Final year BA (Hons) Product and Furniture Design student, Dominik Bondicov, recently won the Creative Conscience Environmental Design award at this year’s New Designers awards ceremony.
The brief called for designers to create a project that will improve the environment for the better, and Dominik’s entry, The Green Reset Project, was judged to fill the bill perfectly.
The Green Reset Project aims to bring a new approach to emissions reduction by capturing carbon at the source using moss, a natural non-disruptive carbon storage plant. The project is a product line and service that helps urban areas to reduce their greenhouse emissions while monitoring air quality.
As Dominik explains: “My designs are a part of a closed-loop system that captures and stores carbon while creating multiple streams of value. The capture system uses public infrastructure since it is the nearest to the source of carbon pollution, that is why I have decided to utilise the street light infrastructure as it is the most common part of the public infrastructure on the streets.
I have also designed the ‘Urban Mountain’ that is a seating installation for public squares and parks, and a measuring station which would collect atmospheric data and upload it live to the website, mobile app, its own info panel, and info panels around the area.
The idea was to create a network of measuring stations equipped with a self-learning Artificial Intelligence that will be able to detect the source of pollution. Besides the data being distributed in a live feed, it would be also distributed as data logs to local authorities and other interest groups. All the designs utilise 3d printed outer Voronoi based meshes so the moss surface could be maximised.”
New Designers is the UK’s leading exhibition of emerging design talent, providing a unique platform to connect graduates with industry professionals, creative businesses and consumers, for creative exchange, career opportunities and collaboration.
“I am happy and grateful to win this award as it came at the end of my studies as a crown for my work and engagement. I knew this project had potential since I was the finalist with it at the Ingenuity Impact Challenge last month, but to win an award, I wasn't expecting that!”
Dominik will graduate from BCU this summer after completing his Product and Furniture Design degree. He spoke about his favourite aspects of studying at BCU and how the support of staff across Birmingham School of Architecture and Design has set him up for the next step in his career:
“My favourite thing about studying here has been the diversity of skills within the lecturers, tutors, and technicians. They are the heart and soul of this course, making sure that we have the support to achieve a successful design while guiding us through self-assessment and critical thinking so we can reiterate and improve every single time. Every time we try, they are encouraging us to push our boundaries further. It's like one big family of people doing everything with passion.
I had the chance to create what I liked with the help and support from the course members. This is a crucial thing for young designers because they have the freedom to generate their own design language. You will see so much diversity and yet we all belong to the same place.”
Dominik’s success at New Designers means he will now receive support from Creative Conscience and have the chance to network with designers and practitioners in the creative industry. They will provide advice to assist with the development of Dominik’s design career and aim to help make his project a reality.
Considering life after graduation, Dominik commented: “I really don't have a clue where will life take me. I know that I will try to bring the Green Reset Project to life, that is my main goal for now. I have two other side projects that are in the works right now: one is around solving crypto-mining sustainability issues and one will stay a secret for now! In the meantime, I will enjoy this reward and get some rest as it has been really intense academic year.”
All at Birmingham School of Architecture and Design offer their congratulations to Dominik on his award and look forward to seeing what he achieves in his future career!
