Modular Artificial Reef Structure MARS
Extensive environmental pressures have led to widespread and well-documented damage to coral reefs worldwide. 3D-printing and digital design technologies have allowed designers to create modular, site-specific habitats developed to restore these marine ecosystems. MARS is a reconfigurable reef design that creates a large surface area within a small footprint. The detailed surface pattern of the modules aids coral growth and encourages filter-feeding species such as oysters and mussels. When strategically positioned, the system reintroduces biodiversity into ecosystems damaged by coastal development and acts as a natural filtration system for waterways impacted by increased sediment deposits.

Anchor VAS Collection
Developed through ceramics studio Anchor Ceramics’ in-house research and development program, VAS is a series of ceramic vessels that represents a contemporary approach to ceramics manufacture. Embodying ethical material use, process innovation and design-led enquiry, the vessels were created using clay waste and byproducts from the studio’s production processes. Each piece demonstrates a method of making that prioritises repair, reuse and the evolution of ceramic production. Positioned as more than a functional object, VAS is a research artefact that embodies Anchor Ceramics’ ideas and investigations into sustainable ceramics practice.

Traditional Place Names Initiative
A successful community-led project, Australia Post’s Traditional Place Names Initiative was instigated by Gomeroi woman Rachael McPhail, who lobbied Australia Post to include First Nations place names in postal addresses. Her 2020 campaign garnered 14,000 signatures in support of the change and, as a result, Australia Post redesigned its parcels, envelopes and satchels to include space for traditional place names, acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of Australia’s lands and waters, and promoting the use of First Nations languages and culture.

Balena x Variable Seams 3D Printed Top
On average, Australians discard approximately twenty-three kilograms of clothing to landfill and purchase fifty-six new items of clothing per person per year. Most garments bought new are made of non-recyclable materials and many end up in landfill. Designed to disrupt this pattern of consumption, the Balena × Variable Seams 3D-printed top and pants are prototypes for modular clothing made of biomaterials. Offering a more sustainable alternative to non-recyclable textiles, these garments are fabricated from a biodegradable polymer that is flexible, durable and compostable. Reducing waste in production, the 3D-printed pattern can be custom-fitted and made to order, and comprises small parts that can be repaired or replaced to extend the life of the garment.

Oat Mylk Powder
Liquid plant milks often contain 90% water and are generally packed in Tetra Pak or waxed cardboard that can be difficult to recycle. Questioning the logic behind this system, which uses energy to principally transport water – an ingredient that is heavy and available in most locations – Barely Mylk has developed a powdered milk alternative that reduces the volume and weight of transportation by eliminating water from the product. Barely Mylk oat milk powder has a longer shelf life than pre-mixed milks and is packaged in recyclable cardboard.

Oyster Terazzo
Developed for the Pier Pavilion, a new civic building on Gadigal land on the Sydney Harbour foreshore, Oyster terrazzo reinvents concrete as weather-resistant, tied to place and composed of naturally formed materials. Made using Sydney rock oyster shells collected from local restaurants and aquaculture farms, Oyster terrazzo combines these shells with ochres, white cement and recycled marble aggregate. As the surface is honed, the shapes and colours of the shells are revealed, creating ornamentation that references Sydney Harbour’s cultural and environmental history.

Re-Formed Nature
The widespread use of concrete in new construction has significant environmental consequences. The demand for sand, a key ingredient in concrete, requires extensive mining and vast distribution networks. Re-formed nature II is a prototype for concrete that replaces sand with biochar, a by-product made from green waste and wildfire residue. This material actively absorbs and holds carbon from the atmosphere while providing a porous surface that supports moss and plant colonisation, transforming building facades into potential habitats. Using 3D-printed formwork, the prototype achieves detailed surfaces that increase texture and surface area to help facilitate plant growth.

Bolo
Petroleum-based plastics are derived from crude oil or natural gas, and the use of these synthetic polymers in single-use and reusable food and drink containers has been prevalent for decades. However, such use is now being reconsidered due to the risk of microplastics leaching into food and water as the material gradually breaks down, resulting in human ingestion and environmental pollution. Offering a bio-based alternative, Bolo containers are designed to be durable, reusable and plastic-free. Made from rice husk and organic binders, the containers offer a toxin-free option for packed meals while also creating a use for the rice husk, which would otherwise be wasted during processing of rice grain.

Wobot Chair
Upholstered furniture is typically made of foam, timber, steel and fabric, and often has a large environmental footprint. Before it leaves the factory, parts have often been imported from around the world, and the more complex the material composition, the more difficult it is to repurpose or recycle this furniture in the future. Offering an alternative to foam-based furniture, the Wobot chair is made entirely from European wool that would have otherwise been discarded as waste. Utilising a robotic tool known as a ‘Wobot’, the wool is felted without the need for water. Produced locally in the Netherlands, in close proximity to the wool source, the chair can be ‘combed out’ at the end of its use, turned back into wool roving and fed back to the Wobot for a completely circular production system.

Flax chair
The objects that surround us – the materials they are made of and how they are crafted – reflect history and embody culture. The Flax chair demonstrates how design can cultivate new production processes that continue culture and revitalise local industries. Made from a new composite material combining woven flax textile (linen) with an organic biodegradable plastic, the chair offers a novel use for flax – the fibre historically used to produce cloth linen in the Netherlands. With the majority of Dutch flax now being exported to Asia for production in large-scale textile factories, this project offers a scalable, sustainable, locally made product designed to reinvigorate local manufacturing using this historically significant crop.

Equal Crossings Project
Women are underrepresented throughout the built environment in Australia – in terms of signage, statues and public art. The Equal crossings project is a positive step towards gender equity in Australian cities. Designed to balance the disparity of representation at pedestrian traffic lights in Melbourne, this program saw crossing lights across the city updated, replacing one of the flashing signals, typically represented as male, to a figure that was more identifiably female. This simple change reduced unconscious bias and stimulated public discussion about the different individual experiences of public spaces and how they can be better designed for inclusivity.

Endless Chair
Digital design technologies including large-scale robotics have transformed how materials can be remade and repurposed. Now largely deployed in the aerospace, automotive and construction industries, this technology supports rapid prototyping, enables the production of lightweight parts, and allows complex shapes to be physically realised. Representing a pioneering exploration into the robotic machining that is now widely used in manufacturing, the Endless chair is 3D-printed using polycarbonate reclaimed from the interiors of old refrigerators. Embracing emergent technologies and new materials, this chair is emblematic of how experimental design can test and inform for the adoption of new technologies and material techniques more broadly.

Cosmos coffee table
Designed in response to the large amount of waste generated in ceramic production, Cosmos coffee table is a prototype made from an experimental clay composite made up of the ceramic waste and by-products that would otherwise be disposed of in landfill. Visible in the table’s painterly pattern, the new ceramic combines nine different clay bodies, including porcelain, terracotta and ironstone. Of hollow construction, the table is made using a press-mould technique that allows production of large-scale experimental works with structural integrity that also use the material efficiently.

Hotel Optimismo
Designed for a site in Adelaide’s CBD, Hotel optimismo is a proposed new development that shifts city buildings from sites of energy consumption and waste production to sites that support waste recycling and food and energy production. Designed and delivered by a multidisciplinary team, Hotel optimismo aims to demonstrate how construction can deliver financial returns while achieving a positive environmental impact. The building is designed to generate more energy than it uses, return clean water to the city, and transform food waste into energy and fertiliser. The building accommodates mixed-use spaces, suggesting that buildings should foster community while addressing environmental challenges.

RetroFITting
As cities face the challenges of climate change, retrofitting often offers a better alternative to demolition, transforming existing buildings into resilient, low-carbon structures. By integrating technologies such as advanced solar fibres, green facades and modular shading systems, retrofitting can improve energy efficiency while enhancing biodiversity through plantbased cooling and the creation of habitats for birds and insects. Using zero-waste knitted membranes and lightweight, UV- and fire-resistant textiles, these systems can adapt to existing structures without adding significant weight. Retrofitting demonstrates how buildings can evolve to reduce energy loads, expand urban greenery and support climate resilience, turning our built environment into an adaptive, ecologically integrated urban landscape.

Multiform
Multiform is a team sport designed to promote empathy and inclusivity – values that reflect how we hope to relate to one another both on and off the field. Developed in collaboration with Rotterdam-based schools, the game encourages players to rethink social norms through sports. Unlike typical team sports, which have historically encouraged strict competition and unwavering rules, Multiform disrupts the traditional assumptions of what it means to play as a team. Transformable uniforms constantly shift the game dynamic – each time a player’s uniform changes, so, too, does the make-up and size of their team. Multiform asks players to navigate change, shift identity, build community and practise inclusion towards all players in the game.

GOB Earplugs
When we consider the vast numbers of ‘disposable’ products that make up the contents of the world’s bathroom cabinets – dental floss, cotton tips, earplugs – we see that even small, seemingly innocuous products can contribute significantly to pollution and waste production. Rethinking the humble earplug, GOB has redesigned disposable earplugs using lab-grown mycelium, the vegetative part of fungi that typically grows underground. GOB earplugs are biodegradable, decomposing naturally within forty-five days, with the mycelium enriching the soil with nutrients as it breaks down. With the hope of replacing the estimated forty billion PVC earplugs produced globally each year, this redesign, coupled with consumer choice, has the potential to reduce or eliminate this source of pollution.

Good-Edi Edible Cup
The ubiquitous takeaway coffee cup often comprises plastic-lined cardboard that cannot be recycled. Australians alone throw away an estimated 1.8 billion disposable coffee cups each year, according to Sustainability Victoria. Made from locally sourced grains, Good-Edi edible cups are biodegradable takeaway cups that can be either eaten or composted, breaking down in less than two weeks. Maintaining its shape and integrity for up to eight hours for both hot and cold beverages, the cup is currently being used in more than 250 hospitality venues throughout Australia.

Great Wrap
Nudie roll is the world’s first compostable stretch wrap. Made from a blend of compostable biopolymers called PHAs – plastics derived from natural resources like plants or bacteria – Nudie roll breaks down in 180 days, leaving behind zero microplastics. Great mate is a refillable dispenser for Nudie roll. Made from thirty-three recycled PET bottles, Great mate is fitted with a replaceable cutting mechanism, ensuring long-term use. Its eye-catching design aims to spark conversation about sustainability in the home.

Care Interior Paint
Wall finishes cover some of the largest surface areas in the built environment and are generally considered decorative. Care interior paint presents a functional wall finish, transforming interior walls so that they actively contribute to health and wellbeing. Free from the pollutants and chemicals typically contained in house paints, Care interior paint purifies the air by breaking down harmful indoor pollutants, supporting healthier indoor environments.

Bioregional Rings
Created in collaboration with Adnyamathanha Custodian Kristian Coulthard, Bioregional rings use materials from the Flinders Ranges on Adnyamathanha Country. The project explores regenerative design processes, advocating for sustainable forestry while honouring the cultural and ecological stories of place. These rings were crafted using gathered rocks, bones, ochres and indigenous timbers, with imperfections in the digitally milled bases repaired using yakka resin – a process that draws on the cultural knowledge of Adnyamathanha people. Handmade paper was then coloured with local ochres to re-create collected rocks, allowing the originals to be returned to Country. Combining natural and reclaimed materials with guidance from Traditional Custodians, Bioregional rings seeks to represent best practice when designing with Country.

HemPanel
Hemp is a fast-growing crop that requires little water and draws pollution from the atmosphere, storing it in the soil as it grows. Through regenerative farming, hemp cultivation also restores soil health by improving its structure, increasing biodiversity and returning nutrients to depleted farmland. HemPanel is a construction system of modular wall panels made from the hemp-based material hempcrete. The panels are breathable, fire-resistant and can be safely returned to the earth after use. HemPanel the construction industry’s movement towards more ecologically sound building materials.

Hoopsy Eco Pregnancy Test
A typical pregnancy test comprises a testing strip and a plastic housing. While the testing strip is integral to the efficacy of the test, the housing is not. Each year, more than 178 million kilograms of plastic from diagnostic tests – including pregnancy, COVID, drug and STI – end up in landfill or incinerated. Offering a more sustainable alternative, Hoopsy eco pregnancy tests are 99% plastic free. Further, by removing the bulk created by the plastic housing, they are also more discreet, offering women more privacy and flexibility in at-home pregnancy testing.

When the wildlife moves in
Native animals can make for excellent neighbours – blue-banded bees pollinate our vegetable gardens; microbats eat up to 1200 mosquitoes per night; powerful owls keep rodents at bay. But could we go one step further and design our homes so that we could have native animals as housemates? Based on data analysis of more than seventy thousand wildlife reports from Wildlife Victoria, When wildlife moves in builds on the fact that in Australia we are already, sometimes unknowingly, sharing our houses with animal inhabitants. Revealing how our homes already serve as habitats in uniquely Australian ways, the project reimagines architecture as a shared ecological resource, in which thoughtful design can facilitate meaningful coexistence with native wildlife.

Futures Studio
Futures studio is a working prototype for zero-waste, closed-loop education spaces. A new building on the Woodleigh School campus on Boonwurrung Country, the project demonstrates how architecture can contribute to a productive ecosystem – harvesting water, generating energy and processing waste on site. Constructed using recycled and recyclable materials, the studio includes integrated growing systems and passive-design strategies to support students’ understanding of living systems. Designed as an invitation to students to learn from their environment and participate in sustainable practices daily, Future studio reimagines the classroom as a living, regenerative space for learning.

Microstructures, Aluminium Gradient chair, prototype
A site of research for industrial designers, architects and urban designers, biomimicry is the practice of applying lessons from nature to design objects, buildings and systems that are symbiotic with the environment. The Microstructures chair is 3D-printed from aluminium and presents a case study in how this design process, informed by natural frameworks, can result in optimisation of material use, limiting waste and maximising material efficiencies. Based on the structure of human bones, the chair is designed using an algorithm that distributes the thickness and density of the material to load points throughout the form of the chair, reducing material elsewhere to form a sophisticated load-bearing grid.

Rewild the Run
The hardscaped surfaces of urban environments make it difficult for many plants to grow spontaneously. In addition, the lack of biodiversity within our cities limits opportunities for animals and birds to contribute to natural seed dispersal. Designed to support the rewilding of cities and suburbs, Rewild the run is a design concept for running shoes that capture plant matter in their soles to disperse seeds via human movement. Composed of existing shoe uppers and 3D-printed nylon soles, Rewild the run has a functional tread pattern for comfortable running, with an additional surface texture that effectively carries and releases seeds.

SloMo
Smartphones and computers have expanded access to healthcare by facilitating remote consults with medical professionals. However, for several health conditions, care is most effective when administered immediately. SloMo is an app designed to treat paranoid thinking – an unfounded mistrust of others that can make it difficult for a person with paranoia to function socially or have close relationships. Informed by research demonstrating the role of fast thinking in fuelling paranoia, the digital therapy platform visualises paranoid thoughts as spinning bubbles that can be manually slowed down by the patient. Tailored to the needs of each patient, the app also offers guidance on techniques to feel safer. The SloMo platform represents a combined system of personalised health care – assisting with delivery of sessions with a therapist and helping patients receive immediate support through technology.

Light Phone III
For many, the idea of disconnecting – no internet, no social media, no news, no email, no way to be distracted from the task at hand – presents an avenue for being present and combatting the demands of day-to-day life. As the smartphone has become a proxy for information overload, Light phone III is designed to support communication without the peripheral functions of typical devices. Enabled with functions including calls, texts, alarm, camera, calendar, directions/maps and wi-fi hotspotting, Light phone III makes a limited breadth of entertainment (music and podcasts) optional – allowing those who want to switch off access to their most used digital tools and apps.

Blue Carbon Straw
While plastic straws are being phased out in Victoria, Australians still use approximately ten million single-use straws daily, contributing 3.5 billion of them a year to landfill, oceans and waterways. The lifespan of a discarded plastic straw is approximately six hundred years, and, as a straw breaks down, it pollutes the environment as debris and microplastic. This volume of plastic-straw waste is magnified around the world, and designers have developed more sustainable alternatives. The Blue carbon straw is a seaweed-derived resin straw that is compostable and biodegradable in marine environments without becoming a pollutant. The use of seaweed in this high-volume product is additionally valuable, as seaweed farming sequesters carbon while also providing habitats for marine life and improving water quality.

Lettuce Eat
The convenience of single-use tableware and cutlery means that in many instances they are still used in place of reusable products. Developed as a sustainable alternative to single-use plastic, paper or bio-plastic products, Lettuce eat plates, made entirely from lettuce scraps, are designed to reduce landfillbound food waste and deforestation driven by paper manufacturing. The waste generated annually by major supermarkets in Australia could be manufactured into more than 1 million Lettuce eat plates. Transforming this readily available waste product into a useable material, Lettuce eat plates are locally sourced, biodegradable and compostable option for single-use tableware.

Banksia Chair
Banksia trees, endemic to Western Australia, produce large dense seed pods that fall from the plant after opening. Devised as an alternative to logged native timbers, which have recently been banned in WA, the Banksia chair suggests how the banksia pod may be used in furniture production. The chair is made from individual banksia pods that have been lathe-turned and joined together, demonstrating the strength and potential application of this completely renewable material.

Revision 1 and 2
Glass is often discarded as waste even though it holds potential for reuse in the built environment. Sculptor and glass artist Matthew Curtis works with glass building waste and glass from old television screens to produce new architectural components, diverting material from landfill while providing a new, bespoke way of using recycled glass in architecture. Using solar-powered kilns, the glass is cleaned, separated for compatibility and heated before being cast or pressed into custom moulds. Produced with the support of Canberra Glassworks, the resulting glass blocks reinterpret the ubiquitous glass brick, designed to produce a play of light through each block.

Teen Period Kit
The variety of menstruation products available to women has grown over the last fifteen years to include pads, tampons, liners, menstrual cups and period pants, with an expanding interest in organic and reusable products. Modibodi’s period kits use design to reduce the cultural taboos or social anxiety that can still exist around menstruation, particularly for girls and women experiencing their first menstrual cycles. This positive and user-focused approach to women’s health offers a tool for parents and carers to support girls and women through this time in a way that is sensitive and empowering.

Nullarbor™ Top Designed by Lee Mathews
Many common textiles, including rayon, viscose and tencel, are made of cellulose, derived from wood pulp. This fabric, which is affordable and used globally for lightweight clothing, is linked to deforestation and requires a chemical-heavy manufacturing process. Nullarbor is an Australian innovation that uses microbial cellulose created in a controlled environment through the fermentation of liquid waste from the coconut industry – establishing a tree-free, cellulose-based thread alternative that can be integrated into existing textiles manufacturing processes. As with many of the new materials designed to disrupt existing supply chains, the adoption of the product relies on its ability to either match or outperform existing products while feeding into existing manufacturing technologies and processes.

Coffee waste for a stronger concrete
Each year, around 75,000 tonnes of coffee grounds go to landfill in Australia. At the same time, a key ingredient in concrete is sand, obtained through sand mining, which can cause significant environmental damage. The Coffee waste for a stronger concrete project rethinks both problems by using a thermal decomposition process to transform waste coffee into a carbon-rich biochar (green waste) that strengthens concrete by around 30%. This process not only diverts organic waste from landfill but also reduces the demand for mined sand in construction. Visible flecks of coffee within the concrete surface create subtle ornamentation, referencing the transformed coffee waste.

Ecosol
Solar panels can generate renewable energy but often end up in landfill when they are no longer in use. EcoSol is a benchtop material made from decommissioned solar panels, transforming waste into durable surfaces for kitchens and bathrooms. By reusing the tempered glass from solar panels, this product prevents valuable materials from being discarded, while reducing the demand for new resources. Not reliant on quarried stone and free from crystalline silica, which is now banned in Australia due to its associated health risks, EcoSol is safer for manufacturers and installers and reduces environmental harm.

Second Skin
Worn by healthcare workers in clinical settings, scrubs are designed for durability and hygiene, but their standardisation often overlooks comfort and fit, which can impact workplace wellbeing. Second skin is a custom-fitted hospital scrub, tailored using 3D scanning and made from organic cotton and SeaCell, a breathable fibre derived from sustainably harvested seaweed. Compostable at the end of its life, Second skin considers how design can care for those who care for others, and demonstrates how everyday workwear can support wellbeing and reduce environmental impact. Second skin was developed as part of the Thriving in Health project, supported by Peninsula Health and WorkSafe Victoria.

OOXii Vision Kit
There are one billion people worldwide who are vision-impaired simply because they lack access to prescription glasses. In a typical set of glasses, two lenses are custom cut to the frame, which is generally composed of three parts fixed together. This level of complexity makes the production of prescription glasses costly and highly specialised. The OOXii vision-testing wheel and glasses are designed to create better access to eyecare globally. The lightweight testing wheel and graphic-based instructions allow non-specialist health workers to conduct accurate testing in the field, while the glasses can be assembled by a non-specialist. The glasses feature an adjustable frame and pre-cut lenses, allowing them to be dispensed on-site immediately.

OM Signage Film swatches
Other Matter signage film is a patentpending, algae-based material alternative to the widely used petrochemical-based vinyl used in exhibition, retail and event signage. Typical vinyls are single-use, cannot be recycled, and leach plastics and chemicals both during production and as they break down. Recognising this, Other Matter developed its signage and decals to be as customisable and easy to apply as typical vinyls, with the added benefit of being reusable. They are also able to be recycled using the low-energy, nonindustrial process of boiling the product down to a water-based solution.

FLWRDWN™
The use of bird down – particularly from ducks and geese – in clothing has several negative implications, primarily concerning animal welfare, environmental impact and ethical transparency. In response, the vegan, plastic-free alternative FLWRDWN has been developed to replace the down or synthetic garment filler typically used as insulation in puffer jackets. FLWRDWN is composed of regeneratively farmed flowers and a biopolymer or organic binder derived from maize or sugar cane – a composition that provides effective insulation. The flowers in FLWRDWN are grown in conditions that reduce water consumption and chemical pesticide use. They are also strategically grown and harvested in locations that support natural growth and where the flowering plants can offer viable habitats and food sources for local butterflies and pollinators.

POI BRICK - BATCH: Sakthi 8°55′30″N 76°33′22″E
Many architects, designers and landscape designers are working with clients to try to build cities and suburbs more sustainably. Pelagic is a new Australian venture that transforms plastic into bricks and pavers for use in construction. Through this work, Pelagic is meeting the demands of the building sector while at the same time removing harmful petrochemical-based plastics from the environment. Made from a polymer composite of a binder and discarded plastic, the material has high compressive strength, is less breakable than concrete and can withstand high UV and abrasive environments. This innovation not only addresses plastic waste but also decentralises production, with Pelagic designing a distributed system of 40-foot container factories that can be located on-site in regional and remote communities, creating local jobs and economic opportunities.

Petit Pli Knot-Tile^® Merino Jumper
Young children can outgrow their clothing rapidly, jumping up to three sizes per year. The unavoidable reality of purchasing new clothing to meet the needs of growing children contributes to the world of fast fashion for kids, grounded in the manufacture of often cheap, unsustainable or non-recyclable clothing. Recognising the environmental and economic impact of typical children’s clothing, Petit Pli has developed garments that can grow instead of being replaced. The company’s patented textile design expands bi-directionally, growing to fit children across seven sizes. Applying this design to a range of durable fibres, including merino wool and 100% recycled polyesters derived from plastic bottles, Petit Pli children’s clothing can be mixed and matched for year-long wear.

Burial Shroud
The garments people are dressed in after death are deeply personal, shaped by culture and belief systems. However, clothes made from synthetic or chemically treated materials do not break down after burial. This burial shroud is a collaborative biodegradable garment designed and made during a Sydney Festival of Death workshop. Drawing on the shared values of the artists and designer, the project captures a socially and environmentally conscious approach to dressing the deceased. Made of thirty silk panels, the shroud references one of artist Maree Clarke’s own possum-skin cloaks and is decorated with messages for those who have died, offering a ritual for shared grieving.

The Sky No-Tuck Shaping One-Piece
Clothing can play a part in supporting individual wellbeing. We can use it to feel confident and as a tool for self-expression – it allows us to communicate to others who we are and how we identify. Rubies’ gender-affirming swimwear supports trans girls and women to feel comfortable and confident enjoying beaches, swimming pools and water-based recreation, in clothing that is designed to reduce feelings of gender dysphoria in these environments. Unlike typical swimwear, Rubies are designed for the diverse bodies of trans girls and women, providing inclusive swimwear in a range of styles, patterns and sizes that offer choice and empowerment.

Gathering space: Ngargee Djeembana
Melbourne’s public open spaces, including parks and gardens, cover approximately 23,700 hectares. This translates to about 50 square metres of public open space per person. These spaces would likely look quite different if they were designed with consideration of Country. Ngargee djeembana explores this by bringing together the built environment and First Nations philosophical knowledge and design thinking. Comprising fifty material studies, the topographical installation, when presented in its entirety, reflects the character and composition of Melbourne public spaces and the material identity of Country across Victoria. Presented here is a selection of the identified materials – from timber, stone and minerals to sand, water and glass – presented either in their raw state or in the refined form they take within the built environment.

Kleen Grow
Methane (CH4) is produced by ruminants like cows and sheep through enteric fermentation in the rumen, the largest of their stomach compartments. Microbes break down carbohydrates in food, producing methane, which is expelled mainly through burping and flatulence. As the second most prevalent greenhouse gas, methane contributes significantly to global warming. Kleen grow is a nutritional lick block that reduces methane emissions in livestock by up to 98%. It contains Asparagopsis, a native seaweed that minimises gas in the digestive system. If fed to all grazing cattle in Australia, it would reduce emissions equivalent to removing over 1.5 million cars from the road for a year.

Deep Calm
Interior designers and architects are increasingly designing for the wellbeing needs of those who inhabit shared spaces, in particular care settings like hospitals and schools. With research-based design, these spaces can support the different sensory needs of those who use them, offering the varied conditions that support focus, sensory exposure, rest or social interaction. Drawing on the therapeutic benefits of deep pressure – often experienced through sensations of being hugged or held – Deep calm hug is designed to hug and hold the body. When experienced with Deep calm rug, which acts as a sensory tactile platform, this furniture offers a sensory experience that can induce relaxation, encourage regulation and reduce anxiety.

Aperture
Many people struggle with the distraction caused by smartphones, and would like to cultivate digital wellbeing through less screen-time. Aperture is an app designed to foster mindful technology use, activated by flipping your phone in its case so that only a small segment of the screen is visible through the space normally used for the phone’s camera lenses. Aperture creates a mini window into the phone’s interface, allowing access to key functions such as calls and messages without the temptation of engaging with non-essential functions.

Bandicoot Crossing
Located on Boonwurrung Country, the Koo Wee Rup swamp was once a vast wetland system. Drained in the 1800s and transformed by engineered channels, roads, rail lines and farmland, only remnant swampland, flora and fauna remain. Swampworks is a series of smallscale design interventions that support endangered southern brown bandicoots to move through the Koo Wee Rup area. The subtle infrastructure network includes wildlife crossings, habitat shelters and signage that raises awareness of the animals, prioritising the needs of species often overlooked in urban planning.

Water Based Lubricant
Personal lubricants are widely used to enhance comfort and intimacy; however, not all formulas are suitable for everyone. Some products can cause irritation or discomfort if they are not compatible with the natural vaginal environment. With this in mind, Bed Intentions designed and developed the first certified microbiome-friendly water-based personal lubricant. Enriched with prebiotics, the formulation includes ingredients often designed to help maintain balance and comfort.

SuperFlax
Valued for its strength and versatility, flax has been used across cultures for thousands of years. SuperFlax reinvents the application of this ancient material, using knitted flax-yarn textiles to create bio-composites for furniture production without petrochemicals. Developed with a custom knitting machine, the process bonds layers of flax to form solid structures, such as the lightweight, strong and non-toxic SuperFlax bench. Demonstrating how tool innovation can overcome material limitations, SuperFlax offers an avenue for furniture production that maintains its longevity while also being biodegradable, providing an alternative to more commonly used materials.

TômTex Bag
The production of conventional leather relies on livestock farming and tanning, processes that are resource-heavy and harmful to the environment. Often described as ‘vegan’, plastic-based leather alternatives create comparable issues, including petrochemical waste and the leaching of microplastics. TômTex is a bio-based alternative made using chitosan, an antimicrobial ingredient extracted from waste seafood shells. Plastic-free, vegan and compostable, TômTex replicates the aesthetic and tactile qualities of leather. This TômTex dress and bag demonstrate the material’s versatility and its ability to replace leather in various fashion applications.

Circadian Smart Bulb
Our mood, hormone levels and sleep quality are affected by exposure to light. Based on University of Washington research into circadian neuroscience – the study of how the brain’s internal clock influences biology and behaviour – the TUO Circadian smart bulb redesigns the everyday light bulb. Providing internal environments with spectral shifts that mirror the natural changes in morning and evening light that cue alertness, energy and sleep, the bulb delivers circadian signals at low light levels and varied colour temperatures, allowing the light to be adjusted to suit the preferences of the user.

Full Metal Jacket, Silver Edition
Rethinking the role of clothing as protection for the human body, Full metal jacket is made of an innovative copper textile that may be used in a future where virus prevention or reduced bacterial transmission is of high importance. Constructed using 11 kilometres of thin copper wire, the jacket draws on research into the properties of copper, which rapidly kills bacteria and viruses on contact by damaging their membranes, disrupting proteins and degrading their DNA. Clothing with antimicrobial capabilities could be suitable for wear in specialised healthcare environments, during pandemics or even for interplanetary space travel. The copper thread is engineered with a waterproof and breathable membrane that expands and contracts in response to varying climatic conditions.

Cucumber and Lime Wonki
As much as 30% of fresh produce grown in Australia goes to waste simply because it does not meet the cosmetic standards of supermarkets, retailers and consumers. This equates to almost 14 million kilograms of fresh fruit and vegetables that are considered unsellable or undesirable. Wonki was designed to strategically create new demand for this ‘imperfect’ produce. Identifying that there were no products using this supply chain within the alcoholic beverage market in Australia, Wonki developed three beverage varieties with recipes that respond to seasonal production gluts, opening a new supply chain for farmers as well as a re-evaluation of ‘waste’ produce as valuable ingredients.

Refugee flag
Flags are powerful symbols of identity and belonging, but for displaced people the flag that represents their country of refuge may not represent their culture or personal history. Designed by Yara Said – a Syrian refugee who has found asylum in the Netherlands – the Refugee flag was designed as a unifying symbol for the Refugee Olympic Team, the first team of stateless refugee athletes, who competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Creating an imagined nation with an anthem and a flag, the group represented the condition not only of the team’s athletes, but also of millions of displaced people across the globe. The flag’s design references the ubiquitous orange-and-black colouring of a standard-issue life vest, a symbol of safety and survival.

Between Yields
Zeoform is a new material made from cellulose fibre, which is derived from plants and water. Developed as an alternative to plastic and resin-based composites the product is composed of industrial hemp and pulped recovered wastepaper. The manufacturing process is free of glues, synthetic binders and petrochemicals, and instead relies on the natural bonding properties of the plant fibres. The result is a dense, durable material suited to a range of applications, including furniture, interiors and architecture.