See the entries that caught our editors’ eyes.
Each week through January 2021, we will be rolling out two of our Editors’ Picks from GRAY Awards 2020.
Editors’ Pick: Whorl Console (Aluminum)
Neal Aronowitz Design
By GRAY Editors
The Whorl Console by Neal Aronowitz. Image by Kris Lebouef.
Portland designer Neal Aronowitz is back with his award-winner Whorl Console—this time in a completely new material. The piece, in its concrete form, was the winner of the 2017 GRAY Award in the Product Design: Lighting, Furniture category, and its elegant, swirling shape once again caught the attention of our editors.
Made from powder-coated aluminum, this iteration of the design upholds the console’s striking form in a sleek new material. Constructed from ¼-inch-thick aluminum plates, the Whorl Console is fabricated from five pieces meticulously cut and bent into precise curves that are then welded, sanded, polished, and finally, powder-coated.
“The challenge in the fabrication of this piece was to execute a smooth, continuous, and graceful ribbon-like form in welded aluminum,” Aronowitz writes in his entry. “Precision bending and skillful welding give the form a sensuous flowing surface. Custom powder-coat colors create a unique personality for each piece. The effect is a dynamic and startling sculptural presence.”
CATEGORY: Product Design: Lighting, Furniture
PROJECT: Whorl Console (Aluminum)
FIRM: Neal Aronowitz Design
DATE OF COMPLETION: October 2019
LOCATION: Portland, Oregon, United States
PHOTOGRAPHED BY: Kris Lebouef and Michael Jones
COLLABORATORS
Matt Cartwright
STB Powder Coating