Winner: Design project of the year 2023 and furniture design of the year 2023. Yann Design Studio has designed the Combo Bench and Obsidian Chair.

The Combo Bench and Obsidian Chair are two indoor furniture products made by designer Yann Pu, where cotton gauze resin was used as the main material for both.

"Fibreglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) products are widely used in the furniture industry due to their numerous advantages," said Yann Design Studio. "However, during the production and polishing processes, they generate harmful dust particles that pose serious health risks to humans."

Yann Pu, through practical research, discovered that replacing fibreglass with cotton gauze not only significantly reduces the health hazards associated with dust during the production process, but also creates a visually appealing and unique texture.

"[We] hope designers can pay more attention to process optimisation and care for workers during the production phase," added Yann Design Studio.

Judges comments: "Contemporary and elegant, these products have the potential to become new classics. But it is the material innovation that makes them really stand out. The project showcases a new industrial material with a warm, hand-made feel that is also much safer and less hazardous than the material it replaces."

Studio: Yann Design Studio
Project: Combo Bench and Obsidian Chair