Top image: 2013 Second Prize winner, Student category – Ply by Bence Kovacsik

Italian furniture manufacturer Porada is on the prowl for fresh and innovative ideas, and it is taking its search worldwide via its Porada International Design Award.

2013 First Prize winner, Professional category: Lope Extendable Dining Table by Regina Antonopoulou, Stylianos Axiotakis

The brief this year has its focus on Mirrors. Given Porada’s specialisation in wooden furniture, it is asking aspiring designers, professionals and students to submit original, yet to be published designs of mirrors in which wood is a prevalent – but not exclusive – element. The work, says the company, also needs embody the values of Porada production. Amongst the various guidelines, the concept needs to utilise production technologies and processes typical of solid wood, and has to respond to the principle of functionality.

2013 Second Prize winner, Professional category – voLovia by Luigi Tagliabue, Manuela Emanuelli

The competition has a professional and student category, and three winners will be selected from each category. On the table? A total prize money of Euro 10.000,00, to be divided between the six winners. The designers will not only have their work featured in the next Milan Furniture Fair, but will also enjoy the possibility of having them put into production.

2013 Third Prize winner, Professional category – Bow by Jacopo M Giagnoni

A total of 379 projects were entered in the 2013 competition, and while the majority of entries were from Italy, submissions also came in from around the globe, from countries such as Iran, Israel, Greece, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, India and Japan.

2013 First Prize winner, Student category – Ics Convertible side table by Mattia Fossati

Last year’s jury included respected figures from the design world, such as Arturo Dell’Acqua Bellavitis, Principal of the School of Design – Milan Polytechnic; the Matteo Thun Studio; and Benjamin Kempton, Interior Director of Wallpaper magazine.

2013 Third Prize winner, Student category – Folding Wood by Jie Gao, Guangkai Chen, Yingying He

The deadline for Porada International Design Award 2014 is 30 November. For more information, visit porada.it.

The 2013 winning entries will also be on show at Singapore Indesign, 4 October 2014. To register for the event, click here.