Inspired by Nature
Design on base of organic waste
GRID 4 – Magazine for Design
May 2013
publisher
Detail (Munich)

Whether mussels, coffee granules, soya beans, flour or vinegar – designers are increasing looking to ingredients usually found in the kitchen in their search for new materials. And in doing so they are bringing our dream of a world made of biodegradable products that don’t leave piles of trash in their wake that little bit closer.
Two particularly fascinating examples were recently honored as part of the Adream ideas’ competition in Weimer, which focuses on sustainability in design and architecture. As the name suggests, Animal Coffin is a compostable burial case for animals that is made of a mix of starch, flour, cardboard, coffee grounds, vinegar and sufficiently stable hair. An additional feature that proves rather pleasant given the products somewhat morbid purpose: The designers have placed seeds into the lid such that it also gives new life in the form of a plant or tree as the coffin decomposes.
First prize in the competition was awarded to the Encafé design by designer Sanam Viseux. His flower pots are predominantly made using coffee grounds, which are held in shape using natural wax. As the pot begins to decompose in the soil, the coffee powder releases nutrients such as phosphorous, nitrogen and calcium into the soil, protecting the plant’s roots from attack by nematodes.
image: Animal Coffin (source: Louise Knoppert, Flore de Maillard, Amanda Österlin La Mont, Christian Frank Müller)
Floral foam made from cut flowers
23 April 2023
Thai designer Irene Purasachit uses discarded cut flowers to make eco-friendly…
Ultraleggera – Lightest chair in the world
20 August 2021
The Ultraleggera 1.660 is the lightest chair in the world. Oskar Zięta designed…
MotorSkins morphing textiles
19 April 2022
Berlin based start-up MotorSkins designs and produces textiles with embedded…
3D Pioneers Challenge 2022
15 December 2021
The 3D Pioneers Challenge 2022 adresses tech pioneers who pave the way for…
IGNIS – Light from waste heat energy
12 August 2020
The availability of affordable, independent and, above all, clean electrical…
Brake disc with reduced fine dust
21 April 2021
Fine dust endangers our health. One of the main sources is traffic, especially…
BladeBUG maintenance robot
26 January 2021
The British company BladeBUG has developed a six-legged robot over the past few…
Invisible Terracotta Solar Rooftile
10 May 2023
The family-run business Dyaqua has developed a technology to integrate a…
Xarvio – Digital Farming
8 January 2021
BASF Digital Farming GmbH has received the renowned Crop Science Award for the…