Designing to Eliminate the Concept of Waste

The bi-annual Cradle to Cradle Product Design Challenge asks emerging designers to develop new solutions for improving our environment through sustainable design. Each iteration of the challenge brings us closer to realizing the imperative to create a circular market standard. Presented by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute in collaboration with Autodesk and Arconic Foundation, the spring 2017 jury included Core77’s own Stuart Constantine along with sustainability and strategy experts from Target, Ford Motor Company, BASF The C2C Institute and Arconic.

We’re happy to share the winners of the fifth iteration of the Cradle to Cradle Product Design Challenge. After receiving applications from 18 countries, the design challenge recognized winners in five categories: Best Use of Cradle to Cradle Certified Materials, Best Professional Project, Best Student Project, Best Use of Autodesk Fusion 360 and Best Use of Aluminum. Find out more about their work below:

Best Student Project & Best Use of Aluminum: MyEcoWall

MyEcoWall is an acoustic-insulated space separator, designed to help make office environments safe and versatile, creating a comfortable atmosphere for employees and allowing the redefinition and adaptation of workspace settings as companies evolve. The rolling partitions are designed using component materials (Ecovative’s MycoFoam & MycoBoard, wool and cork) that are biodegradable yet durable, enabling companies the flexibility to adapt retool, relocate, grow or reduce size.

Best Professional Project: Plano Chair

Designers Michiel Meurs & Paddy Milford, with support from Mariska Hilhorst, Renee Emmerik, and Thijs Barentsen, designed the Plano Chair to be made from one single sheet of recycled and fully recyclable polypropylene material. The design was inspired by origami, with production involving only a single sided milling of a pre-produced laminated panel. This enables short production runs and allows for endless product variations within each run. Durable living hinges allow the sheet to take its final shape, and the use of a single material type makes sourcing and material reclamation easy.

Best Student Use of Autodesk Fusion 360: S(h)aving the World Personal Razor

Led by Daniel Rouleau and Morgan Mistysyn, Rochester Institute of Technology’s (RIT) Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW) used Cradle to Cradle product design principles to create a 100% recyclable razor that performs at the same standards as non-recyclable counterparts and requires less water during use.

Best Professional Use of Autodesk Fusion 360: LOOP Supply Medusa Spool

Most of the materials for low-budget and consumer-level 3D printers are supplied in form of polymer wire coiled on spools, which are heavy, bulky, and are rarely, if ever recycled. Designer Bartlomiej Gaczorek developed Loop Supply Medusa Spool using Autodesk Fusion 360, demonstrating an innovative approach to using t-splines for the design, and simulation to assess the strengths of the overall model. Made from BASF’s ecoflex®, the single-material spool is up to 80% lighter compared to conventional spools. The spool is also designed to foldable, thereby taking up less space, and can be easier to return to the supplier for reuse, or can be biodegraded.

Best Use of Cradle to Cradle Certified Materials: Scout Rain Jacket

The Scout Rain Jacket, designed by Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) students Alexandria Jones, Jordan Jones, Natalie Ouma and Melissa Shuford, is intended to help reduce waste created in the apparel industry. The Scout Rain Jacket is an outerwear garment intended for use by children. adjustable both vertically and horizontally, extending the product life and reducing waste by growing “with” the child and also allowing multiple owners.

The sixth Cradle to Cradle Product Design Challenge will open for entries in September, 2017. Check out the overview page for the design challenge page of the Cradle to Cradle Institute web site.

Source: core77