GRAY AWARDS 2020 Editors’ Picks
See the entries that caught our editors’ eyes.
Each week through January 2021, we will be rolling out two of our Editors’ Picks from GRAY Awards 2020.
Editors’ Pick: Whorl Console (Aluminum)
Neal Aronowitz Design
By GRAY Editors

The Whorl Console by Neal Aronowitz. Image by Kris Lebouef.
Portland designer Neal Aronowitz is back with his award-winner Whorl Console—this time in a completely new material. The piece, in its concrete form, was the winner of the 2017 GRAY Award in the Product Design: Lighting, Furniture category, and its elegant, swirling shape once again caught the attention of our editors.
Made from powder-coated aluminum, this iteration of the design upholds the console’s striking form in a sleek new material. Constructed from ¼-inch-thick aluminum plates, the Whorl Console is fabricated from five pieces meticulously cut and bent into precise curves that are then welded, sanded, polished, and finally, powder-coated.
“The challenge in the fabrication of this piece was to execute a smooth, continuous, and graceful ribbon-like form in welded aluminum,” Aronowitz writes in his entry. “Precision bending and skillful welding give the form a sensuous flowing surface. Custom powder-coat colors create a unique personality for each piece. The effect is a dynamic and startling sculptural presence.”
CATEGORY: Product Design: Lighting, Furniture
PROJECT: Whorl Console (Aluminum)
FIRM: Neal Aronowitz Design
DATE OF COMPLETION: October 2019
LOCATION: Portland, Oregon, United States
PHOTOGRAPHED BY: Kris Lebouef and Michael Jones
COLLABORATORS
Matt Cartwright
STB Powder Coating