Successes in the Reborn Design competition

The winning proposals were announced on 13 June by a jury of academics, business and circular economy experts. Rewards in each category included an offer to continue developing their work with one of the competition partners.

New this year was the category of experimental design from mycelium, in which the winner was Mykofin - the design of coffins and urns for animals by Vojtěch Vydržel. The judges appreciated the originality of the product in terms of function and design. Unlike conventional coffins, those made of mycelium are completely biodegradable and thus more environmentally friendly.

The partner of the category dedicated to recycled plasterboard was Skanska, which provided waste material from the Mercury project. First place went to Barbara Rakovská for her Wavy Pebble acoustic and visual panels, combining experimental mycelium material and gypsum from waste plasterboard. The mycelium in the moulds grows through the gypsum, and unlike products that are purely made of mycelium, the combination with gypsum achieved a very smooth and eye-catching surface.

The material for the 3D printing waste challenge was provided by Prusa Research. It provided students with failed or unwanted prints and waste material directly from production. The best in the category were Tereza Johnová and Antonie Varju, who used the material to make a colourful ping pong set. The jury was also impressed by the social impact of Vojtěch Vydržel's design, which won second place. He created a board for people with reduced mobility designed to move between a wheelchair and a bed. Karolína Petřeková's design for a clothes hanger was also awarded.

In the fourth challenge, competitors processed waste PET film used for advertising purposes. They could use the material in its original form of film or plates from Lavaris. The winner, Karolína Petřeková, worked with the board material to make a small portable festival table for drinks. She was also given the opportunity to produce a limited series of tables for this summer's festivals. The jury awarded second place to Leontina Pasková, who used the material to weave chairs. Third place went to Tereza Cvrčková for her design of a seating bag filled with recycled material.

Congratulations to all! More information about the project can be found on the competition page.