The school told design publication dezeen, which cosponsors the projects, that the projects are the culmination of University of Ljubljana’s Industrial Design course. The goal is to “educate responsible, critical and future-oriented designers capable of addressing the complexities of contemporary life through sustainable, research-driven design.”
What Remains? A Material Inquiry into Burial Practices, is easily the most attention-grabbing of the projects. Submitted by Jaka Kordiš, Matic Lesjak and Črt Štrubelj, What Remains? is a “speculative and material design project that reimagines burial. “Instead of using urns made from extractive materials, it asks: what if we allowed the body itself to return as material? The project proposes using resources from the deceased – specifically blood and hair – to create a biodegradable urn,” according to dezeen. To make the material, blood and hair undergo coagulation, dehydration, and compression to make the “plastic-like” and biodegradable composite.
Seapack, by Umihana Dizdarevič, Marko Gorenak, Anja Tudjan and Nina Vranješ, uses washed-up seagrass as packaging alternative to Styrofoam and plastic. “Every year, the EU produces 84 million tons of polystyrene, much of which ends up polluting our oceans,” the group writes. “At the same time, up to 18 meters-cubed of seagrass is collected daily from Slovenian beaches alone – most of it incinerated, wasting a potentially valuable resource.”
Finally, Wildleaf – Wooden Action Toys by Mark Majcen and Ognjen Todorović, “explore[s] playful ways” to reconnect children with the natural world. “The Wildleaf collection features four wooden figures inspired by forest life – mushrooms, insects and animals – designed to bring nature closer to children through imaginative play,” dezzen writes. “Each figure is composed of ball-joint modules, allowing children to assemble and pose them in various ways. Crafted from beech wood, the toys are durable, easy to produce and safe for children.”