In 2023, the
Salão Design Award reaches its 25th edition and completes 35 years of history, helping to tell the story of furniture design.
Until April 4, professionals and students from areas related to furniture design can register for the most traditional Brazilian award in the segment , held by the Furniture Industry Union of Bento Gonçalves (Sindmóveis) since 1988. The
rules provide all the information about deadlines, categories, stages and evaluation criteria, awards and other relevant matters for participants to enter the competition. The director of the Salão Design Award, José Ferro, highlights that this is an experience that adds a lot to the professionals' portfolio: "The evaluation process is
very thorough , with the eyes of experts in both the technical-functional and aesthetic-creative phases.
Everything is done blindly, that is, without knowing who signs the projects . This is one of the precautions taken to ensure that there is no type of privilege during the evaluations, making the Award synonymous with credibility in the sector", he explains. For students, Ferro emphasizes that it is a
unique opportunity to enter the segment , enabling experiences, contacts and partnerships. “The visibility that the award provides reinforces the name in the market of both those who are starting out and those who already have a consolidated career. The Salão Design Award certainly serves as
a validation of talents ”, adds the director.
Selection stages
After reading the rules in full, candidates will submit their projects in one of five categories – called Challenges – by April 4. They are:
Spaces in Transformation Challenge (furniture that presents solutions for the current transformations in homes in urban centers);
Brazilian Identity Challenge 2023 (furniture with a proposal that represents the DNA of contemporary Brazil);
Built-in Technology Challenge (furniture that uses productive, constructive, commercial and functional technological innovations);
Positive Experiences Challenge (furniture that uses design to provide experiences of well-being, comfort, happiness, fulfillment, joy, etc.) and
Panel Use Challenge (furniture that uses in its structure, in whole or in part, MDP/MDF panels with melamine coating in any finish, except white – includes an additional prize for the participant who uses raw materials from sponsors Berneck and Interprint do Brasil, listed in the rules).
Once the registration is complete, all you have to do is wait for the evaluation stages – each one composed of five judges who are experts in their fields. The first (from April 12 to May 5) will be the technical-functional stage, which will be held remotely and will take into account criteria such as safety, materials, production viability, sustainability, among others.
The projects approved in the first stage will be considered finalists and will move on to the second stage – when the competitors will have a specific deadline to send their products to Bento Gonçalves (RS), where they will be evaluated in person by the second group of judges (from July 17 to 18).
The long-awaited announcement of the winners will be on July 24. The schedule ends with the exhibition of the winners at the Movelsul Brasil fair, from August 28 to 31, in the city of Bento Gonçalves.
Sustainability on the agenda
In addition to the challenges, there will once again be the
Alternative Woods Award , which is a partnership with the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB). More than just the trophy, it grants the winner a trip to visit a timber exploration area under the sustainable management regime in the Amazon and a visit to the SFB Forest Products Laboratory.
All participants selected for the second elimination stage and who use alternative woods in the manufacture of their pieces are eligible for this special award .
Popular vote
The
Popular Vote Award is a new feature in this edition. All finalists, that is, projects approved by the jury in the first stage (technical-functional) and that are part of the second elimination stage (aesthetic-creative), are eligible to compete.
Jury
In the first stage, the five experts who make up the group are:
Adriana Fontana (Brazilian Association of Interior Designers);
Ana Paula Coelho (Belas Artes University Center of SP);
Eduardo Nuncio (Móveis Carraro);
Rodolpho Guttierrez (Centro Brasil Design) and
Sidnei Schenato (Senai). This evaluation will take place remotely between April 12th and May 5th, with
the results being announced on May 16th through the official channels of the Salão Design Award. In the second phase, the jurors
Adélia Borges (critic, design historian and independent curator);
Cris Bava (CASACOR);
Paulo Biacchi (product designer),
Thaís Lauton (Casa e Jardim) and
Winnie Bastian (curator and content producer) take the
stage .
