NEB Prizes 2021: All Applications

The project addresses the issue of social and spatial exclusion of large housing estates and their place in the ecological transition. We ask how can the circular economy help disadvantaged communities? Our strategy foresees the insertion of a parallel local economy based on a system of exchange as a springboard to their integration into urban dynamics. The project redevelops excess spaces of an urban derelict, enhances its community dimension and aims at an inclusive "zero waste" model.

Nice-Tech is a community game that allows people from any kind of community to gather, explore, discuss and challenge the state of contemporary technologies, fostering informed choices and a change of lifestyle.
It is also the starting point of a much bigger project: a simple platform open to co-design and customization, but also the foundation for a network of groups working in parallel, finding financial support and making the real effects of their actions visible.

Today, in the textile sector most of the processes are mechanized and traditional artisanship are being lost. The quality of the materials available on the market are often harmful to the environment and health or made with forms of exploitation during the work. This project, through a capsule collection, wants to show an alternative way by giving the possibility to women and men who are in prison to work, have a ransom and make beautiful capes.

Baldufa light is a unique and original mood lamp shaped like a spinning top and made of natural wood. It is not designed to be used as a spinning top although it can be used as such. It’s subtle and elegant shape inspires still movement on a table of home, restaurant or terrace. Baldufa directs most of its beam of light at an angle downwards so it works perfectly as an ambient lamp bathing the table, the shelf or stand on which it is located.

Through the regeneration of the Venetian Lagoon brackish marshlands, the landscape project "The Agency of Barene'' seeks to mitigate the threats of relative sea-level rise by providing a nature-based flood defence, restore an endangered ecosystem, invest in alternative slow-tourisms and enrich local economic vibrancy. Simultaneously, it enriches and enhances the cultural image of the lagoon: the diffuse sense of horizontality, reflection and visibility conveyed by the unceasing surface of water.

The project explores a designer's relationship to the "do it yourself" phenomenon. It shows that self-made production does not have to be perceived only as a low-cost, alternative, and unaesthetic solution - on the contrary, it highlights its benefits for both individuals and society. In addition to environmental aspects (such as reduction of transport, packaging, and commercial overproduction), it brings the human approach to products and makes their users understand and appreciate hidden ideas

Living in a city does not always mean experiencing wilderness but the opposite. In my project I am trying to re-connect new urban development with already existing green areas in abandoned railway yard in Milan. I am keeping these green areas as they are and support them to grow even more by proposing a new green network. Moreover I am designing new living options in close proximity to these biodiversity corridors that work in accordance and not against.

Habitat 76 employees have recently moved into a new head office, a sort of “bubble” in the city which offers exemplary quality of life at work. It was designed with employee input while promoting collaborative innovation and respecting social housing values. The spaces have exceptional lighting and a view of the city, alternating between coworking spaces and spaces for individual reflection. Environmentally friendly, the building complies with PassivHaus label requierements.

Movement is freedom. A multifunctional accessory for movement to promote personal development, regardless of the conditions available. Specially adapted for both gyms and home environments and offices, so that people can improve their health and well-being.

RIBALTIAMOCI (Let's overturn) is the manifesto of the project:

To overturn a system that proposes "top-down" solutions and actively include citizens in decisions concerning the transformation of places in one's community. The project does this by creating synergies and collaborative networks between public administration, associations and citizens in the belief that we must overcome a static vision of their respective roles and foster practices of greater sharing and co-responsibility.