The award programme also highlights up-and-coming names in the industry, awarding the Emerging Furniture Designer of the Year title to Allyssa Kim. A student at Tokyo’s Musashino Art University, Kim caught the attention of the jury with Pitta, a folding chair that moves past the usual limitations of portable furniture.

While most temporary seating options sacrifice style for utility, Pitta retains a strong visual identity whether it is set up or folded away. The key lies in its U-shaped laminated wood leg, which tucks flat into the main frame to form a clean, sturdy, and memorable silhouette. In this piece, the utility and the appearance are entirely dependent on one another.

Could you tell us a little about your journey into furniture design? What first drew you to designing objects that become part of people’s everyday lives?

I have always enjoyed taking walks since I was a child. In particular, I loved walking through residential neighborhoods and imagining the spaces and lives behind the windows of people’s homes. Looking back, I think my interest in how people live, the spaces they inhabit, and the objects that surround them became the starting point of my journey into design.

I studied architecture and interior design at university, and after graduating, I worked in interior construction management. While being involved in the process of transforming designs into actual spaces, I gradually started making my own furniture and products for my everyday life.

Through making these objects, I began to ask myself questions such as, “How do I want to live?” and “What do I really need in my life?” This experience made me realize that furniture is not simply something with a certain form or function, but rather a “tool” that reflects the user’s lifestyle and values. That perspective became one of the things I find most fascinating about furniture design.

Wanting to explore this idea more deeply, I decided to pursue graduate studies. While searching for a program, I came across an interview with Professor Wataru Kumano, where he talked about the idea that “in order to create forms, designers must first think about the people who use them.” I strongly connected with his approach of viewing furniture and products as tools for everyday life, with an emphasis on practicality and function. Since this perspective closely aligned with my own experiences and ideas, I decided to continue my studies in my current graduate program under this philosophy.

When you began developing Pitta, what was the initial problem or question you wanted to solve? What inspired you to rethink the traditional folding chair?

When I began developing Pitta, a folding chair, I was inspired by the Japanese tradition of using furniture and tools that allow limited spaces to be used flexibly.

In Japan, objects such as futons, which can be folded and stored away when not in use, and folding screens have long been designed to adapt to different situations in daily life. They allow people to transform the way they use their living spaces depending on their needs. I believe these objects represent a unique relationship between furniture and the characteristics of Japanese homes.

Although Western-style furniture, such as chairs and tables, has become an established part of Japanese lifestyles over many years, I felt there was still room to explore furniture that better responds to the way people live in contemporary Japanese spaces. This became the starting point for rethinking the traditional folding chair.

Many conventional folding chairs feel as though their folded form is only a temporary state, and when used as chairs, they often lack the sense of stability and comfort found in regular chairs.

With Pitta, I wanted to create a folding chair that has value in both states: a beautiful presence when folded and stored, and a sense of stability and comfort when used as a chair, while naturally blending into the surrounding space.

 

Pitta is designed to feel equally beautiful whether it is open or folded. How did this idea influence your design process, and what were the biggest challenges in achieving that balance?

When designing Pitta, I wanted to consider the folded state not simply as a moment of storage, but as another completed form of the chair. I also wanted to create an experience where users would feel encouraged to fold the chair, rather than seeing it as a troublesome task.

Therefore, I focused on creating a structure that would be beautiful and meaningful in both its open and folded states. Through this process, I developed the idea of using U-shaped molded plywood front legs, with the rear legs fitting neatly into the space created by the U-shaped legs when folded. This structure allowed the chair to have a unified and elegant appearance when folded, while maintaining the stability and comfort expected from a regular chair when in use.

The biggest challenge was not only shaping the U-shaped legs, but also refining the details and connections around this distinctive structure while maintaining its beauty and functionality. I worked through these challenges by repeatedly creating and testing mock-ups, gradually refining the balance between structure, function, and appearance.

The chair’s distinctive U-shaped laminated wood frame is both a structural and aesthetic feature. Could you tell us more about how this solution evolved and what it allowed you to achieve in terms of functionality, durability and visual identity?

While exploring how to create a folding chair that could remain compact while also maintaining a beautiful appearance when folded, a major challenge was how to resolve the visual presence of the legs when the chair was stored. I began to consider whether the legs could be designed not merely as structural elements, but as a form that appears as a single leg when folded.

A major influence in developing this idea was Kaare Klint’s Propeller Stool. I was deeply inspired by the beauty created by the way its carved curved parts come together to appear as a single leg when folded. Seeing this work became an important motivation for me to further explore this approach.

At the same time, I believed that prioritizing a compact appearance at the expense of structural integrity would undermine the purpose of a folding chair. Therefore, I aimed to achieve a balance between functionality and aesthetics, which led me to develop the U-shaped molded plywood legs. Through their cross-sectional form, these legs achieve sufficient rigidity even with thin material, creating a structure that is both lightweight and durable.

Furthermore, this unique structure itself has become a defining visual feature of Pitta, allowing it to have its own identity as a folding chair while maintaining beauty even in its folded state.

One of the most interesting aspects of Pitta is that its structure becomes the design itself. Was there a particular moment during the project when you realised you had found the right solution?

The moment when I became confident that this structure was the right solution was when I discovered the potential of forming the U-shaped legs.

In the early stages of development, some of my professors suggested that creating such a sharp U-shaped curve with molded plywood might be extremely difficult. However, I did not want to give up without testing the possibility myself, so I decided to create a prototype.

Although the prototype was not yet a finished product, it confirmed that the plywood could be successfully formed into the U-shape while still maintaining sufficient strength.

Furthermore, by experiencing how the rear legs naturally fit into the space created by the U-shaped legs, and by feeling the smooth and satisfying movement of folding the chair through the prototype, I realized that this structure was not only a functional solution, but also a design that adds value and enjoyment to the act of folding the chair itself.

Congratulations on receiving the Emerging Furniture Designer of the Year award! What does this recognition mean to you at this stage of your career, and how has it influenced your confidence as a designer?

I had opportunities to present Pitta in Japan, but I had never shared my work internationally, so applying for this award was a challenge where I did not know how my design would be received. However, I wanted to discover how my work would be evaluated beyond Japan and across different cultures, which motivated me to apply for this award.

Through this recognition, and by having many people see and appreciate Pitta, I felt a stronger connection between my design and society. This experience has given me greater confidence in my ideas and my approach as a designer.

Furthermore, this award has led to discussions with JIFANG, a furniture brand, about the commercialization of Pitta. I look forward to the day when this chair becomes part of someone’s everyday life and is used naturally in their home.

As a recent graduate from Musashino Art University, how has your education shaped your approach to furniture design, and what lessons from your time there continue to influence your work?

Through my studies at Musashino Art University, I have learned that an important part of my approach to furniture design is finding a balance between a calm and steady process of refinement and the passion to continue pursuing the initial impulse that sparks an idea.

During the design process, I learned the importance of repeated testing and of patiently engaging with each challenge. Rather than making decisions only in my mind or through digital data, I create physical models and evaluate them through direct interaction, which allows me to deepen my understanding of the design. Through carefully examining details and continuously refining through trial and error, I have experienced how a design can develop into something stronger and more complete.

At the same time, I value the initial impulse that becomes the starting point of a design. Although the first idea may still be rough, I believe it often contains the essential qualities of the design. Discovering those qualities, analyzing them, and refining them into a more sophisticated form is another important lesson I gained through my time at university.

Going forward, I hope to continue designing furniture by valuing both the initial impulse that drives an idea and the calm, patient process of testing and refinement that brings it to completion.

Looking ahead, what kinds of projects or ideas are you most excited to explore next? Do you see yourself continuing to develop furniture that reimagines everyday objects, or are there new directions you’d like to pursue?

Going forward, I would like to continue designing furniture and products based on the theme of “furniture as tools,” which has remained a consistent focus throughout my work.

Until now, I have created furniture based on my own ideas and experiences in daily life, shaping them from my own perspective. However, through the commercialization of Pitta, my design is entering a new stage where it will become part of someone’s everyday life.

By allowing my work, which previously existed within my own creative process, to reach actual users, I hope to gain a deeper understanding of the role that furniture and products can play in people’s lives.

For me, furniture and products are not simply objects that make life more convenient; they are things that engage with people’s lifestyles and become connected to their daily actions and senses. Moving forward, I would like to further explore the relationship between people and objects, and challenge myself to create more interactive products that encourage meaningful connections with their users.

I hope to design furniture and products that people naturally want to engage with, and through everyday use, discover new values and experiences.

Taking home the title of Furniture Design of the Year, Ignacio Merino offers a fresh perspective on historical seating with the Mezza Chair. The piece reinterprets an 18th-century Alpine chair style, stripping it down to a surprisingly minimal form. Built entirely from legally harvested European beech, the chair matches strict structural stability with a light, purposeful form where no component is wasted.

Could you tell us a little about your journey into furniture design? How has your background in design, research and education influenced your work?

I grew up in a small apartment in Madrid, raised by a bookseller, my father, and a landscape architect, my mother. As you can imagine, it was a home filled with well-balanced books of all kinds, alongside a love for nature and urban-planning.

Despite the good taste that radiated from our home environment, the world of design only appeared in my life when I started university, where I discovered the existence of industrial design through technical engineering courses. It has been a great passion of mine ever since. Having the opportunity to complete a Master degree in design at ECAL, Switzerland, was a great boost, thanks to the excellent education and the workshops available to the students. From there, I was able to connect with the world of design research, which I pursued for four years at the University of Bolzano, where I currently continue to collaborate as an lecturer.

Personally, I have found the combination of educational backgrounds in technical engineering and product design, along with my personal work experience in the automotive design industry, to be very useful. It is a very powerful combination when it comes to bringing together different, highly valuable skills for a project. In other words, I believe that a designer, regardless of their background, must be able to draw on logical-technical thinking in combination with critical-humanistic thinking in order to challenge the assumptions we are given.

 

What inspired you to revisit an 18th-century Alpine chair and reinterpret it for contemporary living?

This project began with a close look to the book ‘As Found, Discovery of the Ordinary’ published in 2001, which presents a particular approach to design. It was the designer Klaus Hackl who introduced me to this publication. At its core, it’s about recognizing the value in what already exists, the familiar, the understood, what we might call ‘yesterday’s new’. The idea is straightforward yet powerful: if something has endured, it holds inherent worth. Our task, then, is to recognize these existing elements and thoughtfully engage with their features.

What makes the As Found approach rather radical is its sharp focus on the present – what exists here and now, and how it relates to real, ordinary things. Rather than chasing utopian ideals or being swept up by innovation for innovation’s sake, it grounds itself in the tangible and practical.

I recommend reading ‘As Found: The Discovery of the Ordinary’ edited by Claude Lichtenstein and Thomas Schregenberger and published in 2001.

This chair design emerged from a conversation with an ‘as found’ piece from the 1700s, which I discovered during a visit to the Volkskunstmuseum in Innsbruck. This curious object sits somewhere between a chair and a crafted stool, with some rather distinctive features. It stands slightly taller than a typical chair, with an intriguing halfmoon seat that’s notably compact, just 26cm deep compared to today’s average standard 38cm.

Mezza Chair is remarkably compact while still offering comfort and stability. What were the biggest challenges in achieving that balance?

In my work as a designer, I have learned over time not to rush and to try to study the object from various perspectives, both digitally and with physical models. I gradually engage in a dialogue with the idea until it matures enough to be called a finished object, ready for use. In the case of the Mezza Chair, the part that took me the longest was working on the proportions and the geometric fitting of the structural part hidden under the seat, as well as the seat-to-backrest inclination angles that ensure the necessary comfort for a compact chair like this one.

The chair’s three-legged structure and interlocking wooden construction are both distinctive features. Could you tell us more about how these design solutions came together?

The choice to work with wood, a warm and approachable material, was dictated by the nature of the object and where I believe it can best coexist, particularly in small domestic or hotel spaces. This typological factor, combined with the nature of the 18th-century chair I am paying homage to, led me to work with a construction strategy based on interlocking joints, balancing stability and visual solidity. Gradually, through different phases of back-and-forth between design, prototyping, and testing, the object began to take shape. Once I understood the potential of the three-legged construction and the possibility of connecting the front legs to the backrest, giving the object its dynamic character, it happened almost automatically.

Sustainability is an important aspect of your work. How did material selection and craftsmanship influence the final design of Mezza Chair?

In this project, I took charge of the design, prototyping, and construction of the object myself. As I mentioned earlier, the selection of the material responds to an environmental material need, where the object presents itself to the public and invites use. I believe solid wood is the right material for this. On the other hand, the final silhouette of the object speaks to the combination of the structural needs of the piece and my own construction and prototyping capabilities. It is a dialogue between function and my craftsmanship limits, and I think it is well balanced.

Congratulations on winning Furniture Design of the Year! What does this recognition mean to you, and how does it feel to see Mezza Chair receive this award?

I believe that given the difficulties present today in the world of product design, where competition is (very) high and the possibility of producing an object with a company is complex, winning the award serves as an encouragement to continue working on new projects and seeking relevant solutions for the objects that surround our daily lives.

Your work often combines design with engineering and research. How do you see these different disciplines shaping the future of furniture design?

For me, the convergence of design, engineering, and research is fundamental to stepping away from “blind-solutionism” and technological innovation simply for the sake of innovating. As I have proven by combining academic research with industrial experience, logic must always work hand in hand with critical thinking so as not to lose sight of the object’s true purpose. I see the future of furniture design not in creating shapes dictated by trends or hyper-consumerism, but in technical refinement and analytical rigor. These combined disciplines allow us to build honest objects, capable of existing in the background and centered on the coherence between the real needs of the user, the material, and the environment.

Looking ahead, what kinds of projects or ideas are you most excited to explore next?

Looking ahead, I am motivated to continue exploring the “As Found” approach and the technique of reaction: paying close attention to the ordinary and to what already exists in order to transform the familiar into relevant solutions for our daily lives. Additionally, I am enthusiastic about the idea of collaborating with local industries and companies where I can innovate through observation and pragmatic analysis. I want to continue developing projects that explore honest materials, balancing rigorous structural functionality with the warmth of a living space. And, of course, I am interested in keeping that research component open, allowing design to function not only as a resolution of practical problems, but also as a space for dialogue and critique regarding our behavior toward objects.

From a dining chair eight parts wide and decades in the thinking to a gastronomic retail world anchored by a living atrium, this year’s 420 entries from 46 countries arrived with something to say about how we sit, gather, and inhabit the spaces around us.

 

Switzerland – The SIT Furniture Design Award has announced the winners of its 2026 edition, celebrating the designers, architects, and creative thinkers who continue to push the boundaries of how we furnish and inhabit space. This year, 420 projects from 46 countries entered the competition across categories spanning furniture innovation and spatial design, and the jury was tasked with identifying work that goes beyond craft — work that changes how we think about the objects and environments around us.

The Furniture Design of the Year title goes to Ignacio Merino for the Mezza Chair — a three-legged dining chair that distils an 18th-century Alpine seat typology into something quietly radical. Compact at just 26 cm deep, cantilevered on twin rails for visual lightness, with a curved backrest that grows from the front legs and eight interlocking beech-wood parts joined by a T-junction beneath the seat, the Mezza Chair achieves structural rigour through elegant simplicity. Sourced from legally harvested European beech, it is a piece where every decision serves both form and purpose.

The Interior Design of the Year award goes to A Work of Substance for House of Shinsegae, located in the Gangnam flagship of Shinsegae Inc. in Seoul, South Korea. Designed by Maxime Dautresme and Seoyoon K, the project transforms a conventional retail floor into something closer to a residence than a store — layered with solid timber warmth, brass and high-gloss lacquer contrast, deep jewel-toned upholstery, and a circadian lighting system that shifts with the arc of the day. At its centre, a reimagined atrium acts as a social anchor rather than a transitional space. The guiding concept — discovery as ritual — turns shopping into spatial storytelling, and does so without a single superfluous gesture.

Emerging talent is equally celebrated in this year’s edition. The Emerging Furniture Designer of the Year title goes to Allyssa Kim, a student at Musashino Art University in Tokyo, for Pitta — a folding chair that challenges everything ordinary about the category. Where most folding chairs resign themselves to looking temporary, Pitta holds its presence whether open or closed. Its U-shaped laminated wood leg folds cleanly into the frame, creating a silhouette that is both structurally sound and quietly distinctive. The form is the function, and the function is the design.

The selection was made by a distinguished international jury of designers, educators, and creative leaders, including Josh Owen (President at Josh Owen LLC), Alain Gilles ( Founder and Lead Designer at Alain Gilles The Studio) Lilian González-González (Anáhuac University of México / World Design Organization), Jeremy Myerson (Royal College of Art / WORKTECH Academy), Richie Moalosi (Director at University Innovation Pod (UniPod) at the University of Botswana ), Sarah Hossli ( Founder & Product Designer of Sarah Hossli Product Design), Javier Palomares (Principal at Curve Ahead Desing), Daisuke Nagatomo (Associate Professor at the Department of Design, National Taiwan Normal University), among others. Their breadth of expertise — spanning product design, spatial practice, and design education across five continents — reflects the global ambition of the award.

“What strikes me most each year is how different the winners are from one another — and how that difference is exactly the point. Some designs strip everything back until only what matters remains. Others build entire worlds from a single concept. That tension between reduction and abundance, between the handcrafted and the experiential — that’s where furniture and interior design are most alive. SIT exists to find work like this, wherever in the world it comes from.” — Astrid Hébert, Co-Founder, SIT Furniture Design Award.

House of Shinsegae by A Work of SubstanceThe 2026 program also drew a rich field of work across all categories, reflecting the award’s continued reach across disciplines and geographies. The full list of winners and honorable mentions is available at www.sitaward.com.

 

Josh Owen is a designer who prefers to look back before moving forward. Growing up on archaeological sites, he learned early on that the things we leave behind tell the story of who we are. Today, he balances his time between running his own studio and heading the Vignelli Center for Design Studies, where he looks after an enormous archive of iconic work. His own objects, ranging from tiny nutcrackers to lounge chairs, are known for being incredibly simple, often stripping away parts that most designers take for granted.

Recently, his expertise has been called upon to judge the SIT Furniture Design Award, a global prize that honours the best new ideas in the industry. But despite his high-profile roles and his work sitting in famous museums like the Centre Pompidou, Owen isn’t interested in making things that shout for attention. He is more focused on how a product works and how it will eventually go back into the earth. We caught up with him to talk about 3D-printing with glass, the myth of “timeless” design, and what materials he is currently experimenting with.

Photo credit: James Bogue, Courtesy of Josh Owen LLC

You grew up around archaeological digs. How does digging up the past help you design new objects for the future?

We are all a combination of Nature and Nurture. My nature has always been to observe and to contribute. As long as I can remember, I have always been curious, using drawing and making as mechanisms to process and extend the world around me in useful ways. Being brought up in the context of archaeology placed me within the art and science of decoding history through its material remains. I think that the combination of my natural orientation as a creative and being wrapped within the milieu of archaeology was serendipitous in that it guided me to think deeply about how humankind’s material contributions are crafted. That perspective remains a guidepost for me today as an object maker, educator and steward of the built environment.

Photo credit: John Bechtold, Courtesy of Josh Owen LLC

Your 3PC Lounge Chair only uses three legs instead of four. Why did you decide to take that fourth leg away, and how does it change how we sit?

I did not remove the fourth leg for the 3PC. When I conceived of the project, it only earned three legs to begin with. 3PC for Lazzoni originated as a chaise lounge reimagined in a more restrained architecture. Because of its very low structure, a tripod orientation works exceptionally well in spreading out the supporting elements. Also, placing the body so low to the ground allows the legs of the sitter to reduce some of the load, reducing the need for more legs in the design.

As part of Bangkok Design Week, two curated talks organised by 3C Awards Group will take place on February 1st at the Thailand Creative & Design Center (TCDC). Hosted at the Resource Center Library on the 4th floor of the Grand Postal Building, the sessions bring together international designers, architects, and brand leaders to explore how design shapes cities, products, and everyday life.

Bangkok Design Week has long been a fixture on the city’s cultural calendar, playing a central role in strengthening Thailand’s creative industries and positioning Bangkok within the UNESCO Creative City Network as a City of Design. Organised by the Creative Economy Agency (CEA) in collaboration with more than 60 state agencies, public organisations, academic institutions, and international partners, the festival brings together over 2,000 designers and creative businesses and attracts an estimated 400,000 visitors from Thailand and abroad. Across five editions, Bangkok Design Week has welcomed more than 1.75 million visitors and generated an economic value of approximately 1.368 billion baht, underlining its cultural and economic impact.

Within this context, 3C brings an international curatorial lens to Bangkok Design Week, presenting two talks that reflect how contemporary design operates across radically different scales, from national public infrastructure to globally competitive consumer brands.

Shaping a New Sports Brand: Product, Identity, and Retail Experience

13:30–14:00

The first talk explores how a new sports brand can be built through close collaboration between designer and founder, aligning product innovation, brand identity, and physical retail experience.

The session is led by Sébastien Maleville, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Essential Studio. Born in France and trained in industrial design in Paris, Maleville has built an international career spanning Europe, China, and Southeast Asia. From 2014 to 2024, he served as Creative Director and Branch Manager at Jacob Jensen Design, while also lecturing in industrial design at King Mongkut University of Technology Thonburi in Bangkok. In 2024, he co-founded Essential Studio, a Bangkok-based design and strategy studio focused on sustainability-driven innovation, responsible products, and long-term brand development.

Joining him is Watee Wichiennit, Founder and Managing Director of VING Thailand. A recreational runner, Watee launched VING in 2019 after struggling with discomfort from traditional running shoes. His pursuit of function-led performance led to the creation of VING NIRUN, the world’s first flip-flop equipped with carbon-plate technology and advanced foam, redefining expectations around running sandals and challenging the dominance of conventional running footwear.

 

Together, the speakers will unpack how VING’s core values, rooted in performance, natural movement, and innovation, were translated into product design, visual language, and spatial storytelling. The talk examines how Essential Studio and VING collaborated to shape the brand from early positioning through to the design of its flagship retail space at Bangkok’s National Stadium, creating a store that functions both as a commercial platform and a community hub.

Sébastien Maleville is a Jury Member of the SIT Furniture Design Award, while VING Thailand has received international recognition at the FIT Sport Design Awards 2025 and the Global Footwear Awards 2025, highlighting the impact of strong design partnerships and product-driven brand building.

Regenerative Design for a People-First Government

14:00–14:30

The second session shifts focus from consumer brands to civic infrastructure, presenting a landmark case study in regenerative landscape design for government environments.

The talk is presented by Siriwat Jirawattananon, Landscape Architect and Design Director at Landprocess, and Sajjapongs Lekuthai, Landscape Architect and Managing Director of the firm.

 

Siriwat Jirawattananon is recognised as a new-generation practitioner integrating computational analysis and evidence-based design into landscape and urban projects. His work focuses on transforming complex urban data, including flood risk, urban heat island effects, and environmental pollution, into practical, nature-based solutions. He has led major public and institutional projects such as Puey Ungphakorn Centenary Park, Chong Nonsi Canal Park, and the 100th Anniversary renovation of Lumphini Park.

Sajjapongs Lekuthai specialises in the strategic management of large-scale landscape and urban resilience projects, combining design expertise with business and feasibility insight. His work centres on translating climate adaptation strategies into buildable, high-impact projects across public infrastructure, institutional green innovation, and mixed-use developments.

Together, they present the transformation of the Thailand Government Complex, one of Southeast Asia’s largest administrative hubs. The project reclaimed over 18.5 acres of impermeable surface, replacing car-dominated areas with green plazas, shaded walkways, and a central civic lawn. Regenerative strategies include rainwater catchment systems and bioswales for stormwater management, extensive tree planting to reduce urban heat, and solar panels that now supply more than half of the complex’s energy needs.

The speakers will share how these design decisions were developed, the challenges encountered during implementation, and the lessons learned from working within a government framework. In 2025, the project received Landscape Architecture of the Year at the BLT Built Design Awards, recognising its leadership in people-centred, climate-resilient public space design.

Facing Challenges with a Positive Twist

Through its presence at Bangkok Design Week 2026, 3C Awards supports this year’s theme, “DESIGN S/O/S: Secure Domestic / Outreach Opportunities / Sustainable Future”, a call for the design industry to respond actively to a world that feels fragile, complex, and constantly changing.

As uncertainty, anxiety, and pressure shape everyday life, design risks being reduced to something decorative or secondary and this theme pushes back against that idea, introducing design as a tool for adaptation, problem-solving, and positive change. It invites designers to think optimistically, collaborate across disciplines, challenge conventions, and design with purpose beyond aesthetics. The two talks curated by 3C Awards reflect this mindset in practice, moving from regenerative public landscapes that rethink how cities serve people to performance-driven brands that challenge established product categories. This programme is made possible through 3C’s partnership with the European Product Design Awards (EPDA), who are managing the local talk sessions on behalf of 3C.

Introducing the SIT Furniture Design Award 2025 Catalogue, a collection of winning designs in furniture and interior design. This catalogue celebrates the winners of the 5th edition of the SIT Award, both established professionals and emerging talents showcasing their innovative creations and pushing the boundaries of form and function. Additionally, the catalogue features exclusive interviews with the “Designers of the Year”, offering unique insights into their creative processes and inspirations.

The catalogue is available to purchase on Amazon and can be downloaded on the SIT Furniture Design Award website.

Explore the future of design through the visionaries shaping it today!

A record-setting ceremony that brought together world-renowned studios, award-winning architects and a new generation of emerging designers for a night dedicated to creativity, collaboration and the future of design inside one of Basel’s most iconic cultural spaces.

On Friday, November 21st, 2025, Basel became the centre of the international design community as the SIT Furniture Design Award came together for their largest celebration to date. Two hundred guests from more than thirty countries, from China, Japan, Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam to the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Argentina, South Africa and New Zealand, gathered inside the spectacular Elisabethenkirche, the 19th-century neo-Gothic landmark now transformed into one of Switzerland’s most striking contemporary cultural venues.

The decision to host the ceremony in the Elisabethenkirche underscored the awards’ shared values, honouring innovation, craftsmanship and adaptive reuse design at a moment when architecture and furniture design continue to respond creatively to the challenges of the built environment.

The evening brought together the winners of the 2024 and 2025 BLT Built Design Awards and the SIT Furniture Design Award, presenting both trophies and certificates on stage, accompanied by a seated gala dinner. Designers, architects, product innovators, academics, students, media partners and jury members connected throughout the evening, turning the neo-Gothic space into a lively international meeting point.

The ceremony was led by the 3C Group co-founders, Astrid Hébert and Hossein Farmani, who guided an extensive programme featuring some of the world’s most notable firms and emerging talents. Jury members joined them on stage to present the top-level trophies, including Pal Pang, London-based interior architect and artist and Chief Creative Officer of Another Design International; Dr. Anna Grichting Solder, Swiss architect, urbanist and musician with a Doctor of Design in Urbanism from Harvard; Andreas Rupf, Head of ETH RAUM at ETH Zürich and founder of SPEKTRUM GmbH, specialising in strategic spatial planning; Samantha Lassoudry, Founder & Chief Designer of Lassoudry Architects in Basel with a “custom-made couture” approach; Amir Idiatulin, Founder & CEO of IND (Russia/Global) and leader in architecture and urban strategy; Christian Brendelberger, Partner at Dietziker Partner Baumanagement AG and Head of Cost Planning on large-scale Swiss projects; and Alain Gilles, Brussels-based furniture and product designer, founder of The Studio and acclaimed internationally for his award-winning design work.

The SIT Furniture Design Award brought an equally global line-up, honouring ESCOFET, A-01 (A Company / A Foundation) and Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, alongside designers and studios such as Anna Lvovskaya of DA Bureau, Erick Martinez, HMN Handelsagentur, Studio Minus, Sila Yilmaz, Charles O. Job Design, Jan Goderis Design Lab, Franco Driusso of DAA DriussoAssociati Architects, Divan.ru, Olek Furniture, Raju Disain, Robert London Design, Klokner Institute at CTU in Prague, UDIT – Universidad de Diseño Innovación y Tecnología in Spain, ArtCenter College of Design, Howest Kortrijk, Queensland University of Technology, the Royal Danish Academy, Shih Chien University and the Faculties of Design represented by Filippo Sartori and Simone Codutti.

Students from fifteen universities were welcomed on stage throughout the evening, including Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Savannah College of Art and Design, Utah State University and Hochschule Koblenz, alongside previously mentioned institutions such as ETH Zürich, Bartlett School of Architecture at UCL, Shenkar College, UDIT, ArtCenter, Howest, Queensland University of Technology, the Royal Danish Academy and Shih Chien University, marking an extraordinary gathering of emerging designers and ensuring each university appeared only once across the ceremony.

Speaking about the scale of the evening, Astrid Hébert shared: “Standing inside the Elisabethenkirche and seeing designers, students and partners from all over the world gathered in one place was incredibly moving. Bringing the BLT Built Design Awards and the SIT Furniture Design Award together in this historic venue made the scale of the evening truly sink in, and I felt deeply grateful for the energy in the room and for everyone who travelled so far to celebrate with us at the biggest and most inspiring ceremony we have ever hosted.”

This year’s ceremony was supported by media partners including D5 MAG and v2com, marking another year of international collaboration and visibility for the award winners and their work. To explore the winning projects, keep up with upcoming deadlines or get involved in future editions, visit the official award websites and stay part of the global design community.

Public space feels most alive when it invites people to slow down, meet, and share moments together. This is what ESCOFET has been dedicated to for more than a century, shaping cities with urban elements that combine strength, function, and imagination. Their recent collaboration with Foster + Partners produced Gather and Tiers, two collections that prove concrete can be light, adaptable, and even welcoming.

Gather is designed as a modular system that creates small enclaves of privacy or generous stretches of seating, forming new ways for people to connect around greenery or in open plazas. Tiers adds another layer, with a collection of benches, stools, and tables at different heights that can be combined to suit work, relaxation, or social exchange. Both collections grew out of a close dialogue between Barcelona and London, with prototypes, models, and details refined until every curve and surface felt just right.

Honoured with Furniture Design of the Year at the SIT Furniture Design Awards, Gather and Tiers are turning concrete into places where urban life exists naturally, with ease and with purpose.

Can you tell us a bit about the background of ESCOFET? And how did the collaboration with Foster + Partners come to be?

Escofet is a century-old company dedicated to transforming cities through the industrialisation of urban solutions, including benches, planters, and other elements. We are now part of the international cement group Molins. Our collaboration with Foster + Partners began through previous work with their architectural department, where we produced large concrete panels for a tower project in Warsaw. They were already familiar with our meticulous attention to detail in concrete industrialisation. Our relationship with the Foster + Partners Industrial Design team started with a meeting to discuss products needed for an urban project in London, which was not executed by us. From there, we started a good relationship, which ended up with the design of two collections of urban furniture elements to be included in our catalogue.

What would you say is the core design philosophy that guides ESCOFET?

We work closely with designers to ensure that proposals make a meaningful impact and generate value for society. Our commitment to material quality, functionality, and uniqueness is central to our philosophy. As concrete producers, we understand better than most how to leverage the material’s possibilities and benefits in design. Designing within the constraints of the material allows us to create truly distinctive pieces.

What was the inspiration for creating this type of modular, concrete-based urban furniture?

The inspiration was to create a social meeting point that encourages interaction among citizens. This concept led to the name and the concave module. With that solid foundation, developing a modular solution that allows designers to adapt and expand the system was a natural progression.

Could you walk us through the development process of Gather and Tiers?

The design process was both pleasant and inspiring. We maintained almost weekly contact with the Foster + Partners Industrial Design team. We began by defining the brief, validating concepts and usability through mockups and 3D models, checking ergonomics, and testing the material’s resistance.

What were some of the most significant challenges you faced during this project?

One major challenge was adapting the bench’s ergonomics to comply with different legal standards across various countries. Additionally, we focused heavily on perfecting details such as section transitions and surface connections, which required extensive work and collaboration.

This project rethinks how we interact with public space, both physically and socially. How important is that social component when designing urban furniture?

It is extremely important. As part of our strategy, We Love the City, we aim to promote a more vibrant, playful, and sustainable urban environment. We strive to create spaces that foster social connections and development, while also addressing environmental concerns.

Congratulations on winning Furniture Design of the Year at the SIT Awards! What does this award mean to your team?

It represents relevance and brand positioning. We are very grateful and proud to have the opportunity to share our product with the world.

Looking ahead, what do you envision for the future of your studio? Are there new materials, typologies, or urban needs that you’re especially interested in exploring?

We aim to grow by providing innovative urban solutions and addressing the consequences of climate change, such as rising temperatures, which compel us to create climate shelters. We are exploring the use of lighter colours and incorporating recycled aggregates into our concrete mixtures to face these challenges.

 

The SIT Furniture Design Award has announced the date and location of its annual awards ceremony and gala dinner, set for Friday, November 21st, 2025, in Basel, Switzerland, a city internationally recognized for its architectural heritage and vibrant cultural scene.

This year’s ceremony will be held at the Elisabethenkirche, a 19th-century neo-Gothic church that has been transformed into a contemporary cultural venue. The choice of location reflects the award’s core values, celebrating innovation while honoring tradition, and speaks directly to one of today’s most pressing design topics: adaptive and reuse design.

The evening will highlight the achievements of the 2024 and 2025 SIT Award winners, with formal trophy presentations, a seated gala dinner, and an exhibition of winning projects. Attending winners will be invited on stage to receive their certificates, while also enjoying the opportunity to connect with fellow designers, jury members, media, and the organizing team.

Each winning firm will receive two complimentary tickets to attend the event. The reservation platform will open in August, with more details to follow.

As one of the key international recognitions in the field of furniture and interior design, the SIT Award Ceremony 2025 is expected to gather leading voices and emerging talents from across the globe for an evening dedicated to design excellence and creative exchange.

The Saddle Stool curves, folds, and flows like it’s in motion, even when perfectly still. Crafted from humble birch wood, it feels anything but rigid. There’s a tension to it, a softness carved out of something solid.

We spoke with designer Elay Dagan, winner of the SIT Furniture Design Award for Emerging Furniture Designer of the Year, about how this sculptural piece came to life. From experimenting with scraps in his home workshop to learning when to stop refining, Elay shares how the stool took shape, what drives his design approach, and why the space around the object matters just as much as the object itself.

1. Can you tell us a bit about your background? What led you to study design?

My name is Elay, I’m 25 years old. I was born and raised in Tel Aviv—a city I truly love. It gave me space, freedom, the sea, and interesting people. I’m the eldest in my family, with two younger sisters, and I grew up in a house that was always in motion. My father is a construction project manager, and my mother is an industrial designer. We did almost everything ourselves at home—fixing, building, painting, even moving walls.

I was never sure I would pursue academic studies. At first, I thought I would simply become a craftsman—learning through hands-on experience. I worked in a carpentry shop as an apprentice, and later began working with Eden, an extraordinary sculptor who specializes in concrete restoration. We created textures for public buildings, cast benches and sinks, and restored historic structures. Every day, I learned something new.

The turning point came when I began leading recycling workshops. That’s where I met a friend who was then my partner—she was studying industrial design. One day, she simply decided to sign me up for the Shankar entrance exams, without telling me. When the brief arrived, I sat down at the table—and didn’t get up. I felt a kind of inner storm, almost like a revelation. I realized that this is what I want to do—to design.

 

2. What would you say is your personal design philosophy?

Today, when I reflect on my design approach, I feel it constantly moves along the axis between technology and craftsmanship. I’m deeply curious about new technologies, software, and digital tools. I love to explore, learn, and dive deep into anything related to advanced and precise production. At the same time, I believe in the power of human touch. For me, the soul of an object comes from the material itself—from the small scratch, the imperfect edge, and the traces left by the hands that shaped it. That’s what gives an object life and character.

This connection—between mechanical precision and the sensitivity of handcrafted work—is at the heart of what I strive for. Sometimes I approach a material and begin working without overthinking it, simply letting my hands lead the way. Most of the time, they know what to do—and they take me exactly where I need to go.

 

3. What is the inspiration behind the Saddle Stool? Was there a moment that sparked something in you?

I created the stool during a design course at the end of my first year. The course aimed to explore materials—how to bend them, cut them, use their properties, and experiment with alternative approaches.

As a personal challenge, I decided to work only with what I already had in my small home workshop—without rushing out to buy new materials. I found scraps of leather, cardboard, paper, and oak veneer, and started combining, gluing, cutting, and bending them. Then, at the end of a long workday, just as I was about to turn off the light, I took a piece of veneer, folded it, added a screw—and suddenly everything clicked. A gesture emerged that I hadn’t planned, but I immediately felt it was the one. That moment, when a simple material bends and becomes something else, is what pushed the entire project forward. I knew I wanted to develop and preserve that exact quality.

4. Can you walk us through the development process of the Saddle Stool? How did sketches become a sculptural object?

The stool’s design expresses motion and flow—rooted in early experiments with bending soft, lightweight, linear materials at a 1:10 scale. At first, I looked for a material that could mimic the thinness of paper but remain strong and durable enough to function as a stool.

Ironically, the breakthrough came when I gave up and decided to express that same movement using a rigid and static material. That choice created a surprising contrast, infusing the project with softness, elegance, and intrigue.

As I continued working, I realized that spatial movement—the air surrounding and within the object—was just as compelling. The void became a material of its own: an active element that “breathes,” envelops, and lends the stool its dynamic energy. The internal volume—the emptiness—became an integral part of the form.

I chose birch wood—a simple, accessible, and relatively inexpensive material—and through sculptural handwork, transformed it into something unique and refined. I deliberately left the interior raw and unfinished, as a tribute to the production process, which combined advanced CNC milling with the immediacy of handcraft. This fusion—between the innovative and the traditional—is, in my view, what gives the stool its modern and vibrant character.

5. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while working on the project?

The biggest challenge for me was reaching the point where I truly felt at peace with what I had created. I had countless sketches, each of which could have led in a different direction. I worked under tight deadlines—it was a short project, with a clear finish line—and there was a constant sense of urgency, a need to make final decisions quickly.

Choosing the production method and material was a turning point—I felt it in my body. A kind of internal quiet that signaled: this is it. From that moment on, all the other pieces started falling into place.

Of course, even after that, I faced many crossroads and critical decisions at nearly every stage. Eventually, I realized I needed to stop. Not to overwork. Not to over-polish. To leave it rough where it needed to be—not perfect, but alive. To listen to what the project wanted to become—and let it lead me.

 

6. Congratulations on being named the SIT Awards’ Emerging Furniture Designer of the Year! What does this recognition mean to you at this early point in your career?

Winning the competition was an incredibly emotional moment for me. At first, I couldn’t quite believe it was real—but when I saw the official announcement, the feeling started to sink in.

The award gave me a deep sense of confidence. It helped me understand that I have a voice, that I have something to say—and that voice is being heard, and it matters. It connected my inner passion with external validation, and gave me a small but powerful sign that I may be on the right path.

 

7. Looking ahead, what do you envision for your future?

I dream of a large workshop filled with all kinds of machines—old and cutting-edge—that allow me to move between worlds and merge material with technology. More than anything, I’d love to work there alongside friends and colleagues—curious people like me, each bringing something different to the table.

And my biggest dream? To present a series of works in a gallery or museum. To create projects that provoke thought, touch people, and tell stories through material, structure, and form. To exist in the space where design meets people and art.

And finally—I want to thank you for this special opportunity, for the recognition and the honor—it’s incredibly meaningful to me. I also want to thank my teachers at Shankar, who guided me, challenged me, and asked the right questions. And a huge thank-you to everyone who supported, helped, and stood by me—you are an inseparable part of this journey, and of this success.