One Good Chair 2009 Design Competition: Fit Right Here

When people consider the Adirondack chair or Charleston's joggling bench, specific places like upstate New York or the Carolinas come to mind. Now designers will have the chance to create a chair that's expressive of their own favorite environment.

Due to the overwhelming success of the inaugural One Good Chair event last July, competition organizers are approaching leading manufacturers to fabricate a prototype of each of the finalists' designs. These models will be exhibited at the upcoming Las Vegas Market, September 14 - 17.

Designers around the world are being called to action to create an iconic "eco-chair," in the second One Good Chair design competition, sponsored by World Market Center Las Vegas, Las Vegas Market's Living Green Pavilion and the Sustainable Furnishings Council.



Susan Inglis, executive director for the Sustainable Furnishings Council, called One Good Chair an inspirational event. "Not only is it challenging and provocative, but One Good Chair shows designers are designing for the way we live today. They're creating pieces that are beautiful and functional, but also putting into practice what's best for the planet and life as we know it. It's about fit."

Jury chair and competition organizer Lance Hosey is an architect and author of The Shape of Green: Aesthetics, Ecology, and Design. Hosey said, "More and more designers and manufacturers are going green, but typically they do so by rethinking materials and methods alone. One Good Chair encourages designers to rethink how we design things, and not just how we make them." Hosey is also a Contributing Editor with Architect magazine, where he writes the monthly "Ecology" column.

The theme of this year's One Good Chair competition, "Fit Right Here," emphasizes the connection between a person fitting comfortably in a chair as well as the chair fitting appropriately in its environment and the eco-system. The goal of the "eco chair" competition is to solicit designs that embody and enhance a particular place, Hosey said. The competition is open to any designer, architect, student or interested person anywhere.

Margaret Casey, director of programming at World Market Center Las Vegas and a founding member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council, said innovation and form are imperative in the judging criteria. "Judges are looking for a lounge chair or casual seating chair designs that demonstrate a fresh way of addressing material conservation, physical comfort and emotional resonance."

"The competition promotes region-specific design," Casey said, adding that locally made, sustainable furniture is the goal of the contest. "Our judges for this competition are influential and prestigious and their involvement makes One Good Chair an outstanding opportunity."

Hosey said he hopes to see ideas from across the globe, and concepts that transport the imagination to a particular time and place, whether that's through regional ecology, local materials, conservation of resources through form, culturally determined notions of comfort or social history.

Cash prizes, intended to support further development of the winning chair designs, will be awarded at a reception sponsored by World Market Center Las Vegas.

The awards presentation will take place during Fall Las Vegas Market, September 14 - 17.

Winners and select entries will be featured in industry publications such as ecofabulous and other media outlets, as well as Hosey's forthcoming book, The Shape of Green: Aesthetics, Ecology, and Design. All finalists will be featured on the competition website and in public exhibitions.

The "One Good Chair" registration is now open and closes May 30, 2009.

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