This year’s Terra Carta Design Lab has taken its search to a global stage, partnering with the RCA and three other design universities – Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (UAE); National Institute of Design Ahmedabad (India); and Rhode Island School of Design (USA) – and invites current students and recent alumni to develop high-impact solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis.
A range of applications from each of these prestigious global design universities has been evaluated by experts from within each institution.
The Royal College of Art’s shortlisted finalists showcase a wide breadth of innovations and solutions to help address climate change and biodiversity loss and explore themes of regenerating nature, reducing waste, engaging communities, and mitigating climate change impacts.
The ten finalists from the Royal College of Art are:
1. Aquafade Tackling e-waste with a soluble-on-demand polymer composite which deteriorates in warm water overnight, revolutionising recycling by eliminating costly separation.
2. Biofonic Accelerating sustainable agriculture with sonic soil intelligence.
3. BlueNose Developing solutions to improve the aerodynamics of merchant navy vessels, particularly container ships, in order to reduce their fuel consumption by up to 5%.
4. DeepDive XR A collective creating interactive, immersive, gamified and inclusive XR experiences to tackle urgent climate issues.
5. Nigh Creating large-scale immersive experiences to raise funds and awareness for the protection of our planet.
6. Ponda A biomaterials company developing novel textiles from truly regenerative fibres.
7. PulpaTronics Recyclable RFID tags for affordable and sustainable inventory management solutions.
8. Pyri An innovative, low-cost wildfire detection system designed with remote, unprepared, and vulnerable communities in mind.
9. SEAGRAFT Aimed at restoring seagrass beds in coastal waters, Seagraft provides a highly efficient planting method for seagrass seeds and rhizomes, suitable for mud and sand seabeds.
10. Vox Aeris A retrofittable device using acoustic agglomeration technology to drastically reduce the inefficiencies associated with traditional air filtration methods.
Eight overall winners (two from each university) will be announced this autumn and will receive funding and mentorship to further develop their innovations, enabling them to be scaled and taken to market.
Sir Jony Ive, Chancellor of the Royal College of Art and Terra Carta Design Lab Global Judge, said: “I am thrilled that the Terra Carta Design Lab has gathered momentum this year to include four international design schools. The lab elevates the rigorous and imaginative ideas from all these students, and demonstrates the power and importance of multidisciplinary design and collaboration in meeting global challenges.”