*Final presentation excerpt*

All layouts below copyright Lian Van Leeuwen.

The challenge was clear: make cycling, cyclical. Here are some more excerpts from Lian's project.  

*Final presentation excerpt* 

All content copyright Nelson English.

An avid fly-fisherman, Nelson chose to tackle a challenge that he knows well: "Within Colorado’s freshwater ecosystems, toxic and chemical-ridden fluorocarbon and monofilament tippet material is incorrectly discarded via fishers snagging or cutting their line every day. As a group of individuals that largely cherish the natural world, an alternative tippet material solution is needed to reduce the impact on these ecosystems and the organisms that rely on them."

Nelson explored biological inspiration across a number of organisms, based on the function and performance metrics they achieved.  

For his prototype, Nelson calculated a possible method by which an alternative material for tippet line might be created. He is currently investigating this further. 

*Final presentation excerpt* 

All images and research copyright Carlos Alves. 

As a packaging designer, Carlos dived into working on a challenge that he feels strongly about solving: “Local artisan ice cream brands frequently use single-use, non-recyclable packaging for their to-go products. To reduce environmental impact and promote circular economies, these brands need to implement an optimized, sustainable, recyclable, and reusable packaging solution.”

His research was based around the primary function of thermoregulation (i.e. insulation), but achieving this using life-friendly chemistry. He investigated a number of different biological models, from pomelo's to coconuts and, of course, mycelium.

For his Creating Phase, Carlos first drew up a number of different sketches which he then translated into renders that show how these new materials might be assembled. This project was a combination of form and process emulation – shape and chemistry. 

Carlos will be further prototyping this design, followed by presenting and pitching it to a local independent ice-cream company.