Buildner is pleased to announce the results of its second annual Architect's Chair Competition, which received excellent ideas from around the globe. As this competition series gains traction and interest, Buildner is excited to announce the launch of the Architect's Chair Edition 3 competition with a registration deadline of January 15, 2025. Buildner has also published its first book on the topic, highlighting key ideas and outstanding projects past editions.
Chair design exemplifies the interdisciplinary nature of architecture, showcasing architects' ability to adapt skills and sensibilities across scales and contexts, blurring the lines between architecture, design, and art. This versatility empowers architects to explore new ideas and challenge conventional notions of chair aesthetics, materials, and technology.
The Architect's Chair Competition is an annual international design competition that invites architects and designers worldwide to submit designs for a signature chair. Following in the footsteps of iconic figures like Charles and Ray Eames, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Marcel Breuer, and Arne Jacobsen, participants are tasked with creating custom chairs that reflect their unique design philosophies and visions.
Buildner worked with an outstanding team of jurors representing the fields of architecture, product design, and furniture design, to evaluate the submissions based on functionality and comfort, aesthetics and signature style, materiality, craftsmanship and construction, and versatility.
- Philippe Starck, the globally renowned French industrial designer and architect;
- Boris Berlin, a designer and partner of Copenhagen-based Boris Berlin Design;
- Anne Brandhøj, a partner at the furniture design studio Bly Studio who also works with wood sculptures under her own name;
- Sarah Hossli, a product designer based in Lucerne, Switzerland;
- Flora Lee, a US-based associate partner at MAD Architects;
- Lorenz Noelle, a product designer based in Switzerland;
- Alexander Lervik, one of Sweden's most well-known designers;
- Natalia Sanz Laviña and Takeshi Yamamura, cofounders of Tokyo-based YSLA YamamuraSanzLaviña Architects;
- Harrison Stallan, an architect with the Rotterdam-based firm OMA
Buildner's other ongoing competitions include: the 2025 edition of the Kingspan MICROHOME competition; the Denver Single-Stair Housing Challenge to address the housing crisis in Colorado by inviting innovative design solutions for mid-rise, single-stair housing; and the Unbuilt Award, which honors unrealized project proposals with a 100,000 EUR prize fund.
Projects
First Prize Winner + Buildner Student Award
Project title: Brochette
Authors: Alexis Giard and Vanessa Michaud, Université de Québec à Montréal, Canada
Brochette, meaning "skewer," honors the strength and elegance of the mortise and tenon joint, a key element in architecture and furniture design. This lounge chair, inspired by mid-century icons, combines an eco-friendly approach with a refined silhouette. Brochette reinterprets the mortise and tenon joint, achieving stability through two rounded crossbars that support the backrest, seat, and legs. The chair's ergonomic angles, inspired by hospital beds, promote circulation and passive comfort. Rear legs with a classic blind tenon integrate seamlessly into the crossbar, ensuring stability. Made from durable, locally sourced Douglas fir from British Columbia, known for its rosy hue and unique grain, Brochette is free of screws and treated with non-toxic soap, reflecting a commitment to sustainability and craftsmanship.
Second Prize Winner
Project title: Rattan Splice Chair
Author: Harry Parr-Young, Sweden
The Rattan Splice Chair reimagines traditional rattan furniture, moving beyond its association with exotic, outdoor settings. The result is a modern chair with a simplified aesthetic, achieved by splicing joints together to form a stronger geometric structure, inspired by plant stems. Rattan was introduced to Europe in the 18th century by the Dutch East India Company, becoming a symbol of wealth and status. Its exotic aesthetic has resurfaced periodically, and its flexible nature led to structural challenges, often requiring additional supports and concealed joinery. This project addresses these issues by adopting techniques from the wooden furniture industry. Precision-machined splice joints ensure structural stability and a refined, timeless appearance. Complementing this is a seat and backrest made from mycelium leather, enhancing both comfort and sustainability.
Third Prize Winner
Project title: PONTUM Chair
Author: Sara Katalin Kele, Hungary
The Pontum project is inspired by the Elisabeth Bridge in Budapest, with minimalist solid wood furniture that echoes the bridge's elegance and structure. Each piece reflects the bridge's design, symbolizing connection. The collection offers two color options: white ash wood, representing the modern bridge, and black, using Yakisugi, an ancient Japanese burning technique, as a tribute to the original structure destroyed in WWII. The chair draws from the bridge's cable design, with paracord ropes mimicking suspension cables. Its backrest supports a suspended seat, ensuring comfort through an ergonomic arc, rounded armrests, and flexible suspension. Crafted from solid ash wood, the chair blends traditional wood bending with modern CNC techniques. Flat-packed for easy assembly, it includes 22 meters of pre-threaded rope, creating a sturdy and elegant structure.
Sustainability Prize Winner
Project title: Split Chair
Author: Katherine Burns, Australia
The Split Chair mirrors the scale of a typical occasional chair but challenges this reference with its austere design. The combined arm and backrest gently embrace the user's waist, allowing the elbow and forearm to rest comfortably. The seat's gentle curve supports the user, with its proportions adjusted through comfort testing. In modern design, seamlessness often hides craftsmanship. The Split Chair, however, celebrates its honest construction. Born from experiments in steam bending, the chair's defining feature is its 'split' timber, molded after steaming. Dowel wedges hold the structure together, with proportions shaped by manual testing and constant learning. Crafted from locally sourced recycled American Ash and Walnut, the chair's imperfections highlight its handmade process. Created by the maker as their first design, the chair reflects a passion for authentic, architectural craftsmanship. Its timeless design and readability make it highly replicable.
Highlighted submissions
Project title: Contour
Author: Brian Glenn Overman, of the company Stratum, based in Switzerland
Contour is a bar stool crafted to fit individual body proportions, merging form and function through a seamless design process. Starting with a clean, elegant design, users provide counter height and key body dimensions. Advanced software then calculates a stool tailored to these specific measurements. Options for color, materials, and footrest customization enhance personalization. Precise CNC machining ensures each piece is crafted to exact specifications. The project envisions collaboration with global makers, offering high-quality furniture with minimal environmental impact by eliminating the need for long-distance shipping. The result is a luxury product that combines sustainability with bespoke craftsmanship.
Project title: Placemaking Chair (in wood and aluminum)
Author: Theodore Galante, USA
The Placemaking Chair collection explores the idea that a chair can serve as much for placemaking as a piece of architecture. Each chair is composed of four laser-cut sheets of either aluminum or veneer plywood, featuring maps that represent the evolving history of a city. These layers capture centuries of changes, from rerouted rivers to streets born from cow paths. The chair invites conversations rooted in history, connecting the past with the present. This design approach seeks to create meaningful objects, embedding narratives within functional furniture and inspiring reflection on the places that shape human experience and collective futures.
