(Prime) Chair — 12th International Industrial Design Competition 2026
Competition Brief
The (Prime) Chair Competition is the 12th edition of an annual international industrial design competition organized by Festival lesa, z.o.o., so.p. (Festival of Wood), held in Kočevje, Slovenia. The competition is free to enter, open to designers, students, and authors worldwide aged 18 and above, and invites proposals for two wooden chair typologies: an Expressive Chair and an Industrial Chair. The submission deadline is 28 August 2026 and the award ceremony is held on 15 October 2026 in Kočevje. Each winning category receives a €3,000 cash prize.
Intent
The brief positions Kočevje as Slovenia’s Forest City, situated in a forest-rich landscape with a strong tradition of woodworking and forest-based industry. The competition asks participants to explore wood as the primary material for a chair design that responds to two distinct design philosophies: one expressive and experimental, the other industrially reproducible and commercially viable.
Wood is the organizing discipline. The competition is explicitly material-specific: all proposals must use wood as the primary material. The brief frames wood not merely as a functional material but as a carrier of cultural identity, ecological value, and formal possibility. Participants are encouraged to push the material’s boundaries while remaining grounded in craft knowledge, structural integrity, and the realities of production.
Two Categories
Category 1 — Expressive Chair: A chair that functions primarily as an artistic and design statement. Creativity, formal experimentation, cultural narrative, and material expressiveness are the primary criteria. The chair may be a limited-edition or one-off piece. Structural integrity and sittability are required but do not need to conform to commercial production standards.
Category 2 — Industrial Chair: A chair conceived for industrial production and commercial viability. Functionality, producibility, ergonomics, material efficiency, and market readiness are the primary criteria. The design must be realistically manufacturable at scale using wood as the primary material.
Purpose
Winning designs in each category receive €3,000 cash. An additional student award is given in each category for the best proposal submitted by a student participant. Selected designs may be produced as physical prototypes by the Festival, giving winning proposals a tangible physical outcome beyond recognition. The competition connects participants with Slovenia’s woodworking and forest products industry and with a network of European design festivals and institutions.
Requirements
Open to all designers, students, and authors aged 18 and above. No nationality restrictions. No professional qualifications required. Individual or team entries accepted. Participants must submit proposals for one or both categories. Submission format: minimum 3 and maximum 10 A3-format visualization sheets per entry in PDF or JPG format, plus a filled-out registration form. Each proposal must include a minimum of 3 views (front, side, top or perspective), structural details, material specifications, and a brief description. A physical dimensions drawing is required. If a physical prototype exists, photographs may be submitted. Submissions sent by email to info@festivalesa.si with the subject line “Pra Stol 2026”. All submissions must be in English or Slovenian.
Jury
The jury composition for the 2026 edition is not publicly disclosed in the brief document. The jury evaluates entries based on originality, design quality, structural integrity, material use, and (for the Industrial Chair) commercial viability and producibility.
- International Jury Panel: Composition to be announced by Festival lesa. Contact info@festivalesa.si for jury information.
Registration Fees
| Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| All participants, all ages, all nationalities, both categories | Free |
Prizes and Rewards
| Award | Prize | Additional Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Prize — Expressive Chair | €3,000 | Award ceremony 15 October 2026, Kočevje. Possible physical prototype production. Publication and exhibition. |
| 1st Prize — Industrial Chair | €3,000 | Award ceremony 15 October 2026, Kočevje. Possible physical prototype production. Publication and exhibition. |
| Student Award — Expressive Chair | Cash prize (amount not specified in brief) | Recognition for best student submission in category. Publication. |
| Student Award — Industrial Chair | Cash prize (amount not specified in brief) | Recognition for best student submission in category. Publication. |
Key Dates
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Submission Deadline | 28 August 2026 |
| Results Announced | October 2026 (ahead of ceremony) |
| Award Ceremony | 15 October 2026, Kočevje, Slovenia |
✦ ArchUp Competition Review
The (Prime) Chair Competition is organized by Festival lesa, Slovenia’s annual Festival of Wood, which has roots in the Kočevje region’s centuries-old woodworking tradition and forest industry. Now in its 12th edition, the competition has a documented track record of annual results and winner archives. The material specificity of the brief is one of its clearest strengths: by requiring wood as the primary material and separating entries into Expressive and Industrial tracks, the competition creates a coherent evaluation framework where craft, cultural identity, and production logic can each be assessed on their own terms rather than through a single generic design quality metric. The €3,000 cash prize per category is real, pre-committed, and substantial for a free-entry design competition, making the cost-to-prize ratio among the most favorable of any open design competition currently active. The possible physical prototype production for winning designs is a meaningful tangible outcome beyond recognition. The student awards in both categories give student practitioners a recognized parallel track without competing against experienced professionals on identical terms. The primary limitations are the brief’s specificity to wood and chair design (which narrows relevance to product and industrial designers), the jury not being publicly disclosed in the brief document, and the award ceremony’s location in Kočevje requiring travel for international winners wishing to attend. For product designers, furniture designers, sustainable material researchers, and students working in industrial or craft design, this is one of the most credible, generously funded, and material-intelligent free competitions available in 2026.
Final Thoughts
The (Prime) Chair Competition offers a rare combination: free entry, a €3,000 cash prize per category, a material-specific brief with genuine intellectual depth, a two-track structure that rewards both expressive and industrial design thinking, and a 12-year track record with a real physical outcome for winning designs. The submission deadline of 28 August 2026 gives participants over two months from the current date to develop a considered proposal. Submissions go to info@festivalesa.si with the subject “Pra Stol 2026”. The brief and registration form are available at festivalesa.si.
Registration Deadline
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