The Winners of the Best Collaboration Awards were revealed at the Biennial of Design
Among the exhibited projects created within the Biennial of Design, the BIO 50 jury, comprised of industrial designer Konstantin Grcic, design critic Alice Rawsthorn and designer and professor Saša J. Mächtig, selected four award-winners.
The BIO 50 Best Collaboration Award was given to projects by Nanotourism group led by mentors Tina Gregorič and Aljoša Dekleva. The Hounourable Mentions were received by the groups Designing Life, Engine Blocks and Fashion System.
As the special gift of BIO main PR partner v2com, the international newswire specialising in the distribution of design, architecture and lifestyle press kits, gladly offered a gift certificate for a press kit distribution to the winners of the Best Collaboration Award.
JURY REPORT
BIO 50 Jury:
Saša J. Maechtig, president; Alice Rawsthorn; Konstantin Grcic
Jury statement:
We were tremendously impressed by the quality, dynamism and originality of the projects in BIO 50, especially as they address so many important and contentious issues facing contemporary design. In an intensely turbulent era when we face radical, potentially destructive changes on so many fronts, BIO 50 plays an indispensible role in suggesting possible solutions thanks to the diligence, determination and vision of Jan Boelen and his gifted collaborators.
The Best Collaboration Award at BIO 50: Nanotourism
Nanotourism is an outstanding example of design ingenuity being used to reinvent and reinvigorate an important area of the Slovenian and other economies. The quality of the individual projects is exceptionally high. They are original, appealing and so pragmatic that they promise to endure. From a collaborative perspective, Nanotourism is both ambitious and highly complex and has dealt with a range of local communities with sensitivity and charm, while demonstrating the ever more eclectic nature of design and its potential to improve the quality of everyday life.
Team mentors: Aljoša Dekleva and Tina Gregorič
Partner: Architectural Association (AA), School of Architecture, Visiting school
Team members: Barbara Nawrocka, Dominika Wilczyńska, Žiga Rošer, Silvia Susanna, Living Courtyards Initiative/ Association House (Katja Beck Kos, Nadja Dodlek, Maša Kresnik, Samo Lorber, Kaja Pogačar, Maja Pegan, Niko Poljanšek, Tajša Perović, Robert Veselko), Maja Jenko, Oaza (Nina Bačun, Ivana Borovnjak, Roberta Bratović, Tina Ivezić, Maja Kolar, Ana-Marija Poljanec), Marjeta Fendre, Alessandro Fonte, Blaž Šef
Honourable mention: Designing Life
An increasingly important aspect of design is reinterpreting its relationship to science, which Designing Life interprets in an unusually witty, provocative and polemical way.
Team mentors: Jurij Krpan, William Myers
Partner: Kapelica Gallery
Team members: Dimitrios Stamatis, David Benque, Špela Petrič, Pei-Ying Lin, Jasmina Weiss
Honourable mention: Engine Blocks
A simple idea, playfully executed, Engine Blocks makes an intriguing contribution to the emerging culture community of D.I.Y. makers and fixers.
Team mentors: Gaspard Tiné-Berès and Tristan Kopp
Partner: Tomos, d. o. o.
Team members: Antoine Monnet, Ricardo Carneiro.
Honourable mention: Fashion System
At a time of growing interest in folkloric and craft traditions, Fashion System is an intelligent and engaging approach to raising awareness of a neglected Slovenian resource.
Team mentors: Tina Hočevar, Eugenia Morpurgo, Evan Frenkel
Partners: Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana; Nataša Peršuh, SQUAT
Team members: Tanja Pađan, Elena Fajt, Clara Vankerschaver, Nina Mlakar, Linda Ogrizek, Martina Obid, Tijana Todorovič, Tjaša Avsec, Nataša Kovač and Katarina Dovč, Olivia de Gouveia, Nika Ravnik, pH15 (Lucija Jankovec, Nika Batista, Katja Grčman, Maruša Kranjc, Karmen Sedeljšak, Ana Jazbec, Elena Fajt)