With 516 projects submitted (a 14.6% increase compared to the previous edition), the 27th Salão Design Award reaffirms its relevance as one of the leading furniture design competitions in Latin America. From April 1 to 23, the five jurors in the first evaluation stage are tasked with reviewing proposals submitted by professionals and students from 19 Brazilian states, as well as Argentina and Uruguay.
The results will be announced on May 13. The projects that advance to the second stage will be considered finalists and will compete for the special Popular Vote Award (from May 20 to July 8, the public will be able to vote for their favorites on the award’s website).
The schedule concludes with the announcement of the final results on July 21 and the exhibition of finalists and winners during the Movelsul Brasil trade fair (August 17–20, in Bento Gonçalves), where the most anticipated moment for participants will also take place: the awards ceremony, on August 19.
Held since 1988 by the Furniture Industry Union of Bento Gonçalves, the Salão Design Award has received more than 17,000 entries from participants in 39 countries over nearly 40 years of history.
“The Award has reinvented itself several times, but has never lost its core essence: connecting designers and industry with the goal of making the furniture sector more competitive, innovative, and sustainable, while also serving as a showcase for talent,” highlights Priscila Manfroi, the competition’s director. This year’s edition is sponsored by Interprint (master), Akeo (standard), and Renna (special).
WHO ARE THE JURORS
First stage:
Bruna Galliano (designer, trend and color researcher, and speaker); Christian Ullmann (designer focused on strategy and social innovation); Débora Mateus (journalist specializing in architecture, design, culture, and behavior); Gustavo Bertolini (architect and product designer – jury president in the first stage); João Gabriel (architect and urban planner, designer, educator, and communicator).
Second stage:
Clarissa Schneider (strategic communication in architecture and design); Isabel Restrepo (product design engineer); Rodrigo Ohtake (architect, urban planner, and designer); Winnie Bastian (architect, journalist, and design critic – jury president in the second stage); Zanini de Zanine (designer).
AWARDS
The 27th Salão Design Award will grant up to BRL 128,000 in prizes to projects entered across the eight categories defined in the regulations, in addition to trophies, certificates, and seals recognizing the selected products.
Special awards include:
The Popular Vote Award (with public participation); Supervising Professor Award; the Alternative Woods Award (in partnership with the Forest Products Laboratory of the Brazilian Forest Service, including a trip to a sustainable forest management area and to the LPF headquarters in Brasília); Product Family Award (for entries featuring at least two items from the same line); Artisanal Manufacturing Award (for projects that combine manual work, craftsmanship, and industrial production methods); Outstanding Student Award; Emerging Professional Award; Design RS Award (which grants a spot in the Milan Mission 2027, organized by Sebrae RS).
