Annabel, a recent Year 13 IHS graduate, has won first place in the Furniture Makers Guild’s ‘Young Furniture Makers Award’.

With the challenges of the last 18 months, the usual workshop life of the DT department has been heavily disrupted and the ability to work in our usual way became very difficult. With online learning for long periods and changes to assessments, students have worked incredibly hard to continue to produce the quality of work we strive for.

Every year we try to enter students’ work for the ‘Young Furniture Makers Award’. Before the summer holidays we entered a number of students across GCSE and A Level. This week we were delighted to be informed that Annabel, from last year’s cohort of Year 13 students, has won joint first place in the Schools Award section.

In Annabel’s competition entry she gave the following explanation of her work and where the design had come from: “Inspired by the gardens at Houghton Hall, I designed a structure which aims to connect people together by creating a communal space. The structure encourages interactivity and as the design is modular, it can also be changed to suit the user and the available space. The spiral form mirrors the golden ratio found in nature, and shows the connection between nature and humans. The structure is designed for an inside space, acting as a centrepiece.

The centre of the structure makes use of a plant pot which allows flowers and plants to grow from the centre, as well as vines growing around the frame of the structure, bringing the outside in. This creates better oxygen flow, absorbs toxins and carbon dioxide, as well as creating a calmer atmosphere reducing stress. Each spiral in the main frame is steam bent to achieve a perfect curve, forming a spiral shape. The circular seating is built in modular quarters, so it can either be one bench or individual seats to adapt depending on the surrounding space. Once put together the elements form a functional and elegant design.

It would be a great opportunity if I were to win the school design prize, as it will allow me to gain further insight into the furniture industry, and allow me to progress with my career in design.”