Yoga Mats Made from Orange Waste? The ConsciousDesign.cz Exhibition Presents Innovative Sustainable Materials

The international exhibition Collaborative & Conscious Material Design visitors will discover innovative and environmentally responsible materials created through interdisciplinary collaboration between designers, scientists, and engineers. The event, organized as part of the Materials & Design NOW conference, is curated by Valentýna Landa Filípková from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Brno University of Technology (BUT). The opening will take place on 18 October at KUMST Brno, and the unique projects will be on display until 19 December 2025.

The exhibition will show, for example, cellulose-based vegan leather grown in coconut wastewater, binder-free board material made from reed, and responsive bioplastics that react to environmental stimuli such as UV radiation or humidity.

The authors of the exhibited works respond to current environmental challenges and emphasize the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in material design — bringing together fields such as microbiology, mechanical engineering, and architecture.

The exhibition is part of the long-term project ConsciousDesign.cz, founded by Filípková a few years ago as part of her master’s thesis. The platform documents research related to environmentally responsible design practice, which relies on cross-disciplinary cooperation. The website also provides resources and approaches for responsible design creation.

Since 2024, the project has expanded to include new activities — interdisciplinary workshops for university students aimed at developing teamwork skills and promoting circular thinking in the use of waste materials.

“Abroad, interdisciplinary university hubs and degree programs focused on material development and material design are already operating. It is important for experts from different fields to get used to collaboration already during their university studies,” explains Filípková.

Filípková was assisted in organizing and shaping the concept of the workshops by Eliška Knotková from the Czech eco-design studio Balance is Motion. The first workshop took place at MOME during the Future Materials conference in Budapest, followed by sessions in Prague, Brno, Zlín, and Bratislava.

“We wanted to connect students interested in sustainability who might not otherwise meet, and to create a positive experience that would encourage initiative and motivate them to adopt a way of working where experts from different fields collaborate already at the very beginning of a project,” she adds.

At the opening on 18 October, a new publication titled Collaborative & Conscious Material Design will also be introduced. The book reveals the stories behind individual projects and offers not only practical insights but also a look at the challenges the authors faced while developing sustainable materials. It also explores the historical context of material design and aims to inspire both students and professionals to apply principles of sustainability in practice.