Innovative designs recognized in 'One Good Chair' competition

The inaugural One Good Chair International Design Awards produced two winners: Jessica Konawicz of Raleigh, N.C., and Jittasak Narknisorn of Woodland Hills, Calif., earned first-place honors. Both said they plan to produce their winning designs.

With 300 entries from around the world, the competition encouraged entrants to design a chair that focused first and foremost on form while being environmentally friendly. One Good Chair was sponsored by the Las Vegas Design Center at World Market Center Las Vegas, Sustainable Furniture Council and Western Interiors & Design magazine.

Winning design by Jittasak Narknison — Positive Chair

WMCLV and Western Interiors & Design magazine co-sponsored the awards ceremony during Summer Market, where Konawicz and Narknisorn were presented with cash prizes intended to support the fabrication of a prototype of their chair designs. Finalists Moon Choi of South Korea, Robert Corser of Lawrence, Kan., and Catherine Pena of Memphis, Tenn., were also recognized.

With the Pandanus Lounge Chair, Konawicz said her goal was to design a chair that was unique, beautiful and could be constructed from a single, renewable biodegradable resource material.

Narknisorn's goals included ergonomics, functionality and clean design for an attractive chair that is simple to produce while minimizing materials waste. Made from plywood, metal and felt fabric, his chair is named “Positive.”

Winning design by Jessica Konawicz - Pandanus Lounge Chair

Winners received a bound book on the history of chairs provided by Potterton Books and will be featured on www.onegoodchair.com. Many or all of their chairs will be exhibited at various public events. Additionally, winners and select entries will be highlighted in industry publications such as Treehugger, Inhabitat, Western Interiors & Design and other media, and select entries will be considered for inclusion in The Shape of Green: Aesthetics, Ecology and Design by Lance Hosey.

Winners Jessica Konawicz, Raleigh, N.C., and Jittasak Narknisorn, Woodland Hills, Calif.

Judges for the One Good Chair International Design Awards represented a cross section of renowned designers, researchers and academics with specific expertise in green design. The jury included: Lance Hosey, director, William McDonough + Partners; Professor Galen Cranz, University of California at Berkeley; Michael Wollaeger, editor in chief of Western Interiors and Design magazine; Bill Dowell, director of research, Herman Miller Inc.; Jill Fehrenbacher, a green designer and founder of Inhabitat; Eric Pfeiffer, designer and founder of Pfeiffer Lab; and Susan Szenasy, editor in chief of Metropolis magazine. Hosey also served as jury chair and competition organizer.