Project UDesign contest begins today! YOU DECIDE!
Posted by Jenny, BiOH Polyols Marketing Assistant on September 3, 2010
BiOH® polyols is excited to announce the kickoff of Project UDesign! Select your favorite wing chair designed by students of the Savannah College of Art and Design: SCAD Furniture Design: The new home for Ideas, Creativity, Innovation. The top 3 finalists will move onto the final round of online consumer selection and have a chance for their chair to be added to the Century Furniture line and made with BiOH® polyols and Ultrasuede Interiors. YOU DECIDE!
Ryland Quillen - Alifair Chair
- Clare Beumer – Buncome Chair
Colin Jones - Tortoise Chair
Emily Carpenter - Kona Chair
Emily Carpenter - Madur Chair
Matt Gray - Luna Chair
Help decide who the 3 finalists will be. DECIDE NOW!
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Robert Mark said on September 3, 2010:
All of these entries display a total frustration for form and a lack of understanding of what residential or contract upholstery should be. None of them appears to be in the least bit ergonomic, so they all will be very uncomfortable. Mr. Quillen should know that wing chairs were originally designed to keep drafts off of people’s necks in very drafty residences. Cutting out the wings to give better line of sight is as self contradictory as the whole chair itself. The Alifair would never sell. The Luna would be claustrophobic to sit in, along with being uncomfortable. The Kona is a bad rendition of a Folke Ohlsen design from the 1950′s. The Buncombe is the best of the worst with the Tortoise as the runner up second. These students need some more education on what makes successful break through upholstery designs. I believe that the problem resides more with the quality of education they are receiving than in their creative abilities. If any of these students had ever studied the Womb chair or the Diamond chair or the Swan chair, they would not have taken the design direction they took. Modern design like any good design is brilliant when taking away one single aspect of the design spoils the whole look. Good modern design has nothing superfluous in its lines and details. I am hoping that these are not students who are about to graduate.
colin jones said on September 8, 2010:
I am very interested by your comments, Mr. Robert Mark. I have a few questions and comments in response to yours. Firstly the rules of this competition were as follows, must be upholstered in Ultrasuede, the only wood showing is exposed legs or feet, and it has to be a wing chair. (Note: the concept of a wing chair was left open to our interpretation) Second, in the markets of residential and contract design there are many niches for a VERY wide variety or products. Next, the appearance or ergonomics is difficult to convey in a limited quantity of renderings. Although i can not speak for the others in the competition, I can say that I researched the ergonomics of my chair and sampled the ox chair for dimensions. (having sat in the ox chair I can say it is very comfortable) Finally, the existence of drafty residences is dwindling, if you can afford a chair from Century you can pay to eliminate drafts from your home. As far as contradicting the essence of a wing chair, we are in a different age where you can think and design outside the box. I appreciate your input and point of view, however part of being a student is to think outside the box.
krista harberson said on September 9, 2010:
Mr. Mark, while you are completely entitled to your opinions, there are a few things about this challenge you seem to be overlooking. First, you easily dismiss these pieces because in your opinion they aren’t ergonomically constructed. Ergonomics is much too broad a topic to be pinned down to such tiny constraints. Comfort is a subjective thing based on the needs of the client. Secondly, the standard wing chair was meant to act as an inspiration to these students, not as a form to be directly imitated. All the competing students had a very distinct set of guidelines to follow laid forth by Century Furniture and BioH. Lastly, unless you are extremely familiar with the SCAD Furniture Design program, the goals and objectives of the Soft Furnishings course, and the rubric of this particular assignment, you present yourself as being grossly uninformed about the education these students are receiving. To presume they have not studied the great icons and pioneers of modern design is absurd. In addition, to make a sweeping statement such as “good modern design has nothing superfluous in its lines and details” suggests omitting a magnitude of options for designers who might want more than just a rehashing of mid-century modern aesthetics. These are the designers of tomorrow. They are the minds that will put American design back on the international map.
Jessica Koster said on September 23, 2010:
Mr. Mark –
I appreciate your candor in expressing your personal opinions of the student designs. I, personally, think it takes a lot of courage for students to look beyond the “norm” and create designs that surprise & inspire. I commend these students for taking on the challenge of Project UDesign and look forward to testing the 3 finalist designs at High Point in October.
Tracy said on September 28, 2010:
These are some solid designs. These are truly unique chairs. All three designers have some great courage and they deserve to be applauded
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