Budapest, Hungary – March 26, 2025 – The “This is Bioeconomy!” International Design Award officially ended on March 26th with the Award Ceremony taking place in Budapest, Hungary. The event brought together designers, innovators, and leaders in sustainability to celebrate the winners of the Engage4BIO competition, which recognizes groundbreaking design solutions aimed at advancing bioeconomy practices.
The Award was established to highlight how creativity can play a pivotal role in accelerating the transition toward a more sustainable and circular bioeconomy. By encouraging innovative designs that incorporate renewable biological resources, sustainable production methods, and waste reduction, the Engage4BIO Design Award seeked to inspire a new wave of conscious design processes.
Throughout the event, the shortlisted applications were recognized for their creativity, sustainability, and forward-thinking approach to bioeconomy challenges. These designs were selected not only for their potential to reduce environmental impact but also for their creativity and .
Award Ceremony Highlights
Held at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME Budapest), the Award Ceremony featured an insightful speech by the MOME Team, reflecting upon the objectives and results achieved. Moreover, Engage4BIO Coordinators expressed their gratitude over the participants’ enthusiasm in sharing their ideas and projects. The attendees had the opportunity to visit the exhibition showcasing the 15 shortlisted entries: each chosen entry was shown on 2 hanging panels, presenting its concept, the person or team that developed it, and relevant pictures. During the Award, a video displaying images of nature and bio-inspired designed was projected on the panels.
The Award Ceremony served as a platform for networking and collaboration, bringing together like-minded professionals and creatives who are dedicated to advancing the bioeconomy.
Each shortlisted application was recognized with a certificate of appreciation and 150 euros prizes, highlighting the innovative contributions of all participants and reinforcing the importance of design in advancing the bioeconomy, while the runner-up and overall winners were awarded the certificates and respectively the 1000 and 2000 euros prizes .
Winners of the Engage4BIO “This is Bioeconomy!” International Design Award
Among the innovative and forward thinking applications, the selected winners were:
Overall Winner 🏆: VillaInno Project by the Felted Futures Team!
“This project is developed by a multicultural group of women researchers, designers, and architects aiming to bridge traditional craftsmanship, experimental architectural practice, and academic research in the fields of bio-materials and fiber-based design. The initiative seeks to create solutions aligned with circular economy principles, support rural economies, and address challenges specific to Arctic environments.
The research focuses on the co-design process of a wool-felted shelter that integrates Indigenous knowledge with contemporary design principles. It explores the combination of traditional horse-felting techniques with modern adaptations. Designers, architects and researchers from the University of Lapland shared know-how in the fields of architecture, textile design, bio and sustainable materials, cultural significance and Indigenous knowledge.
Wool, as a locally sourced and underutilized material, presents potential for architectural applications and materials for construction. By repurposing discarded, unprocessed wool, the project addresses local farming challenges, promotes sustainable and environmentally friendly methods, and revitalizes ancestral craft techniques rooted in Indigenous traditions.
Currently in progress, the project aims to demonstrate how culturally embedded craft practices can inform contemporary architectural solutions, fostering sustainability, resilience, and cultural significance in design.”
Pictures credit: VillaInno Project, Felted Future Team.
Runner-Up🎖: LeväLinna Project by Jordan Danae Dornak, Karen Charlot-Wauquier, and Yuki Yamamoto!
“LeväLinna, meaning Algae Castle in Finnish language, is a regenerative algae-based composite material that transforms an environmental challenge into an opportunity for sustainable construction.
LeväLinna Composites are made from Cladophora Glomerata, calcium carbonate, and sodium alginate, and are capable of being recycled through a process involving mechanical grinding and the addition of microfibrillar cellulose. The production process is remarkably energy-efficient, requiring only basic steps of rinsing algae, mixing ingredients, and molding. At this stage, LeväLinna Composites are visualized through Baltic Ornaments or Tiles, showcasing the material’s current capacity for scale and detail. These designs reflect a shared pattern found across Baltic nations, though known by different names. Much like the Baltic algae, an invisible yet common presence, the region’s national identity and design heritage are also interconnected.
The LeväLinna approach represents a crucial step toward decarbonizing the construction sector and transitioning from an extraction-based economy to a circular, regenerative model. Through responsible harvesting and cultivation practices, LeväLinna facilitates a sustainable algae management system that supports regional marine biodiversity while providing local eco-friendly composite materials for future construction needs.”
Picture credit: LeväLinna Project, Jordan Danae Dornak, Karen Charlot-Wauquier, and Yuki Yamamoto.
The other shortlisted applications were:
- Adonis Evangelista, Biodegradable Vases.
- Christopher William Bellamy, Marama Ora.
- Fuzzy Earth, My Own Inner Trilobite.
- Gabriella Maczák, Corn Husk – Sustainable Paper from Agricultural By-products.
- Jeremy Leung, TAD– Ternary Amplitude Diffusion .
- Jessica Dias and Annah-Ololade Sangosanya ,Pure Hyphae.
- Leja Rebolj, Pomter.
- Mattia Anderle, 3D printing with BIOPASTE/waste to biodegradaple material.
- Nóra Gulya, Sustastic Effects project.
- Panna Jójárt, Green Cradle Project.
- Perla Armaly-Bathish and Yuval Berger, Cyanobacteria project.
- Samire Gurgurovci, Myco-bricks project.
- Satu Paavonsalo, Valentin Schwarz, Dr. Ziba Fathi, and Jenni Roivas, Bubbles with Benefits.
Conclusion
The “This is Bioeconomy!” International Design Award was a great success, and the Engage4BIO Team was inspired by all the submissions received, that upholded the core concepts of creativity, innovation, and sustainability.
The Ceremony in Budapest marked a successful milestone for our efforts to highlight the transformative power of design in sustainability, and to engage local and international stakeholders in raising awareness on the importance of strengthening bioeconomy practices to answer climate and environment challenges.
We want to thank all the applicants and the participants to the ceremony for making it a special moment to reflect on the future of design and its link to circular bioeconomy. Keep following us to stay updated on our project’s results in the upcoming months!
Pictures from the event:
