Sustainability rules at 2021 RSA Student Design Awards
Winners of ‘A New Leaf' competition – part of the 2021 RSA Student Design Awards – include a biodegradable plant pot, a sustainable timber furniture range, and a product made from recycled tamarind shells
Created as a prize for students and ideas around utilising ‘local woodland resources to stimulate inclusive and sustainable economic activity, ‘A New Leaf' has been a highlight at the 2021 Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce's RSA Student Design Awards roster. The honour, which is sponsored by award winning furniture designer John Makepeace with support from Woodland Heritage, includes a cash prize and an opportunity to celebrate innovative designs that push the boat out for sustainability; and this year's winners have just been announced by the RSA.
Split between two joint winners, both design students, the award this year went to Harry Peck for his sustainable timber range ‘Raw Furniture', which has been grown and crafted locally in Cornwall; and Marianna Lordou, who created ‘Potium', an inventive biodegradable plant-pot made from myceleum from converted infected waste produced as a response to tree disease Phytophthora Ramorum. Both proposals honour the competition's requirements for imagination, functionality, and systems thinking – all key aspects in making a crazy idea, not only a life-changing reality that helps humans and planet, but a feasible business too.
The winning designs impressed the judging panel with their consideration for sustainability, sharp design and use of local resources, in particular forests, supporting communities and protecting woodlands.
‘During my senior year in high-school, I couldn't decide what to study at university: I had a deep passion for biology, as well art and design. This brief allowed me to combine both of those passions together. By integrating live organisms such as mycelium into my design proposal, I have come to the realization that design is everything, and involves various different fields and complex systems. I'm proud to have combined bio-tech and design to propose a solution to pressing societal and environmental issues, and I aim to embrace this multi-disciplinary approach to my designs in the future,' says Lordou.
Product design student Zil Shah scooped a High Commendation with IMLI, a sustainable material alternative made out of discarded tamarind shells and seeds. Looking sleek and modern, the sample proposed – a hanger, aimed at reducing waste from single-use hangers in fashion retail – also aims to raise awareness around the hardships involved in farming minor forest products.
The two RSA Student Design Awards winners will split a prize of £2,000. ‘I am hoping to volunteer in a refugee camp in Greece this summer in a workshop to teach the refugees basic carpentry skills,' says Peck. ‘Currently the workshop has limited tools and equipment, so I am hoping to put the money towards some new machinery.'
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Where to eat sushi in London
From high-end hotels to supermarket pop-ups, food critic Ben McCormack recommends London's best sushi spots
By Ben McCormack Published
-
Don't miss these films at the BFI London Film Festival 2024
The BFI has announced the lineup for their 68th festival, and it's a stellar one
By Billie Walker Published
-
The mibot is a tiny single-seater ‘mobility robot’ for traversing Japan’s crowded city centres
Japan is the undisputed centre of compact car culture, and KG Motors' new mibot is one of a new wave of micro-EVs that look set to take the country’s cities by storm
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Building with bamboo: In Bali, designer, Elora Hardy, shares her tips and experience
Bamboo architecture can be powerful and sustainable; here, we talk to Ibuku's Elora Hardy, who shares her tips, thoughts and experience in working with the material in Bali
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Hermitage Mews is a net-zero family of homes in London’s Crystal Palace
Hermitage Mews by Gbolade Design Studio is a sustainable residential complex in south London's Crystal Palace, conceived to be green and contextual
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Sustainable architecture: 43 innovative and inspiring building designs
This is sustainable architecture at its best: from amazing abodes to centres of care and hard-working offices, these buildings not only look good but also do good
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Slot House sets a high bar for sustainable architecture in Utah
Slot House, an energy-efficient mountain retreat in Utah, by local practice Klima Architecture, sets the bar high
By Eva Hagberg Published
-
Spruce house offers a minimalist take on sustainable architecture
Spruce House, London practice Ao-ft’s debut project, is a carefully crafted timber house that perfectly slots into its urban landscape
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Material Cultures workshops support shift towards sustainable building practices
Material Cultures workshops explore new approaches to promote sustainability in the construction industry
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
London's Exchange House gets a sustainable revamp
London's iconic Exchange House in Broadgate has been transformed for the 21st century by Piercy&Company
By Nana Ama Owusu-Ansah Published
-
Is ProxyAddress architecture’s answer to solving homelessness?
ProxyAddress founder Chris Hildrey talks to us about architecture changing the world, and his pioneering initiative to help solve homelessness
By Ellie Stathaki Published