Hasta La Ideas

We’re happy to share the winners of the sixth iteration of the Cradle to Cradle Product Design Challenge, presented by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute in collaboration with Autodesk and Arconic Foundation. The series of six global challenges invited designers, sustainability professionals and students to redesign products for the circular economy in accordance with the Cradle to Cradle CertifiedTM product standard. The fall 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.

Over 600 designers across 30 countries submitted over 550 entries for all six challenges in the series. After receiving applications from 17 countries, this iteration of the challenge recognized winners in four categories: Best Overall Project, Best Use of Cradle to Cradle Certified Materials, Best Use of Aluminum and Best Use of Autodesk Fusion 360. Find out more about their work below:

Best Overall Project: VOLTA

by Koraldo Kajanaku, Interaction Designer – San Francisco

Volta is a battery that can be recharged simply by being placed in a bath of table salt and vinegar. The recyclable and compostable battery uses non-toxic materials, including Cradle to Cradle Certified Ingeo Biopolymer. Volta can also be remanufactured—its fastener-free, pill-form design make it easy disassemble and change parts for reuse and recovery.

Best Use of Cradle to Cradle Certified Materials: House 4 House

by Agnieszka Filipowicz, Ania Pieranska & Otis Sloan Brittain, AUGA Studio – Copenhagen

Through its non-traditional house building kits, House 4 House aims to educate children about sustainability and designing for the circular economy. Inspired by different ways of building from across the world, their kits utilize a dissolvable, starch-based mortar, along with Cradle to Cradle Certified materials, including Accoya® Wood, Alcoa Aluminum, Nispen Corrugated Packaging and Porotherm Bricks. Each kit includes building supplies, characters, furniture and guides for constructing a miniature house. For every toy house sold, House 4 House will help build a real house.

Best Use of Aluminum: TO Stool

by Robert Shudra, Industrial Design Student, Carleton University – Ottowa, Canada

The TO Stool is shipped flat then folded into its final stool form by the user, which considerably reduces packaging and manufacturing energy and costs.

TO aims to alter throwaway habits by encouraging and facilitating the reuse of used textiles. The removable bag under TO’s seat acts as a storage unit for textiles intended for donation or recycling. Once full, the bag can be transported to donation facilities. At the end of the stool’s life, its aluminum frame can be disassembled and recycled, and the renewable wood base and removable bag can be repurposed or composted.

Best Use of Autodesk Fusion 360: Bench32

by Ralf Schneider, Assistant Professor, Industrial & Interaction Design, Syracuse University – New York

Bench32’s repetitive structure, made up of of 32 wooden spars held together by 80 metal parts, is inspired by the imperative weight reduction in airplane construction. Comprised of FSC-certified wood or Cradle to Cradle Certified Accoya® wood, this project was recognized for its impeccable use of Fusion 360’s simulation capabilities throughout the entire design process.

View more about the winning designers and projects here.