seat made of biocement wins german design council's best of best award for one&twenty

the ‘best of best’ winner of competition ‘one&twenty’

A seating furniture made entirely out of self-produced biocement is the Best of Best winner of German Design Council‘s young talent competition, ‘one&twenty‘. Among the 545 submissions by design students and graduates, a 12-member expert jury chose ‘The Essence of Biocement’ to be awarded with the most acclaimed title out of the 21 participants. Julia Huhnholz and Friedrich Gerlach from Germany created the raw material made of bacterium, urea and calcium chloride after many experiments, 3D-printing, and custom-made molds.

international competition ‘one&twenty’ is organized by the German Design Council | image © Trend Nomad

all images courtesy of the German Design Council

the Essence of Biocement by Julia Huhnholz and Friedrich Gerlach

Since 2017, every year, the German Design Council awards the international newcomer prize ‘one&twenty‘ in Milan, previously known as ‘ein&zwanzig,’ for outstanding designs by young designers. Among the 545 submissions by students and graduates, a renowned jury awards the 21 best product and project ideas. One of the projects also receives the special accolade of ‘Best of Best’ – marking ‘The Essence of Biocement’ by Julia Huhnholz and Friedrich Gerlach from Germany the winner of the 2023 edition.

Julia Huhnholz and Friedrich Gerlach from Germany had no prior experience in microbiology before developing their project

As part of their studies at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, the award winners were looking for more climate-neutral manufacturing processes for their product designs. The piece of furniture expresses an impressive design language that exemplifies how forward-thinking ideas can increasingly emerge from the research impulses of young designers. Julia Huhnholz and Friedrich Gerlach focused on biocement, without any prior experience in microbiology. Following months of complex machinery development and multiple production experimentations the students achieved the creation of the material.

The curved contours of their furniture through custom-made molds, which they produced using 3D printing – the biocement mixture hardens in these molds. ‘Our goal was to make this material tangible and understandable through our object,’ said the duo. Unlike traditional cement, this ecological version does not need to be burned and emits less CO2, as it is produced using bacteria that break down urea and produce calcium carbonate. A raw material such as sand mixed with calcium chloride hardens without burning through this process. Moreover, instead of using sand, the designers recycled bricks that were no longer needed on their university campus.

‘More and more companies have to follow the call for resource-efficient material alternatives and rethink their production processes. That is why the impulses of young designers are also relevant and groundbreaking for the furnishing industry,’ exclaims Lutz Dietzold, CEO of the German Design Council.

winners Julia Huhnholz and Friedrich Gerlach with Lutz Dietzold, CEO of the German Design Council | image © Daniel Banner