-- Features Cantilevered Floating Seat and Flexible Backrest --

NEW YORK, N.Y. (May 18, 2007) – Wilsonart today named Joel Edmondson as the winner of its 2007 Wilsonart® Challenges… student design competition at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). Edmondson’s winning entry is a chair constructed of layers of plywood, fiberglass and high pressure laminate. It features an ergonomically designed floating cantilevered seat and flexible backrest that transfers weight throughout the chair. Edmondson is a sophomore in the Furniture Design Department at the Savannah College of Art & Design in Savannah, Ga. The award-winning entry and four runners-up entries were displayed during ICFF at the Wilsonart Contract booth.

The chair which was constructed using a plywood and laminate forming processes made popular by Ray and Charles Eames during the 1950s. The processes use high temperatures, moisture and pressure to shape the layers of plywood, fiberglass and high pressure laminate into the chair’s distinctive winged pendulum shape. The innovative floating seat and adjustable backrest – which form the wings to the pendulum – are visually accented through the use of contrasting colors. Both the seat and backrest are designed to flex with body movement for increased user comfort and interest. This flexibility is enabled by a natural spring reflex produced by the pendulum shape in the middle of the chair. For easy portability, the chair features a circle cutout handgrip on the top of the adjustable backrest.

Edmondson’s design process focused on deconstructing high pressure laminate into its basic layered elements and then using the deconstruction as the source of the shape. Inspired by paper and how it interacts with light to create a sense of buoyancy, Edmondson received high marks from contest judges for adding meaningful and memorable aesthetic options to the chair such as the flexible backrest and floating seat.

“I was intrigued by the notion of layered paper that becomes impregnated and formed into something rigid, durable, and functional as it lends itself to new perspectives on seating,” said Edmondson. “I was inspired by the idea of how something buoyant and pliable becomes rigid. That’s how I arrived at a cantilevered seat that transfers weight throughout the chair. The fact that the entire chair is derived from layered paper is a perfect illustration of the axiom that there is more to the composition than the sum of the elements."

About Wilsonart Challenges...

Wilsonart sponsors the Wilsonart Challenges… student design scholarship program to foster the careers of emerging furniture designers in North America. Each year, this competition challenges students at a designated design school to create a unique chair that incorporates the iconic shape of the Wilsonart Laminate sample chip.

In fall, 2006, Wilsonart selected the Furniture Design Department at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah Georgia. Alongside professors Thelma Lazo-Flores, John Pierson and George Perez, Wilsonart representatives taught the students about laminate; its history, technical capabilities, current market trends, and sustainability issues. Throughout the course of a semester, concepts were generated, discussed and refined.

For more information on the Wilsonart Challenges… student design scholarship program, contact: Jill Dodge at dodgej@wilsonart.com.

Wilsonart® Contract, from Wilsonart® Laminate, was created specifically for interior designers, architects and contractors who put laminate into offices, stores, hotels, restaurants, hospitals and clinics. The new Wilsonart Contract collection offers these professionals a choice between stocked designs that are available from our distributors and factory-order designs. In 2007, the division launched 44 new commercial designs extending the range of options designed specifically for design.

Wilsonart International, based in Temple, Texas, is a leading manufacturer of decorative surfacing products, including Wilsonart®Laminate. This year, the company celebrates its 50th year in business. For more information about Wilsonart Laminate or any Wilsonart product, please call the Customer Service Hotline at 800-433-3222. Consumers can also visit a www.countertop.com and professionals can visit www.wilsonartcontract.com.

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	Joel Edmondson's Winning Chair