1st Adriana Adam Design Award highlights promising projects from the sector

The 1st Adriana Adam Design Award announced this Wednesday (16) the three winning projects, among more than 400 entries. First place went to the Guillotine Mirror, created by Rio Grande do Sul designer Ricardo Lanfredi Peruzzolo. Second place went to the Auris Lamp, by Manoela de Assumpção Gazze, from Minas Gerais, and Victória Munhoz and Verônica Ribeiro, design students from Mackenzie Presbyterian University, in São Paulo. And third place went to the Anita Table, developed by designer Welison Barbosa dos Santos, from Curitiba, Paraná.

Each of the finalists will be contemplated with the execution of a prototype of their projeto, which will be produced by one of the three national companies selected as the great partners of this first edition: by Kamy, Itens Collections and Odara, for promotional exhibition in shows inside and outside the country; cash values, being: 1st place - US$ 5. 000 (five thousand dollars), 2nd place - US$ 2,500 (two thousand and five hundred dollars) and 3rd place - US$ 1,500 (one thousand and five hundred dollars) and, also, a trip to Milan, Italy, to accompany the collective exhibition of the winning proposals planned to take place during the 61st edition of the Salone del Mobile, in 2022, in a format and date to be confirmed.

"We received many projects with truly innovative solutions for the objects present in our daily lives. The students and recent graduates surprised us with different ideas and proposals in furniture, lamps, rugs and accessories," summarises Gaetano Pesce. 

The event organization, curators and the creator of the award also decided to establish two important honorable mentions, due to the high quality of the projects received, which go to: Poltrona Emile, by Fabrício Reguelin Auler, born in the city of Soledade and student of industrial design at the Federal University of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul. "Emile is an armchair that brings as a concept the 'embrace of the taturana', where the user can use a blanket, inspired by the varied colours and textures of the animal, as a kind of scarf or cloak when sitting. This blanket is wrapped around the circular slits of the backrest of the armchair, in an allusion to the marks similar to "bites" left by the animal when it feeds on a leaf," explains the student.

Another honourable mention went to the Tuiuiú bench, created by Patrick Afornali, 21 years old and student of design at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Curitiba. "My projeto is inspired by the figure of the Tuiuiú, a bird which is the symbol of our Pantanal and owner of extreme mastery in the construction of its nests, which can reach up to three metres in diameter", says Afornali.

The winners

1st place - Espelho Guilhotine, from the gaúcho Ricardo Lanfredi Peruzzolo:

Ricardo, who is a student of architecture and urbanism, explains that the "Guillotine" is a floor mirror, inspired by the old mechanical decapitation devices, invented by Joseph Ignace Gillotin in 1738, during the French Revolution. "The idea of the mirror is a kind of cult of the body and how it impacts negatively on people's lives. Uniting the function of the object (to be a mirror and reflect the appearance and the body), with its formal inspiration (a device of death, pain and suffering)", explains the student. The future architect also explains that, through a decorative object, he warns about the dangers of the obsession for the 'perfect body', an extremely relevant subject nowadays, especially in social networks. Made of MDF, the mirror can also be made of iron or sawn wood and can also be finished in lacquer. The piece has a versatile design and can be used in different environments, such as bedrooms, wardrobes, halls, living rooms, bathrooms and others. It can also be used in commercial environments, decorating shops or showrooms. For architect and designer Gaetano Pesce, the Guillotine has the merit of evoking a sad device as opposed to a magical element: the guillotine in the mirror version. "The guillotine evokes undesirable feelings of violence. But in this case, the object reminds us that even the mirror can provide us with unwanted memories. Moreover, this projeto is not configured on the basis of abstract forms, but by means of a figurative image, easy for the observer to understand. It expresses the future of design. That is, by means of objects that will be configured by means of clearly recognisable forms. For all these reasons, I choose this projeto as the winner of this competition dedicated to revere the memory of the unforgettable Adriana Adam", explains Gaetano.

2nd place: Aurislamp , by Manoela de Assumpção Gazze, from Minas Gerais, and Victória Munhoz and Verônica Ribeiro, from São Paulo: 

The design students from Mackenzie Presbyterian University, in São Paulo, created the Auris Lamp, which had as inspiration the shape and colours came from the tree trunks covered by urupês, popularly known as wood ears. Manoela explains that the idea behind projeto was to bring the lightness and well-being of nature to the urban domestic environment. Each pair of petals contains an LED that, fitted between the petals, emits a pleasant and inviting illumination. "I used petals in paper vergê, besides stem and canopy in aluminium. Both materials are recyclable. The LED pads, on the other hand, guarantee good lighting, consume little electricity and, because they emit low levels of thermal energy, they can be safely enclosed between the petals." Besides delighting the jury, the projeto also earned praise from the creator of the award, Gaetano Pesce: "The idea impressed me both by the innovation of the material and the final format. It reminds me a lot of the beautiful Amazon orchids. The modularity of the elements is another positive point, besides the possible quality of the light produced", he says.

3rd place: Anita table, designer Welison Barbosa dos Santos, from Curtiba:

Developed by designer Welison Barbosa dos Santos, from Curitiba, Paraná. The Anita Table is a symbol of unity and the strength of three concepts so relevant in modern life: design, art and female empowerment. It is also a tribute to the centenary of the Brazilian Week of Modern Art, which will be celebrated in February 2022. "The Anita table and the other pieces of furniture in the collection are inspired by three leading exponents of the movement: Tarsila do Amaral, Anita Malfatti and Zina Aita. The proposed collection is composed of a side table, a chaise longue and an armchair. All items have an artistic aesthetic and can be used together or combined in the composition of domestic or corporate environments", he explains. The furniture was created from applications of tufting, tapestry technique applied to the pieces executed by artists and collectives in collaboration with the designers who sign the collection. "My attention to this collection was fixed on the low table in the shape of a group of mushrooms. The figurative aspect of this projeto is very interesting. The different heights and shapes are reminiscent of the organic silhouettes of nature. And, for sure, the technical resources we have today will make it possible to produce this 'sprout' of surfaces", comments Gaetano Pesce.

The jury

The jury, whose president of honour is architect and designer Gaetano Pesce, one of the biggest names in the international scene still working, is formed by six renowned and important professionals in the area in Brazil and abroad. They are Glenn Adamson, curator, writer and historian based in New York, United States. His curriculum includes notable positions, such as director of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York and Head of Research at the Victoria & Albert Museum, in London. Silvana Annicchiarico, architect, independent design curator, lecturer, critic and researcher. Since 1998 she has been Curator of the Permanent Collection of Italian Design at Triennale Milano and from 2007 to 2018 she was Director of the Triennale Design Museum in Milan. Christian Ullmann, graduated in industrial design from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, resides in Brazil since 1996 and is project coordinator of the IED Brazil innovation centre. Giancarlo Latorraca, architect and PhD student in Design at the School of Architecture and Urbanism, FAU/USP, is Technical Director of the Museu da Casa Brasileira, MCB. Fernanda Sarmento, researcher, curator of design exhibitions and also a professor in the Architecture and Design courses at the Architecture and Urbanism Faculty, FAU/USP and, to complete the team, Marva Griffin, founder and curator of SaloneSatellite, a special event within the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan.