Four teams of RCA students and alumni have been chosen as the winners of the inaugural Terra Carta Design Lab – with their work showcased in a new exhibition at the RCA’s Dyson Gallery.
Marking International Design Day, the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) and the Royal College of Art (RCA) are delighted to announce the winners of the Terra Carta Design Lab.
Out of 125 original submissions, four teams of RCA students and alumni have been selected as the winners of the initiative conceived by the RCA’s Royal Visitor HRH The Prince of Wales and RCA Chancellor, Sir Jony Ive – which invited some of the world’s most talented design students to create high-impact, low-cost solutions to urgent environmental challenges.
Selected by the Terra Carta Design Lab Grand Jury – comprising of HRH The Prince of Wales, Sir Jony Ive, Dr Paul Thompson (Vice-Chancellor of the RCA), and representatives of the Terra Carta Design Lab partners Octopus Energy, The Climate Pledge and Bank of America – the winners will be awarded £50,000 to help further develop their ideas.
In addition to funding, the winning teams will also receive mentoring from Sir Jony Ive, Founder of the creative collective LoveFrom and former Chief Design Officer at Apple, as well as members of the Sustainable Markets Initiative global network.
The winning projects also feature in the Terra Carta Design Lab Exhibition which runs from 28 April to 12 May in the RCA’s Dyson Gallery. The exhibition brings together work by the 20 finalists who were shortlisted in February 2022, exploring their different projects through the themes of ‘Matter’, 'Care for Ourselves & Our Planet' and 'Energy'.
The Terra Carta Design Lab winners are:
Aerseeds
Aerodynamic nutrient and seed pods made from food waste, that work with nature to accelerate regeneration up to 10 times. Mimicking natural processes, Aerseeds are carried by the wind to cover large areas and reach difficult terrains where they deliver nutrients and seeds to soils depleted by human activity, for ecological restoration and reforestation.
“It's been our dream to make Aerseeds a reality, getting a chance to do it with Terra Carta Design Lab is an invaluable opportunity. We hope Aerseeds will inspire people to bring nature into the centre of the discussion, and to work with nature's forces to find simpler solutions to climate change.”
Aerseeds
AMPHITEX by AMPHIBIO
Current performance outdoor textiles are impossible to recycle and use many harmful chemicals. AMPHITEX is the first 100% recyclable and chemical-free outdoor performance textile. It will be made from a combination of recycled and plant-based feedstock, resulting in a world-first carbon negative performance textile.
“For the AMPHIBIO LTD team which developed AMPHITEX, winning the Terra Carta Design Lab allows us to kick-start the recycling pilot with our partners and fully complete our circular material and textile value proposition. Part of the prize will also be used to develop bio-based feedstock that can be integrated with our current raw material without compromising the recyclability, with the goal to reach carbon neutral or even carbon negative with our outdoor performance textile.”
CEO and Founder, AMPHIBIO
The Tyre Collective
Tyre wear is the second largest microplastic pollutant in our environment. The Tyre Collective are developing the first patent-pending device to capture tyre wear at the wheel, accelerating the shift to zero-emission mobility. As well as spearheading the capture and monitoring of tyre wear, the team are exploring upcycling it into various applications, creating a circular system.
“We are very honoured to win the Terra Carta Design Lab and are excited to get started! It’s not enough to capture pollution, there needs to be a method to manage this waste. Terra Carta allows us to explore the potential applications of captured tyre wear.”
The Tyre Collective
ZELP
1.6 billion cattle, each exhaling 400 litres of methane per day, are one of the single leading causes of global warming. ZELP (Zero Emissions Livestock Project) has designed a wearable device for cattle to neutralise methane emissions in real time.
“Winning the Terra Carta Design Lab is a huge honour for ZELP. This is the perfect platform to accelerate a climate solution with a strong design element, and we are eager to continue optimising our technology with the endorsement and the support of the Terra Carta. To deliver substantial emissions reductions globally, addressing the largest source of methane emissions is key – and we remain as motivated as ever to scale our solution and play a part in the decarbonisation of the agricultural sector.”
ZELP
Alongside the winners, two further projects were voted highly commendable by the Terra Carta Design Lab Grand Jury and will receive £10,000 in funding to help develop their ideas, as well as mentoring from InnovationRCA, the RCA’s centre for entrepreneurship and business support.
The two highly commended projects are:
OR:BITAL BLOOM
A data-driven artwork which ‘blooms’ in response to corporate and organisational adherence to sustainability targets and carbon emission reductions, OR:BITAL BLOOM recycles data into responsive and emotionally engaging artworks.
Shellworks
Shellworks is creating a plastic free future by working with bacteria to produce materials that are truly compostable, aesthetic, performant and cost competitive. The team is currently focused on delivering sustainable packaging solutions to the beauty and personal care industry where there are few alternatives to plastic.
To mark the news that the Terra Carta Design Lab will return in 2022/23, a short film charting the first year of the initiative has also been released. Featuring interviews with the winners alongside HRH The Prince of Wales, Sir Jony Ive and the initiative partners, the film serves as inspiration for future designers and is available to view on RE:TV – a showcase for inspiring innovations and ideas that point the way towards a sustainable future, curated by editor-in-chief, HRH The Prince of Wales.
