The winners of the ein&zwanzig newcomers’ awards have been announced on April 8th during Milan Design Week. Out of 824 entries from 73 countries, the German Design Council honored 21 innovative projects created and developed by young upcoming international designers, and granted one project with the “Best of the Best” award, the ultimate prize for the most unique and inventive amongst all proposals.
Simon Frambach took home the Best of the Best award this year for his ‘Dynamic Folding Chair’ (DFC), the world’s first folding chair that responds to the user’s movements and comfort, produced with cheap disposable material.
Even a plastic folding chair can be sustainable, provided it is designed to be durable, to be passed down through the generations, and at the end of this cycle, it consists of detachable and recyclable components - Simon Frambach
Sustainable design was clearly crucial in the winners’ designs as the majority of the projects consisted of “ecologically-clever” solutions with unrestricted recyclability. Anna Drewes and Dario Lannone, who are among the selected winners, used organic banana and mulberry tree fibers to create sound-absorbing acoustic panels. Youyang Song found a way to transform organic waste into flexible, leather-like material, with the help of banana skins, orange peels, and soy milk pomace. Jingbei Zheng transformed natural loofah sponges into elegant and flexible kitchen cleaning accessories.
The young generation of designers has more than understood the signs of times.. Contemporary design is based on sustainability, recyclability, and longevity. Looking at these sophisticated design products and experiments gives s confidence that we will master the ecological challenges of the 21st century - Andrej Kupetz, Chairman of the Jury and Chief Executive Officer of the German Design Council
Here is the full list of winners:
Youyang Song - Cooking New Material
Jingbei Zheng - REBRUSH
Filip Krampla - Sokui
Aurore Brard - SEEM
Simon Frambach - DFC - Dynamic Folding Chair (Winner of the Best of the Best Award)
Matteo Bauer-Bornemann - Halo
Freia Achenbach & June Noa Gschwander - Form der Farbe
Michael Varga - The Conscious Unconsciousness
George Croissant - Amba
Arthur Seefried - Tubs
Julian Preindl - Draft
Lena Bryan & Charlotte Zeh - Samo
Dario Iannone & Anna Drewes - Indigo
Timm Donke & Leif Czakal - Bricknic
Gal Bulka & Ori Shifrin Anavi - Marvin
H.J. Jung - Flattened object and space
Jonatan Nilsson - Shifting Shape
Lorenzo Waller & Nicole Giavaldi - Cora
Elias Julian Kopp - CC - System
Daan Veerman - Digital Craft
Laura van de Wijdeven - Jute Tile
The ein&zwanzig awards honor students and graduates from all over the world, who are creating and developing pioneering work in fields of furniture, textiles, finishing, flooring, and home accessories. The winners’ projects will be on display at Via Toronto 31 all throughout the design week, in an exhibition venue designed by Studiopepe.
Along with the awards ceremony, a panel discussion was held on the 8th of April, to discuss the topic of “disruption through design: challenging our current system of production and consumption”. Although the younger generations are taking into consideration the ongoing repercussions of climate change, solutions need to be found for our current productions to create more harmony between different generations and populations around the globe. Many questions were discussed during the panel: Does the moderate use of resources require more far-reaching, radical approaches? What role does design play at the interface between the manufacturer and consumer?... The roundtable panelists included: Essi Johanna Glomb, Founder & Head of Design, Blond & Bieber; Filippo Lodi, Head of Innovation and Knowledge Management, UNStudio; Maurizio Montalti, Founder and Creative Director, Officina Corpuscoli; and Melusine Reimers, Managing Director of Readymade, and was moderated by Karianne Fogelberg, Design Theorist & Curator, UnDesignUnit.
Salone del Mobile Milano 2019 | ArchDaily
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