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Design 21 Announces Winner of Going With the Grain Challenge

The winning design will be manufactured by Brooklyn-based green design brand EcoSystems.

Laurel Petriello -- Interior Design, 6/25/2009 12:00:00 AM

Deforestation has been a concern for decades. The public watches some 32 million acres of woodlands destroyed each year for the use of one the world’s most commonly used resources: wood. In an effort to showcase designers taking a stand to protect the environment’s natural resources, Design 21: Social Design Network recently launched Going With the Grain, a challenge posed to designers to create an object constructed from a single piece of FSC-certified plywood without the use of hardware or glues. After receiving 231 entries from across the globe, the network selected the “Uni Table” by Swedish designer Charlie Davidson as the competition’s winning design.

According to the judging panel, George Beylerian, Ellen Lupton, Andrew Personette, Sara Elliott and Ezri Tarazi, “Mr. Davidson really thought about how the table would be made and assembled, including the puzzle-shaped key detail and accommodating the router bit in the shape of the cut-outs so that the table top sits flush to the legs. The table is deceptively simple and beautifully detailed for tool-free assembly, making good use of the alpha connectors."

As the winning design, the Uni Table will be manufactured by Brooklyn-based green design brand EcoSystems. Davidson will also receive a production model of the table, as well as a one-year membership to Material Connexion, a materials consultancy that helps companies innovate through smart materials thinking.

Seven Honorable Mention awards were also presented to the following designers: Alessandro Columbano for “Habitat of Plywood Twigs;” Ben Huggins for “Little Star;” Brian Hamilton for “Swollen Surface;” Brendan Ravenhill for “Notch Table;” Damian Barton for Hyperpolic Parabaloid Lounger;” Christine Yogiaman for “Wooble;” and D.E. Sellers for “Single Panel 2, Bookcase.”

Images courtesy of Design 21: Social Design Network.