ADF Milano Salone Design Award 2021 Winners Announced

Ｗe are pleased to announce the winners for the ADF Milano Salone Design Award 2021. Takuto Ohta swept the Best Performance Award, followed by Boey Wang and Alexander Schul winning the Outstanding Performance Awards. Congratulations to all the winners for their outstanding performances, and we are truly grateful for all the support we received for this award to be a success.

"～" / Takuto Ohta

Best Performance Award

"～" / Takuto Ohta

RETHINKING THE OBVIOUS

In our daily lives, we take many things for granted, including how objects are related to us. Aren’t we convincing ourselves that we fully understand what objects and things surrounding us are made to do or how their forms are designed to fit their functions? The proposal of this presentation is to make people rethink about the ordinary usage and the feel of the material of things. By doing so, we may be able to change our ways of living.

"〜" is an object that blends into space and makes something happen. It reacts to the air movement or vibration. It shifts itself to make a relationship with other things. Its contour creates an image with its surroundings that can be deceptive or misleading to our brains and disappears. The  invisible " ~ " exposes the texture of the object it is in contact with and discloses pieces of information from the unconscious sea of memory. This forced transition from “seeing” to “understanding” is a cue for us to rethink about true meaning of words or fundamental role of shapes and forms. The unrealistic phenomenon happening before our eyes rejects a stereotypical idea and the disclosed  information gradually penetrate our minds. A brand new relationship starts to build up between an object and a man. 

The aim is to cut out an action, to visualize the quality created from a human-thing relationship. A man takes an action. The action is observed from a comprehensive and various viewpoints. Take an example, what do we feel or think when we hear a sentence “a man is putting a glass on the table “? Or when we see a man in action? Won’t we conclude the series of information in this action by adding up the symbols such as “a man’” + “a glass” + “a table” + “to put” ? Aren’t we satisfied to have understood the action despite there are other information attached to it?

”～" is made up of coiled snappies of hard steel wire attached to the back of a snare drum. The coils interlock with each other and no glue is used. The shape is based on polygons (truncat­ed icosahedron) commonly found in virus­es and atoms in order to withstand the en­vironmental load.

Membranes exist to receive external influ­ences. When touched by wind or light, the whole thing shimmers and shakes like a living thing. It will establish its existence as an object and wander somewhere without depend­ing on humans.

Work introduction video available.

The point which it starts with a fundamental definition which we usually don’t’ think about, and concluded with a logical approach to the theme was highly evaluated.  Excellent design, high functionality, and the unique usage of material all lived up to the assignment theme.

Judge: Kota Bando

Takuto Ohta Personal Profile

2017 04　Musashino Art University graduated

2019 04~ Tokyo Art University Master

2020 04~ Musashino Art University IIC INT  Teaching Associate

Works as a design unit "DECO".

<AWARD>
2014　Asia award＿selected
2015　Milano salone＿zone tortona
2015　Asia award＿semi grandprix 2016　ICFF＿in NYC
2017　Milano salone＿ikea＿booth
2018　Plastic＿design＆story award＿selected
2019　Wood furniture competition＿silver award 2019　Comit colbert award＿grandprix
2019　Panasonic sports change makers＿slected

Outstanding Performance Awards

re-STANDARISE / Boey Wang

Immeasurable Ranges

Humans have always relied on tools to enforce knowledge and shape their surroundings. Pandemic social distancing is not only physical, but also personal. With the rapid changing of uncertainty, we are stuck in between the physical concern of safety and the desire of social activities with unspeakable anxiety and insecurity. Our tools and systems, notably the measurements as the foundation of human creation, are designed to quantify and unify the reality statically. It's not only limited in responding to the uncertainty responsively, but also being rigid in allowing imagination and feeling. A measuring system with an adoptive range is needed, especially including the variable range of humanity.

By stretching the law of physics, The project aims to reinterpret measurement from a subjective perspective. The project is for adults to relearn the rigid understanding of reality and also for teenagers to understand the reason for inventing measurements. It evokes our elastic instincts of seeing the world without any frameworks. By opening up the personal uncanny towards the uncertain reality, an entrance of valuing and exchanging diverse understandings could be possible.

Work introduction video available.

This piece was the  most impressive entry that dealt with a product that resulted in rethinking our relationship to objects and to each other and more importantly asks the question of why they exist. Very poetic with a great sense of humor and simple manipulation of everyday objects.

Judge: Eric Clough

Substantial Furniture Line / Alexander Schul

Ｗe are entering a period of time, where we have to integrate the thought of re_using and saving resources more into design. The careless use of resources can lead to problems we will have to face in the future. 

The goal was to design an industrially manufacturable, durable and aesthetically pleasing product by using the advantages and possibilities that lay within the process of recycling. The effecient industrial manufacturability of the product was important, as it makes it possible to recycle larger quantities of material. Since transforming the once disposable product into a long-living object is the most sustainable way to reuse plastic, achieving the longevity as well in the quality of the objects, but also in their appearance was very important.

Based on the research on how plastic can get recycled, concluded in the most efficient way to recycle plastic trash, press sheet material form. This way of processing the plastic waste does not require an exact separation. The small reflective details you can see in the material are the shredded remnants of aluminum lids which conventionally get used in yogurt cups. That being said, the resulting pattern / visual appearance not only looks interesting, but also arises from an efficient manufacturing method.  That is why the order was made to this particular sheet material by Smileplastics.

The original thermoforming process made it  possible to form lightweight, material-saving, yet stable structuren which the furniture design is based on. 

Based on this manufacturing methodology, the first piece of chair was designed to  exploit the full static potential of the material. The chair is made from less than a square meter of 6mm thick sheet material, is demountable and can carry up to 160kg. The side table is based on the same molds and design principles as the chair, which is intended to explain the transferability of the manufacturing process to other objects. 

All objects are made from the same material (except of the stainless steel screws connecting the parts). This not only ensures a very pure, timeless appearance, which makes the objects easy to combine in any interior, but also simplifies the production process.

Extend collection by exploring different plastic sheets with different patterns, showed how versatile the appearance of the recycled plastic sheets can be and that the design works with other patterns, too.

Alexander Schul's entry was the most beautifully presented in both concept, graphics, and execution of a quality product. The strength of the entry was the pressing of recycled plastics rather than the restructuring of the material. Very well done.

Judge: Eric Clough

Judges

Eric Clough : Architect designer based in NY, who is active in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Leads the  multi-disciplinary design firm, 212box. 

Kota Bando : Head of the NY based interior design firm Bando x Seidel Meersseman.