London designer Shin Azumi's AP stool has has been given the Interior Innovation Award 2011 at the German furniture fair IMM Cologne which starts later this month. (IMM Cologne, 18 - 23 January 2011). Made out of a single sheet of plywood, the stool is both very stowable and very stable, with its relatively large footprint. Unveiled last year, the AP stool was created by Azumi for the Italian maker lapalma.

If you want to find out more about Azumi's creative process, the designer also appears at Metropolitan Works this month in a Creative Dialogue with Shin Azumi. The talk with drinks is on December 13, 6 - 8pm, admission free.

EDIT: Following the publication of this article, we were contacted by the Californian designer Po Shun Leong who informed us that following his complaint that Shin Azumi's design appeared to be very similar to his own 2008 Fortune Cookie Chair design, IMM Cologne have suspended Azumi's Award until the outcome legal action surrounding the case. Po Shun Leung maintains the AP Stool infringes his copyright. Azumi told The London Design Festival: "I have developed my AP Stool independently in my studio and I had no knowledge either of Po Shun Leon or his work. In light of this, I have not infringed his copyright/design right."

A Creative Dialgue with Shin Azumi