For centuries, Portugal has excelled in the tradecraft of furniture design and production. Still today, innovative design and quality craftsmanship continues. To promote this ingenuity of Portuguese technology and design, the Portuguese Association of Wood and Furniture Industries (AIMMP) created Associative Design – The Best of Portugal. This showcase of top Portuguese furniture designers makes stops at the world´s most respected furniture and design exhibitions.
Launched in 2017, the Associative Design Challenge invited fifteen Portuguese and international designers to submit proposals exploring new and innovative furniture designs. Designers were asked to use wood in their concept and to work alongside furniture makers in Portugal’s northern region. The AD Challenge goal: to encourage and support the evolution of Portuguese furniture design.
Imagine the lonely sideboard. Portuguese designer André Teoman took inspiration from the Barcelos Rooster (deemed an unofficial symbol of Portugal) and created the imaginative Galinha Sideboard. The whimsical piece rests on wooden eggs, sports brass chicken feet handles and Kvadrat “feathers”, and offers a quirky surprise within its interior.
Other works in wood and cork include:
Bridge Desk by French Portuguese Chrisptophe de Sousa
(left) Cane.01 Sideboard by Mo-Ow, (middle) Slim Chair by Christophe de Sousa, (right) Cork Stool by Likecork
Plug-in by Digitalab
Digilab and Gencork, a brand of cork covering solutions, created Corkdelaunay, a topographical pattern made up of differently sized triangles.
Chair Nº24, a chair with identical proportions across its seat, back and legs, by Mo-Ow
(Photo at top) Touch by Wewood