CHALLENGE 1: MAKE DO: UPCYCLING INDUSTRIAL WASTE

Mentor: Anna GUDMUNDSDOTTIR, product designer (Iceland, Sweden)

Challenge description: We live in a time of overconsumption that poses a real threat of extinction. The UN estimates that a million plant and animal species could soon disappear due to climate change. Manufacturing accounts for over a quarter of the 50 billion tons of greenhouse gases emitted annually. However, it’s not too late to act. This challenge aims to inspire designers and industries to rethink material value, use, and reuse to better utilize the planet's resources.

Historically, scarcity led to a circular economy, not ideologically but out of necessity. Repurposing objects and materials is as old as tool use itself.

Challenge objectives: Work with the provided waste to create new, functional objects for domestic or public spaces. The design’s size and function are up to you, but most materials used must be waste-based. Transform and elevate discarded materials into valuable resources.

Materials: Industrial rubber waste (main material), wood waste, metal waste, acrylic, and jewellery metal.

The material was kindly provided by the company Gledring

CHALLENGE 2: EVERY STRANGER IS THE MOST WELCOMED GUEST

Mentor: Asel YESZHANOVA, architect (Kazakhstan)

Challenge description: There was an important law among nomads: every traveller was a guest and a messenger from above. In the endless steppe, a nomad could go for days without encountering a single living soul. The traveller was a messenger, a bearer of stories, and a harbinger of change.

Asel's grandfather was born in a nomad yurt, as were his father and his father's fathers. It was a culture, a tradition, and a philosophy that honoured travellers. ‘Today I may welcome a traveller into my yurt and feed them my best food. Tomorrow I may be a traveller seeking shelter and water. This law of the steppe was not erased by the hard years of brutal Soviet politics, when the authorities decided to replace nomadism with a sedentary lifestyle. Nor was it erased by the famine of the 1930s. That famine wiped out more than 50 per cent of the entire Kazakh population. The law remained in our hearts, despite the aggressive industrialisation of the steppe.’

The stories told in the family became legends about the hospitality of Asel's people. She grew up with doors open to anyone who would knock on them.

Asel carries this tradition in her heart. She believes it should be fundamental and vital, not only for nomadic peoples but for everyone in this troubled world.

Challenge objectives: The task is to design and create a structure that can be installed in any public space and that would encourage strangers to have a conversation. It can be assembled and disassembled within 30 minutes. The structure should be inclusive and welcoming to everyone.

Materials: recycled, reused, and/or natural materials.

CHALLENGE 3: ZERO WASTE: FROM SHORTAGE TO STYLE

Mentor: Lauren FAJARDO, fashion designer (Cuba)

Challenge description: The fashion industry faces a severe waste problem due to globalization and fast fashion, which promote overproduction and overconsumption with little concern for the environmental impact. Fast fashion, though inexpensive, has a high environmental cost, contributing to the belief that everything is disposable, which harms underdeveloped countries and undermines sustainable living.

Due to the limited availability of materials, Cuban designers have become pioneers in resourcefulness and upcycling. This is where, out of necessity, end-of-life products are transformed into something new, innovative and stylish. Young designers can draw inspiration from our ancestors' sustainable practices, such as repurposing, repairing, and using resources thoughtfully.

This challenge aims to tackle waste by implementing zero-waste principles, focusing on transforming discarded materials into valuable resources.

Challenge objectives: Design fashion-forward pieces using leftover textiles and unconventional materials from Center Rog labs. The goal is to extend the life cycle of these materials through recovery and reuse, blending craftsmanship with cultural heritage in their creations.

Materials: Selection of leftover textile waste and other non-conventional materials from various Center Rog labs.

CHALLENGE 4: AI MEETS TRADITIONAL CRAFTS IN A 2045 HOME

Mentors: Jovana Zhang (Serbia, China) and Lei ZHANG (China), product designers

Challenge description: Use artificial intelligence tools to learn three traditional crafts (textile, wood, and glass) and design a scene in a home for the year 2045. Note that this scenario is not science fiction but rather a vision of a lifestyle that returns to the essence of human and nature. Your design should adhere to three key principles: technology for social good, cultural inheritance, and environmental sustainability.

People born after 2023, known as the beta generation, are the first to grow up with artificial intelligence as a ubiquitous part of their lives. By 2045, this generation will confront the world we have shaped today. In this future, traditional craftsmanship will persist alongside ubiquitous AI.

Traditional crafts carry cultural significance, preserving national aesthetics and fostering a connection between humans and nature. While these crafts will continue to be valuable, they will also face new challenges from advancing technology. Just as the industrial revolution transformed traditional crafts, we are on the brink of unprecedented technological changes. The future of traditional handicrafts in the next twenty years remains uncertain, and exploring this uncertainty is a thrilling challenge for designers.

Challenge objectives: Design a home space that includes a living room, bedroom, terrace, or garden. Focus on designing the furniture and materials used in these spaces. The primary structure of the building does not need to be detailed; it can be a simple framework.

Materials: fabric, wood, metal, 3D print material.

CHALLENGE 5: BLENDING TRADITION AND INNOVATION IN WOOD DESIGN

Mentor: Rok KUHAR, industrial designer (Slovenia)

Challenge description: Due to its properties and symbolism, wood has been a fundamental material in the development of civilizations, serving as a bearer of memory and cultural knowledge. While not the most durable material, its range of mechanical properties and universal availability has historically made it a preferred choice for creativity. Modern technologies and new materials, however, are diminishing wood’s prominence, making it a symbol of the past.

In the digital age, can wood still be considered the material of choice for its noble touch, smell, and warmth? Can we use the experiences of our ancestors, forgotten processing techniques, and traditional methods of decorating wooden surfaces to reinvigorate the role of wood in contemporary design?

Explore whether new technologies can help revive and apply these traditional techniques to contemporary design solutions.

Challenge objectives: Explore historical techniques used by ancestors for using, processing, joining, decorating, and protecting wood. Based on this knowledge, design a modern wooden object for everyday use or a small piece of furniture.

Material: wood