HERFORD.- How can design sustainably change the future? What visions can open up ideas of re- and upcycling? The 11th RecyclingDesignprize – Outstanding Ideas, which has since its founding in 2005 been organised by the Arbeitskreis Recycling e.V., Herford, as the sponsor of the design competition in cooperation with the Marta Herford, offers answers to these questions. Around 400 designers and artist have responded to the 11th call for this international design competition and submitted designs for sustainable product design in the fields of material research, circulation economies, and transformation or social design. From these many submissions, a jury of experts chose 27 projects for the exhibition, which this year are being seen for the first time prominently in the Gehry Galleries in the Marta as its first venue. Thereafter, the objects will be on view at Galerie Nord | Kunstverein Tiergarten in Berlin and the Neues Museum Nürnberg.

A look at the nearly twenty-year history of the RecyclingDesignprize not only makes it clear how solidly anchored in social discourse the themes of sustainability and resource conservation have become but also makes it obvious that re- and upcycling have been widely thought about and worked out in recent years. The open competition for which creative people with professional and semi-professional training can apply is endowed with 2,500 euros for the first prize, 1,500 euros for the second prize, and 1,000 euros for the third prize. Once again, a special prize endowed with 1,000 euros will be awarded.

This year’s contributions in particular reveal a more differentiated approach to resource use, production methods, and valorisation paths (in the sense of a circulation economy) that make it clear that designers are increasingly concerned with social structures as a component of ecological design processes. Around half of the submissions were student works at universities and reflect current focuses of sustainable design in teaching and scholarship. In recent years, moreover, the (selected) submissions have had more projects from the field of material research, such as the development of bio-based synthetic materials. The exhibition design was once again developed by the work of product designer and jury member Oliver Schübbe: a display composed of used materials, including in this case die-cutting boards, among other things. For the exhibition, a catalogue with a foreword by Marta director Kathleen Rahn and an essay by fashion designer Carina Bischof. It has been available since the opening on 1. 12. 2024 (48 pages, DE / EN, price: 6.50 euros) and is published by the Marta Herford.

1st Prize: nat-2™ Post Cov Sneaker by Sebastian Thies, Munich (DE)

Polyurethane (from refrigerator insulation), nitrile synthetic (from medical gloves past their best-before date), natural cork (from wine corks), bioceramic fibres, reflective glass particles

The innovative “post-pandemic shoe” consists of printed refrigerator insulation and reflective glass on the outside. The inside is lined with self-manufactured antibacterial Bio Ceramic® and removable natural-cork sole. The transparent blue rubber sole is made from nitrile rubber gloves with limited shelf life that are disposed when not used. The fair-trade sneaker is (PETA® approved) and handmade in Italy. The small family company now in the sixth generation since 1856, develops sustainable products with a focus on shoes. These shoes are particularly interesting for their materials, which appear to be impossible to work.

2nd Prize: Frumo (material) by Mareen Baumeister, Berlin (DE)

(seasonal) food waste, natural resin, Projekt, Technische Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe (Detmolder Schule für Gestaltung), 2022

Frumo is a sustainable material from food waste (such as leftover fruit) and natural resin from which long-life, jointless, floor coverings and furniture can be manufactured by heating, combining, forming, and cutting. Because of its composition, it can be composted and is easily repaired with heat and Frumo pellets. Floor coverings and furniture are ordinarily made with large quantities of CO2-intensive wood; they are difficult to repair and short-lived; because they contain plastics, among other things, they cannot be recycled. Frumo, by contrast, is resource-efficient and can be produced with regional, seasonal ingredients with short transport routes.

3rd Prize: Cross sections of the anthropogenic camp (tiles, wall elements) by Marisa Gaab, Landau (DE)

Construction debris (from landfills, construction sites, and construction businesses), wood slats (from the university), concrete, screws, thesis project, Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe, 2023

Mineral construction debris makes up most rubbish in Germany. It is usually returned to circulation only in devalued form (e.g. crushed). In her work, by contrast, Marisa Gaab developed a more valuable reuse of these remnants: She analysed the form, qualities, and aesthetic qualities of various materials found in landfills and construction sites. Cross-cutting technology turns chunks of concrete into disks of materials with an especially appealing terrazzo look. They are suited for wall panels, tiles, and façade elements. Depending on the original material, they have different colours and patterns.

Special Prize: DIY PING PONG by SUPERFILIALE / Markus Zimmermann, Frankfurt am Main (DE)

Slatted frames, chipboard, cardboard egg cartons, book spines, posters, acrylic glass (all recycled), ping-pong balls, screws, ceramics

SUPERFILIALE – Markus Zimmermann with Eden Szir – invite you to meet DIY PING PONG. From Zimmermann’s perspective, design also applies to interhuman and social relationships. A do-it-yourself ping-pong table is realised with the resources and materials that exist in the place in question. The ping-pong table and the various paddles are surprising for their unusual, individual forms, colours and materialities. They were made for the Marta Herford in workshops with pupils in the eighth form from the Pestalozzischule Herford.