Stanford grad student sitting pretty after international design competition

XANDER BREMER, a product design master’s student and a teaching assistant in the Product Realization Lab, was awarded second prize in the International Design Awards’ Home Interior Products competition for his Cirro Chair.

The IDA jury examined more than 1,000 entries submitted by architects and designers of interiors, fashion, products and graphics from 52 countries and rewarded work that demonstrated the highest levels of creativity, usability and innovation.

Bremer described the Cirro as “an exploration of two-dimensional geometries in a three-dimensional structure and form.” By cantilevering the seat, the chair creates a sense of both poise and motion to create a comfortable perch. The jury lauded Bremer’s design for its brilliant response to an intrinsic human need with traditional material and intimacy of craft. The Cirro – which draws its name from high-altitude cirrus clouds – will be featured in the IDA’s Book of Designs.

Bremer was artist-in-residence at Autodesk’s Pier 9 Workshop and mechanism designer at Olson Kundig Architects. Before coming to Stanford, he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University, spent five years racing bikes professionally across the United States and Europe and launched a high-end racing bicycle repair business.

—BY NORA SWEENY, outreach strategist for the Product Realization Lab.