The largest ideas competition in the wood sector worldwide

Last September, at the Triennale Milano, the VI Final of TABU SpA‘s IDEAS4WOOD Contest was held, the most important competition of ideas in the wood sector. Over 500 projects presented by 800 competitors divided into 20 nationalities. The Universities of Venice and Pordenone win. Among Professionals, the winners are Studios from Turin and Milan.

IDEAS4WOOD is the most important contest in the wood sector worldwide, promoted by TABU and sponsored by ADI, FederlegnoArredo and FSC® Italia: a competition of ideas aimed at university students and designers of all ages, annual and international. Te main partner is Carpanelli in Desio (Milan). The partners in the project are Sherwin Williams, an excellence in the paint sector, and Roda For You, one of the best companies in made-in-Italy furniture projects at an international level.

IDEAS4WOOD is a project with a strong educational impetus, aimed at supporting the knowledge of wood and its enhancement as a noble, living and renewable raw material as it can be cultivated and planned in its availability on a planetary scale for the next generations. Based in Cantù, in the heart of Lombardy, TABU is the Italian excellence in wood dyeing and producers of naturally dyed and multilaminar veneers for Interior Furniture and Architecture, the latest generation of decorative wooden surfaces based on technological research, and the ability to interpret wood with inexhaustible creativity.

The evening opened with the Councillor for the University of the Lombardy Region Alessandro Fermi’s greeting: “As a Como native, I am very proud to see a company from our territory implementing a project of such magnitude, unique in the world. Not only that. The Contest reveals the entrepreneurial drive of the territories translating into cultural heritage and the will to transfer knowledge to the new generations”.

The evening’s true protagonists were the competitors, over 800 of about 20 nationalities, and the Finalists. The Jury was coordinated and led by President Architect Silvia Piardi, Honorary Professor of the Politecnico di Milano.
“The Contest’s formula has never changed, as we have learned a lesson” explains Francesca Losi, Head of Training of TABU and Head of the Contest, “Quoting Dante in the V Canto of Paradiso: ché non fa scienza, sanza lo ritenere, avere inteso. It is not enough to understand, and there is no true knowledge without sedimentation, without the lasting memory of what one knows. This is why in each edition of the Contest they have nine months to design, from September to May, during which meetings are held at the Orders of Architects, at Designers’ studios in teams, at Universities and Academies, online seminars, technical feasibility opinions. We want them to come out of the contest with lasting knowledge that will accompany them throughout their careers as architects or designers.”

Andrea Tagliabue, Vice President at TABU continues: “In the last 6 years, almost 20 wooden surfaces and furnishings projects have been brought into production – both by students and professionals – and have entered the Salone del Mobile official collections, or awarded with the Honourable Mention of the Compasso d’Oro. It is important for us to enhance talents growing in the Contest and to sow skills on wood, as a noble, sustainable and creative material for the new architects and designers generations”.

“The Contest is a project that confirms its international vocation, and is a great opportunity for young talents of all ages” – says Angelo Carpanelli, the main partner of the project for the Furniture section.
Roberta Busnelli, Publisher of IQD: “IQD magazine has been collaborating with IDEAS4WOOD since the first edition as it shares the goal of spreading the culture of design and in this case with the most natural and sustainable material: wood. It is a basic sharing. This Contest allows to meet designers of all generations, in a mutual exchange and continuous evolution. That is why in the next edition a section will be dedicated to AI. So, it is a pride for us to make the IQD Award available for projects that represent the best vision of the space of architecture”.

Among the audience, the Mayor of Cantù Alice Galbiati and Councillor Isabella Girgi, for the Cantù area. TABU’s 1st Prize to the students was presented by Dr. Paolo Fantoni, President of Assopannelli and Deputy Vice President of Federlegno Arredo.

The call for applications has already been published, regarding the seventh edition for no age limit Professionals and Students! Only the brave! The Contest is international and bilingual, Italian and English, and the adventure restarts.

IDEAS4WOOD

TABU SpA