© Design Pris Schweiz
Furniture, Fashion, Communication, Interior, Design Research, Textile and Product.
Design Prize Switzerland awards prizes for outstanding performance in these seven professional fields every 2 years. The prize was established in 1991 and was awarded 22nd times.
Five international experts form the jury:
Liesbeth in’t Hout, Co-Director of Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam /Ascan Mergenthaler, Senior partner of Herzog & de Meuron, Basel/Jasper Morrison, Jasper Morrison Ltd, Paris and London/Lars Mueller, Publisher, Baden Switzerland/Robb Young, Contributing Writer, International Herald Tribune, London
Entries for the competition come from Swiss designers, companies and institutions based in Switzerland or abroad, as well as designers from another countries who working in Switzerland. Products made in Switzerland are eligible as well.
As the selection criteria, the mandatory features common to all disciplines are top quality design, aesthetic consistency, social relevance, innovative vision, economic importance and sustainability.
You could see all excellent works on their home page, so here I would like to introduce to you CRESTA CHAIR which was awarded the prize in a Furniture design field.
© Design Pris Schweiz
You might have seen simple and robust handmade furniture in a Japanese anime Heidi, Girl of the Alps. Such wooden furniture has been used in an Alpine chalet, a hotel and a restaurant.
CRESTA CHAIR was designed by the blending of traditional Alpine style with modern wood-processing technology and contemporary aesthetic.
I questioned if it had been made of Swiss stone pine tree in the Alps. Jörg Boner who is the designer of CRESTA CHAIR told us that he had to select a more solid and elastic Ash tree timber. Since the elegant design form of the chair demands high strength and resilience from the seat to the back Boner used Ash wood to achieve ideal and lasting rigidity for chair. In near future Mr. Boner and his project members are planning furthermore variations by using different timber.
The seat is made up from three parts, composed by means of finger joints and represents besides comfortableness, precise lines and the warmth of being handmade.
The mountaineer country Switzerland has four official languages representing the four different cultures German, French, Italian and Raeto-Romanic uniquely assimilated in the Swiss Confederation. Mountains, forest, lakes together with middle sized cities, like Geneva, Berne, Basel or Zurich form the unique character of this extraordinary country in the heart of Western Europe.
CRESATA CHAIR was born from very sophisticated modern sense and Swiss craftsmanship with the background of beautiful Swiss nature and the unique multicultural environment.
As such a beautiful chair representing today’s Swiss design.
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The year 2014, Switzerland and Japan will celebrate the 150 years anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between both countries. I wish, the global design industry would take the opportunity actively exchanging and stimulating each other.
An international travelling exhibition will start in 2014 also to open up potential on markets in the world.
The exhibition of Design Prize Switzerland was being held in Langenthal (until 26 January 2014) about 30 minutes from Bern, about 50 minutes from Zurich by train.