Applications for the International Furniture Design Competition Asahikawa are now Open!
ByGrace Ignacia SeeInstallation view from IFDA's 2017 edition. All images courtesy of IFDA.
Held every 3 years since 1990, the International Furniture Design Fair Asahikawa (IFDA) has grown to accumulate international exchanges and experiences, showcasing the best of furniture design. In 2017 IFDA celebrated their 10th anniversary, with next year’s 11th edition taking place in the same year as the Tokyo Olympics.
Applications for the fair’s main event, the International Furniture Design Competition Asahikawa, are now open! For IFDA, this competition is paramount to showing the future of wood furniture design and has so far aided in launching a number of incredible products. IFDA Organizing Committee Chairman Yoshihiko Kuwabara says, “We need designs that will be loved for an even longer time to come that are made using wood as the main material while also harnessing other materials through innovative ideas and methods.” Stressing on the importance of longevity, he also states how he is interested in “famous classic designs that have been passed down from the middle of the century and only grow more beautiful with time.” Success at IFDA has paved the way for international acclaim and promises to lead creatives in this field straight their debut on a global stage.
Judging process from IFDA's 2017 edition.
This year’s team of esteemed judges include renowned architect Sou Fujimoto as Chief Judge, graphic designer & Hiromura Design's founder Masaaki Hiromura, Designmuseum Danmark's museum director Anne Louise Sommer, industrial designer & Viemeister Industries founder Tucker Viemeister, and product designer and founder Michael Young.
Awards include the Gold Leaf Award of ¥3,000,000, the Silver Leaf Award (Minoru Nagahara Prize) of ¥1,000,000, and the Bronze Leaf Award of ¥300,000. Works by the Winners and Finalists will be exhibited at Asahikawa Design Week in June 2020 at the Asahikawa Design Center.
* The location of the exhibition is subject to change
The 2008 Gold Leaf Award went to Jacob Joergensen for his Barca Chair design.
The 2014 Gold Leaf Award went to Naoki Mukaiyama for the ST-chair.
IFDA's 2014 edition saw 870 works submitted over 36 countries.
Application requirements are as follows:
Theme: Works entered must be newly created and previously unpublished. ‘Unpublished’ means that the works have never appeared on the market as a product, never appeared in public media sources such as a homepage, newspaper, magazine or exhibition, and has never been a winner in other competitions prior to the organizer announcing the results of the main selection process.
Works are considered ‘wooden’ when their major component parts are made out of wood. IFDA accepts furniture designs of all types of working materials.
Application period: Opens 1 June 2019, closes 31 October 2019.
Qualification: Any individual, collective, studio or business may qualify
Number of entries allowed: No limit is set on the number of entries from any one applicant.
Registration fee: ¥ 6,000
Interested parties may apply at http://www.ifda.jp/en/
Installation view from IFDA's 2017 edition.
The Award Selection process is as follows:
Preliminary selection process
Date: December 2019.
25 works will be chose to proceed to the next stage on the basis of the photos submitted, and with the product outline included in the application.
All participants will be notified of the results of the selection process by email by the end of December 2019.
Main selection process
Date: March 2020
The judges will examine the 25 full-scale prototypes and select 3 winners and finalists from them
All 25 applicants will be notified of the results of the main selection process by email by the end of March 2020.
To find out more or apply for the International Furniture Design Competition Asahikawa, click here.
