Spectrum of talent: the AR's Awards for Excellence are an established and popular feature of London's Spectrum annual design show. Here we review the products premiated by the jury

Architectural Review, The, July, 2003 by Catherine Slessor

Now a regular fixture of Spectrum, the annual international furniture and interior design fair held at the Commonwealth Institute in London, the AR Awards for Excellence attracted an encouraging diversity of entries (previewed AR May 2003). Awards are made for the best new products in the show, and this year's judges were Clare Wright, of Wright & Wright Architects, Niall McLaughlin, of Niall McLaughlin Architects and me, the AR Managing Editor. Judges were looking for qualities such as inventiveness, originality, elegance and fitness for purpose. After a thorough survey of the stands and some lively debate, they singled out two joint winners and five highly commended entries.

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First joint winner was Innovation C, a multi-functional swivel seat designed by Swedish designer Fredrik Mattson and distributed by Inform Furniture. Shaped like the letter C, this innovative sculptural seat allows the occupant to sit forwards, backwards and sideways, depending on use. Upholstery options include fabric, leather and even rubber (the black rubber number particularly impressed the judges). They also liked its sinuous form, versatility and, after a day spent trying out an assortment of designer chairs, were struck by how comfortable it was. Second joint winner was Feltro Color, a wall and floorcovering system using Ruckstuhl felt carpets and distributed by Natural Elements. Available in seven colours, the density of the felt gives it excellent resistance to wear and tear and staining (impressively proved in hands-on demonstration). The judges liked this new take on a traditional material and were seduced by the tactility, colour and robustness of the felt panels.

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Highly commended awards were made to Bloob, a flexible sofa seat resembling a giant bean bag, designed by Antidiva and distributed by Roneo; Program 4000 Sofa, designed by Jehs & Laub and distributed by Thonet; Sting, a wonderfully minimal aluminium and stainless-steel chair designed by Fredrik Mattson & Stefan Borselius and distributed by Inform Furniture; and T60, an ingenious adjustable table designed by Justus Kolberg & Erik Simonsen and distributed by Munch. The final highly commended award went to Genus, a stacking chair designed by Komplot Design from Denmark and distributed by Howe. This was singled out for its simplicity, elegance and thoughtfulness to cleaners (its distinctive squiggly arms allow it to be effortlessly suspended from tables for cleaning around), thus elevating and transforming a mundane aspect of daily life, surely one of the cardinal aims of all good design.

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