Dezeen Magazine

International Design Contest held by Andreu World and Kvadrat

Andreu World's latest competition asks designers to reimagine the chair and table

Dezeen promotion: Spanish furniture brand Andreu World is inviting designers from across the globe to submit chair and table proposals to its International Design Contest, held in collaboration with Kvadrat.

International Design Contest held by Andreu World and Kvadrat

The International Design Contest, which launched in 2001, annually calls for global creatives to reinterpret the design of chairs and tables.

Just under 30,000 people from 124 different countries have competed in the competition since its start.

"From the beginning, Andreu World chose the chair as the design object because it has the greatest capacity of any individual furniture to 'reinvent' itself," explained Andreu World.

For the nineteenth edition of the competition, the brand has teamed up with Danish textile company Kvadrat to encourage more "innovative, sustainable and versatile" submissions.

International Design Contest held by Andreu World and Kvadrat

Unlike previous years, entrants are now asked to make tables from Kvadrat's Solid Textile Board – a material made from end-of-life textiles sourced from the fashion and fabric industries.

The material is produced by Kvadrat's subsidiary recycling company, Really, which launched in 2017.

International Design Contest held by Andreu World and Kvadrat

Chair designs – which includes anything from loungers to stools, benches or sofas – can optionally be upholstered with a Kvadrat fabric, but should have a beech, ash, oak or walnut wood frame.

The use of other materials such as metal, thermo-polymer, and natural stones will be accepted in both the chair and table categories.

International Design Contest held by Andreu World and Kvadrat

Entries will be reviewed by a team of expert judges. The panel this year includes Kvadrat CEO, Anders Byriel, ÉCAL director, Alexis Georgacopoulus and Dezeen's founder and editor-in-chief, Marcus Fairs.

The first-place contestant will be awarded €4,000, while second place will be given €2,000. Honourable mentions will also be presented to four other striking submissions.

Previous winners include 2017's Bérénice Hélène de Salvatore, who created a pared-back iteration of a chaise-longue, and 2018's Juan Pablo Acuña, who fashioned a curved chair made entirely from wood.

International Design Contest held by Andreu World and Kvadrat

Andreu World was established in Spain in 1955, after founder Francisco Andreu Marti decided to turn his family woodworking shop into a company manufacturing chairs.

The brand has since collaborated with a host of notable designers, including Patricia Urquiola and Jasper Morrison. Earlier this year it also worked alongside design agency Layer to produce a minimalist stool that can be adjusted in height.

To find out more about the International Design Contest, click here.