Press Release
Industrial Design College of LAFA Is Honored with the A' Design Award for Luf Seedling Trays in Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design
Industrial Design College of LAFA acknowledged for sustainable products, projects and green design by the international grand jury of the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 20, 2023 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the A' Design Award in the Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design category for Luf Seedling Trays by Industrial Design College of LAFA, designed for LuXun Academy of Fine Arts. The recognition forms part of the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the A' Design Award
The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.
More About Luf Seedling Trays
Luf is a seedling tray made from loofah fiber. Luf replaces plastic trays with a biodegradable material formed from crushed loofah, a bio-based adhesive and a curing agent, which are heated and pressed in a mould. The trays stack together, so one person can carry more than five trays at a time. Each tray is divided into three independent parts and can be cut along marked lines. After the seedlings mature, the tray is planted into the soil, where it breaks down into nutrients. Loofah seeds can be collected and used for further cultivation.
About Industrial Design College of LAFA
Curriculum vitae Wenkai Xue, the director of National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center of Industrial Design in LAFA, a member of the China Artists Association, employed as a professor, vice-president and postgraduate tutor in The School of Industrial Design in LuXun Academy of Fine Arts, who has published a plenty of design works, papers, treatise, achievements and projects, now is working in the industrial design teaching research and design practice. Main works Design of Concept Voice Box has won the Golden Awards of the 1st LiaoNing Provence Arts and Designs. Public facility Series Design has nominated in The Concept Exhibition of Environment Facilities in Beijing Olympic Park.
Award Record
With this recognition, Industrial Design College of LAFA is a winner of 10 A' Design Awards. The awards were granted between the 2016 - 2017 and the 2022 - 2023 editions of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design Award
The A' Sustainable Product Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good sustainable products by leading designers and brands worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to sustainable product designers, green product manufacturers, eco-friendly product brands and industrial designers from all countries. Typical entries include sustainable projects, environment friendly designs, recycled, upcycled and bio-degradable products. The awarded sustainable product designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/sustainable-product
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/148786
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/148786
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!148786
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/169667
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Luf Seedling Trays
- Function
- Seedling Trays
- Category
- Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Sustainability
- Colors
- Gray, Burly Wood, Dark Gray, Black and Dark Slate Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- LuXun Academy of Fine Arts
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Industrial Design College of LAFA
- Country
- China
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2022 - 2023
- Design ID
- #148786
Credits
- Team
- Du Heli, Jia Zhuohang and Xue Bomu
- Image Credits
- Designer Du Heli, Jia Zhuohang and Xue Bomu, Luf, 2023
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The development model of converting plastic seedling trays "from cradle to grave" to loofah biodegradable trays "from cradle to cradle". Break the loofah and hot-press glutinous rice glue to synthesize new materials. The trays can be interspersed up and down and a single person can carry more than five trays at a time. Transplanted into the soil and degraded into nutrients. The chassis can be reused or dried for crops, and the loofah seeds can also be recycled to continue seedling cultivation.
- Inspiration
- In China's vigorous implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, the scale of agricultural production has expanded, leading to an increase in crop residues. With the advantages of high yield and degradability of loofah, it has been widely used in the field of seedling cultivation along with the "C2C" concept. Large-scale nursery bases are mechanized facilities and are not suitable for rural areas. Natural materials used in plant cultivation are finally back to nature.
- Research
- (1)Clean up the loofah fiber to remove impurities (2) Dry the loofah fiber (3) Add binder and diluent to the dried loofah fiber and stir fully to make a premix (4) Mix well The final premix is added with curing agent and then fully stirred as a preparation (5) Heat the preparation in the mold at 20°C to 0.2MPa and pre-press for 60min (6) Heat at 20°C and press at 40MPa for 10min The finished product is obtained.
- Challenge
- Applying the loofah material of agricultural waste to seedling trays, from the perspective of circular design, it is necessary to meet the functionality while conforming to the sustainable design theory, and give full play to the social, cultural and commercial values of agricultural waste in the design. New rural construction under the strategy of rural revitalization. It should be explored whether this material can be directly applied to 3D printing to make more finished products.
- Realization and Technology
- Prepare 50 parts of loofah fiber, 15 parts of bio-based green adhesive, 1 part of curing agent, and 2 parts of ethanol diluent in the weight ratio, and heat the prepared materials in the mold at 20 °C to 0.2 MPa for 60 min. The finished product has been tested for load-bearing, water seepage, stretching, and degradation. After the loofah is crushed and combined with other green raw materials, it can form a block shape, which meets the basic standards for seedling trays.
- Operation and Interaction
- Establish a closed cycle metabolic process of "production-recovery-remanufacture" of raw materials. The chassis of the whole seedling can be carried by a single person according to the weight of more than 5 trays, which are divided into three independent trays. After the plant seedlings are mature, they are transplanted into the soil, and can be cut as a whole or along the dotted line to be transplanted as independent individuals. After transplanting, they will soon decompose into the soil.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in May 2022 and finished in January 2023 in Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts.
- Specifications
- Width 800mm x Depth 490mm x Height 70mm，The size of the hole plate is 540 mm*280 mm. Vegetable seedlings generally use 50 to 288holes. The shape of the holes is round or square, generally between 0.6 and 1.2 mm.
- Keywords
- Loofah, seedling tray, transportation, rural revitalization strategy, sustainable design
