ultimately to the benefit of Asian industries as a whole. In turn AHEC is able to reflect upon the value of sustained support for Asian design over the past seventeen years for an industrial sector that still holds plenty of promise for the future.

Furniture Leadadership Awards Malaysia

The Furniture Leadership Awards (FLA) Malaysia started with the dedicated aim to celebrate and promote excellent entrepreneurship and leadership in the country’s furniture sector. Less than a year after a praise-worthy debut, organisers of the Awards stepped up to give due recognition to the “design DNA”. Two new categories will be offered in 2009: the Brand Excellence Awards, and Product Excellence Awards. Organisers, who are also the publishers of this very magazine you are reading, are making a strong statement on the real values of branding, design and innovation, which can profit a leader and an enterprise in the long run.

See pictures of all these award-winning products in our May 2009 issue. Access articles from past issues free at www.FurnitureAndFurnishing.com/html/archives.html. Download options are also available.

ABOUT The Author

Michael Buckley is a member of the International Furniture Design Advisory Committee of SFIC in Singapore. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Advancement of the Arts in London, a Liveryman of the Carpenters’ Company and a Fellow of the Institute of Wood science. He launched the annual Wood Awards in UK in 2003 and has judged furniture competitions in the UK, Singapore and Vietnam.