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Seated at the Winner's Table

Industrial design student awarded inaugural 2022 John Conrad Student Pinnacle Award for “Blum” chair design

by Symone Daniels • November 17, 2022

The International Society of Furniture and Design (ISFD) recently awarded University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design industrial design student Pedro Sandoval with the 2022 John Conrad Student Pinnacle Award for his Blum Chair project. Since 1995, the Pinnacle Awards has promoted design quality and served as a platform for the achievements of furniture designers within the retail home furnishing industry. Sandoval is the first-ever student recipient of this award.

Blum started as a typical project for his industrial design studio, but Sandoval initially found it quite challenging to find inspiration for the design. One day, while sitting outside his home, pondering how to go about this project, a “vibrant, red hibiscus flower” caught his attention. Sandoval knew he had discovered his path forward.

Above: Sandoval receives the inaugural 2022 john conrad student pinnacle award at the awards ceremony in October 2022; photo by vanderveen photographers inc.

“Essentially, it boiled down to a combination of complex geometry, as well as calculations, understanding the material, craftsmanship, a whole lot of quick design decision-making compromises, determination, and discipline,” he explained.

“It was just there, glowing in the golden sunlight of my front porch,” recalled Sandoval.

It took Sandoval two and a half weeks to build the chair with all 118 welds. The chair took about a month and a half to complete. As for the actual building of the chair itself, Sandoval understood this would be a very intense process requiring thorough planning. He developed an ambitious timeline for the project.

While designing the Blum chair, Sandoval felt he would need more time to finish due to unexpected fabrication issues. In particular, he needed to figure out a way to make the chair as accurate as possible to ensure overall quality.

“Every steel rod has a specific curvature, angled at certain degrees and points in space, and relating to a particular dimension to the other rods,” he explained.

To solve this problem, Sandoval created a mold.

“Essentially, it boiled down to a combination of complex geometry, as well as calculations, understanding the material, craftsmanship, a whole lot of quick design decision-making compromises, determination, and discipline,” he explained.

ISFD presented Sandoval with the award at their annual Pinnacle Awards Gala on October 24, 2022. The event included professionals from across the globe, students from different programs, and other influential and accomplished designers. Not only was Sandoval excited about his award, but his professor, Jeff Feng, echoed his sentiments, stressing that Sandoval’s win was also a win for the UH industrial design program.

“Pedro is the very first recipient of the John Conrad Award. Our students’ continuous and vigorous success in national and international competitions is the best manifestation of our effective ID curriculum and faculty,” said Feng. “The truth is every student is an original and gifted individual. Our role and responsibility are to help them uncover their creative potential and thrive.”

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