The Architect’s Chair competition: 5th edition reveals winning designs

What happens when architects and architecture students are asked to design a chair instead of a building? Well, see for yourself as winners have just been announced for the fifth edition of the Buildner-organized The Architect's Chair challenge.

The brief invited designers to rethink one of architecture's most familiar objects through material innovation, craftsmanship, ergonomics, and innovative conceptual thinking. Wood, cork, woven fibers, bent veneer, and modular systems all made appearances this year, with many proposals exploring repairability and sustainable fabrication. 

Missed your chance to submit your own one-of-a-kind chair design to the competition? Worry not: The next edition, The Architect’s Chair #6, organized in partnership with Stockholm Furniture Fair, is now accepting entries.

First Place: Helical by Oscar John Xavier Lahiff (Hong Kong)

Buildner commentary: "'Helical' proposes an adjustable stool that reduces seating to its most essential components: form, material, and mechanism. Built around a cylindrical monolithic geometry, the project uses an internal helical interlocking system to allow manual height adjustment without relying on conventional hardware, gas lifts, or complex mechanical systems. Instead, the stool operates through a simple rotational movement, revealing a carefully integrated logic of grooves, friction, and alignment. Cork serves as the primary material, giving the object a warm tactile quality while reinforcing the project’s emphasis on sustainability, material honesty, and recyclability. The design balances utility with sculptural clarity, maintaining a consistent visual identity across all height positions. Through its restrained formal language and thoughtful mechanical simplicity, the proposal presents a furniture piece that is quiet, intuitive, and grounded in both functional efficiency and material sensitivity."

Second Place: Cantilever Chair by Marcus Hannibal Sigvardt (United States)

Buildner commentary: "'Cantilever' explores the classic cantilever chair typology through a refined and highly reduced formal language. The design is composed of two primary bent veneer shell elements—seat/back and base—connected through a minimal set of structural fasteners and spacers that create both visual lightness and structural stability. The chair balances sculptural clarity with functional comfort, using soft curves, thin profiles, and subtle cushioning to create an object that feels both architectural and approachable. Particular attention is given to manufacturability, transport efficiency, and long-term usability, with the design broken into a limited number of components suitable for flat-packing and efficient assembly. Through its careful balance of ergonomics, material efficiency, and structural simplicity, the project presents a contemporary interpretation of seating that is equally suited to residential, commercial, and institutional environments."

Third Place: La Chair by Sunmin Kim (South Korea)

Buildner commentary: "'La Chair' explores the relationship between frame, suspension, and material contrast through a deliberately reduced architectural language. Drawing from traditional Korean architectural principles, the design is organized around a rigid timber structure paired with a suspended vegetable leather seat, creating a clear dialogue between solid and flexible elements. The chair relies on a minimal palette of materials, white oak and leather, with the seat functioning as both structural and comfort element. Its construction emphasizes visible joinery, modular assembly, and the ability to disassemble or replace components, reinforcing themes of repairability and longevity. Through the interplay of orthogonal timber members and the softer suspended seat, the project creates a chair with strong visual clarity, material warmth, and a distinct structural identity."

Buildner Student Award: Jige Chair by Cho Hyuna and Hyunwoo Ha of Korea University (South Korea)

Buildner commentary: "'The Jige Chair' draws from the structural logic and visual language of the traditional Korean jige, reinterpreting this vernacular carrying tool as a contemporary seating object. The design translates the original object’s distinctive tripod-like stability, diagonal bracing, and structural efficiency into a chair defined by lightness, openness, and material restraint. Built from a minimal set of wooden elements with a woven seat surface, the chair balances structural clarity with visual softness, combining curved and linear geometries to create a calm but distinctive presence. Traditional craft techniques, particularly the woven seating surface, introduce warmth and tactile richness while reinforcing the project’s cultural grounding. By merging vernacular references with a refined contemporary aesthetic, the chair develops a strong identity rooted equally in craftsmanship, structural expression, and functional simplicity."

Buildner Sustainability Award: Anastasia by Clay Anthony Te Bokkel of the University of Waterloo (Canada)

Buildner commentary: "Anastasia' reinterprets a lounge chair through a highly reduced geometric language, combining bent wood elements with a live-edge slab backrest to create a piece that balances structural rhythm and material contrast. The chair is constructed from repeated curved slats that form the seat and base, generating both visual lightness and ergonomic support through their continuous loop geometry. This repetitive structure is paired with a singular vertical back element, creating a clear dialogue between fluid curvature and planar solidity. Material selection plays a central role in the project, with the use of Emerald Ash Borer-affected ash introducing both a sustainability narrative and a distinct visual identity. The chair emphasizes simplicity of form, visible construction, and strong material expression, resulting in a piece that feels sculptural while maintaining a clear functional purpose."

Honorable Mention: Passo Chair by Tommaso Ugolini and Alberto Luzardi (Italy)

Honorable Mention: Incline by Kaiwen Liu and Yuhe Wang of Pratt Institute (United States)

Honorable Mention: Arch Chair by Rachel Lapidot (Israel)

Honorable Mention: Telaio by Fabio Baldo (Portugal)

Honorable Mention: Otto by Muhammet Sami Yeni (Türkiye)

Honorable Mention: Weavy Weavy Weavy by Didier Alejandro Iriarte Fattel (Australia)