Dezeen Schools Presents: A modular furniture system that promotes sustainability has been included in the latest Dezeen Schools presentation by outstanding students in the Designblok Diploma Group.
This product also includes a 3D printed ceramic water filter and a fashion set made from recycled materials and inspired by the Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi.
Organization: Designblok, Prague International Design Festival
Courses: Industrial Design, Interior Design, Product Design and Fashion Design (Bachelor and Master)
School statement:
The Designblok Diploma Selection, organised by the festival in collaboration with the EUNIC group in the Czech Republic for the development and support of European university graduates, will welcome new judges on the occasion of its 10th anniversary.
“The jury chair for the Product Design category and director of the Museum of Art and Design in Hamburg, Tolga Bayerl, has invited Thomas Geisler, director of the State Art Collections in Dresden, Jan Bolen, independent curator and artistic director of LUMA Atelier, Alexandra Middal, independent curator, filmmaker and professor at HEAD-University Genève, and Evelyn Brack, curator of the Design Museum in Ghent, to join the jury.
Invited by the President of the Fashion Design Jury, journalist and creative director Jan Kralicek, the jury of the competition will include Krzysztof J. Lukasik, Polish designer, creative director and consultant for brands such as Loewe, Hermès, Diesel, Lanvin and others, along with Greek fashion critic and journalist Sotiris Kapiris, and finally, Alexandre Malguiris, consultant and former communications director at Gucci.
The Designblok Diploma Selection jury will select the winners from among thirty final projects, who will receive a financial reward of 4,000 euros and the opportunity to exhibit at the next Designblok.
New projects will be presented at the Bastion Florenc by last year’s finalists Willemsen Esmée, Beau Janek, Julia Huhnholz and Friedrich Gerlach, with a fashion show by fashion designer Maria Czarnecka at the Lobkowicz Palace.
The Designblok Diploma Selection Partner for 2024 is Ploom.
Dodola by Sean Girandon, Pia Groliger and Luka Pleskovic
The thesis aims to design a solution to the problem of unmonitored watersheds.
The image examines a spring in Triglav National Park where high levels of E. coli bacteria were detected.
The proposed solution consists of a ceramic filtration system using 3D clay printing technology, which is suitable for remote locations and does not require electricity or regular supplies.
“Using a gyroid structure and an Archimedes screw, they exploit the flow of water to operate independently.
“The solution provides clean drinking water and empowers communities.”
Students: Zan Girandon, Pia Groliger and Luka Pleskovic
Course: Master of Industrial Design
School: Academy of Fine Arts and Design, University of Ljubljana
Email: pjorkkala[at]gmail.com
Re-enchantment – Re-enchantment by Carla Borre
“In response to our global crisis, Réenchantement focuses on reviving the magic and mystery we have lost.
“I wanted to highlight the strange beauty of life, poetry and tolerance.
Inspired by my surroundings, a new myth turns chimeras into beautiful heroes.
“I wanted to honor craftsmanship, highlight techniques and the power of human collaboration that blends tradition and innovation.”
Student: Carla Bori
School: French Institute of Fashion
Course: Master of Fashion Design
Email: carla.bore[at]outlook.fr
The Disconnection Lab by Sophia Reisnauber
Break-up Lab is dedicated to the end of an emotional relationship: the relationship between a fabric and its former owners.
“Through biotechnological processes, the polyester content of used textiles can be analysed and the recovered building blocks can then be metabolised into biodegradable plastic.
“PHA yarns and additives facilitate easier separation of impurities and enable fiber-to-fiber recycling.
“Two circular pieces of clothing that demonstrate aesthetic and functional potential.”
Student: Sophia Reisnauber
School: Burg-Giebischenstein-Halle University
Course: Industrial Design
Email: sophia.reissenweber[at]Postio.de
Balance – Womenswear Collection by Victoria Kroll
“My graduate course, entitled Balance, was inspired by my health issues related to vision disorders and the mechanisms of MRI.
The silhouettes are simple but broken in a way that makes them seem stuck between balance and its complete absence.
The collection includes unique materials such as self-designed jacquard, melted PVC foil, iron filings with magnets, and silver epoxy resin.
Student: Victoria Kroll
School: Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts, Lodz
Course: Fashion Design
Email: wiktoriawkrol[at]gmail.com
But through meditation by Noka Ross
“By exploring the sense of self within society’s expectations of femininity, my collection takes place in that imaginary moment when a person gradually transforms into their true self.
“By using the language of the body and the materiality to tell this story, I have created fragile sculptures, their protective shells and fragile transparencies falling away like cast-off cocoons.
“I work in a slow fashion style – handmade pieces made from unused fabrics for an audience that appreciates fashion as a political and performative art form.”
Student: Noka Ross
School: ArtEZ University of the Arts
Course: Fashion Design
Email: nouka.rous[at]xs4all.nl
Wardrobe designed by Aleš Hnátek
The collection combines the principles of haute couture seen on the runways with the principles of wearable clothing.
“The inspiration drawn from the Japanese Arte Povera and Wabi-Sabi movements can be seen in the choice of materials that come from dead sources as well as from a personal archive of unique textiles, for example those used in furniture upholstery.
“The collection thus highlights the value of abandoned materials, and in addition to fine craftsmanship and timeless aesthetics, it remains strongly committed to the idea of sustainability.”
Student: Why are you here?
School: University of Applied Arts in Prague
Course: Clothing and Footwear Design Studio
Email: aleshnatek[at]gmail.com
Ups and Downs by Timia Kebova
The Up and Down collection explores the issue of recreational seating.
“In today’s world, where everyone seems to be sitting all the time, I understand entertainment as a way to achieve creativity through physical movement.
These things ensure that every session is a unique experience.
They support sitting or lying on the floor with higher standard positions.
“The work is based on the motto ‘nothing changes without change’ and leaves it to us to decide how we understand the need for change and transformation.”
Student: Timia Kebova
School: Interior Design
Course: VŠVU University Bratislava
Email: timkepov[at]gmail.com
Reconstruction – A Strategy for Reusing Discarded Furniture by Stephanie Bauer
Reconfigured repurposes discarded furniture items using an innovative modular kit system.
Parts are sorted by type and function, and then reassembled into new parts using schematics.
This method maintains the integrity of the original elements while reimagining existing ideas about the structures as a whole.
“The resulting reconfigurations are modular and adaptable, enhancing sustainability.
“The project emphasizes that furniture is a durable commodity and challenges perceptions: is it just trash or valuable furniture?”
Student: Stephanie Bauer
School: New Design University
Course: Handicraft and Material Culture
Email: st_bauer[at]outlook.com
The Isotitis Paradox: The Future of a Nearly Endangered Species by Adam Kvacek
The Isotis Paradox consists of an imaginative approach to research conducted on the endangered Isotis plant through its various interactions based on human-nature relationships.
The speculative aspect of the project is based on the idea that the easiest way to save extinct species is to make them useful to humans.
“I focus on the process of transforming plants into a commercial commodity by creating materials from specific species and transforming them into a consumer good, depicted in the form of disposable tableware as a symbol of the consumer society.”
Student: Adam Kvacek
School: Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague
Course: Product Design
Email: adamkvacekcz[at]gmail.com
The Lost Product of Society by Peter Wertman
This diploma collection captures the essence of Arctic and Antarctic exploration, combined with the freedom of growing up in the Swiss Alps.
“The building draws on the experience of military life, embodying the contrasts between the vast open landscape and the disciplined, limited life.”
Student: Peter Wertman
School: Royal Academy of Arts The Hague
Course: Bachelor of Fashion and Textiles
Email: wertmannp[at]gmail.com
Partnership Content
This school exhibition is a partnership between Dezeen and Designblok Diploma Selection. Find out more about Dezeen’s partnership content here.
