Gold Furniture Design · 2022
Hana Chair
- A' Design Award 2022 Gold Winner in Furniture Design
- Awarded April 15, 2022
- CLIENT: HenkaLab
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 60,532
- Verification code 937FB5EF04 · Verify this award
About Hana Chair
Hana Chair is an elegant piece of furniture inspired by plant nature. Like a flower, Hana blossoms into two petals as a structural and functional solution to the requirements of a chair, forming the backrest, the seat and embracing the body of the user. The material used could only be solid wood, enhancing its curves and natural beauty.
Pablo Vidiella's Hana Chair emerges from the intersection of traditional woodworking mastery and contemporary design innovation, representing a significant contribution to the ongoing dialogue between craft heritage and avant-garde formal experimentation that has characterized furniture design since the mid-twentieth century. The work demonstrates exceptional command of bentwood technique, a methodology with distinguished lineage extending from Thonet's nineteenth-century innovations through Aalto's organic modernism to contemporary parametric explorations, yet achieves a distinctive visual identity through its remarkably attenuated proportions and the dramatic X-crossing of the rear structural members. The designer appears to engage with biomorphic traditions that emerged from Surrealist influence on applied arts, translating organic natural forms into functional objects that suggest living presence, the ovoid backrest perhaps evoking protective shells or enfolding petals that gave the chair its botanical name. Technical accomplishment manifests in the apparently seamless transitions between structural elements, where armrests flow into legs without visible interruption, challenging conventional furniture construction logic while demanding sophisticated material understanding and workshop capability. The chromatic choice of deep charcoal finish honors the natural grain character while conferring a certain gravitas appropriate to the design's sculptural ambitions, the warm undertones preventing coldness while the overall darkness creates dramatic silhouette. Thematic content centers on the enduring design aspiration to reconcile human comfort with aesthetic excellence, the embracing gesture of the arm structure suggesting nurture and protection while the elegant attenuation of supporting members speaks to aspirations toward lightness and visual refinement. How might this object transform the experience of sitting from mere function to embodied encounter with considered form?
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Hana Chair is an elegant, daring and cutting edge piece of furniture inspired by plant nature. Like a flower, Hana blossoms into two petals as a structural and functional solution to the requirements of a chair, by embracing both the backrest and the seat. The human eye is used to curved lines and surfaces, they have always been present in nature. Its attractive shape, together with the warmth of the material, makes the user to come closer and interact with it in a natural way.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Width 560mm x Depth 550mm x Height 800mm
Weight 6.5kg - Tags
- furniture, hana, chair, wood, modern, exclussive, henkalab, pablo vidiella
- Production Technology
- The choice of material had to fulfil a fundamental premise: to be a living material, with its own unique DNA and footprints. This material could not be other than solid wood, in this case charcoal ash. It can also be manufactured used different woods, such as iroko or walnut. The planks of solid ash are machined three-dimensionally using a 5 axis CNC milling router (numerical control), following a 3D drawing, equally combines technology and craftsmanship.
- Design Challenge
- Since the project requires a complex wood milling process, I had to deeply explore the necessary cutting requirements to achieve such complex geometries using the smallest possible thicknesses, in order to achieve maximum lightness and fluidity of the piece.
- Project Duration
- This project is completely new and unseen until now. Started and finished in Madrid in March 2022.
- Operation Flow
- Hana Chair interacts with the observer in a natural way. The human eye is more used to curved lines and surfaces, they have always been present in nature, they surround us. That instinct lingers in our animal subconscious, and the soft, natural forms give us tranquility and pleasure. Its attractive shape, together with the warmth of the material, makes the user to come closer, touch it, sit on it.
- Research
- The starting point was to solve the main needs of a chair, which are to house the seat and backrest in a comfortable, embracing and natural way. In this way, inspiration arises in leaves and flowers.
- Inspiration
- Inspired by plant nature and living forms, Hana Chair is conceived from geometric simplicity and evolves to become a new complex living being that fulfills both structural and practical chair requirements.
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Creator Pablo Vidiella, 2022, Optional Image #1: Creator Pablo Vidiella, 2022, Optional Image #2: Creator Pablo Vidiella, 2022.
- Patents
- Copyrights belong to Pablo Vidiella, 2022.
Colors of Hana Chair
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Nature-Inspired Custom Furniture Design
We create exceptional furniture pieces inspired by nature's organic forms. Winner of the prestigious Golden A' Design Award, our studio specializes in complex wood geometries using advanced CNC technology and craftsmanship. Each piece evolves into living forms that embrace comfort and beauty.
G0E22 ShopDesign Interview about Hana Chair
Hana Chair is an elegant, daring and cutting edge piece of furniture inspired by plant nature. Like a flower, Hana blossoms into two petals as a structural and functional solution to the requirements of a chair, by embracing both the backrest and the seat. The human eye is used to curved lines and surfaces, they have always been present in nature. Its attractive shape, together with the warmth of the material, makes the user to come closer and interact with it in a natural way.
When I created Hana Chair, I wanted to create an object that interacts with the observer in a natural way. The human eye is more used to curved lines and surfaces, they have always been present in nature, they surround us. That instinct lingers in our animal subconscious, and the soft, natural forms give us tranquility and pleasure. Its attractive shape, together with the warmth of the material, makes the user to come closer.
I would like to see Sankao in other types of wood, and try to promote the table in specialty design stores internationally.
It took 2 or 3 weeks to design, and around 2 months to manufacture.
This concept was not a commission, it's was a personal need to pursue an inspiration, a need to continue creating and increase my portfolio.
Hana Chair is available to purchase at my own store, as well as in some selected design galleries and stores in different countries. The production is still mine, no intention of selling or leasing the production rights.
As I said before, it was a personal need to increase my portfolio and continue creating. I love learning from challenges, and Hana was a big manufacture and design challenge.
If I'm honest, apart from nature, my biggest source of inspiration is architecture. There are several architectural practices that obviously influenced the way I design, I was trained as an architect. Architectural studios like BIG or MAD are some of my inspirations, among others.
These are high budget pieces of furniture. The material and manufacture process are so complex, that the potential customers are people or companies that are seeking for a really special and unique piece of furniture.
The organic concept. Hana is almost a living being, it's more than a conventional chair.
Hana: from japanese はな , meaning "blossom".
During my experimental phase I use materials like plasticine or paper, and tools such as drawing and 3D software, usually Rhino.
It's organic shape. It turns to be magnetic to the viewer.
In order to create and manufacture Hana Chair, I collaborate with specialized wood artisans. They helped me a lot to understand how the material works and how it can be shaped to achieve the final piece.
Hana equally combines technology with craftsmanship. In order to cut the wood parts, we made use of a 5-axis CNC milling router machine, which was critical in order to achieve the complex surface geometries I wanted to create.
No, I didn't considered this when facing my design.
The main challenge was to model and cnc cut the wooden pieces with such a complex geometry. It was tough to design the manufacture process.
I wanted to test the design, see what specialized design experts think about the piece. See if it really works.
It's very satisfying to clear challenges. Hana was a big challenge for me, and fulfilling every part of the design process was very rewarding. I learned to have confidence in my capabilities.
Just wanted to say thank you to A' Design Awards for the opportunity, we should all work in the same direction to to enhance the world of design.