The winners of Diseño Responde are here! This Diseño Responde cycle, in collaboration with the Faculty of Design at Universidad del Desarrollo (UDD), we invited Latin American students and graduates to design sustainable solutions that help improve quality of life — for people and the planet.

The theme of sustainable design is defined as designs that satisfy the needs of the present without compromising the ability to meet the needs of future generations. Therefore, students and graduates, from various disciplines, have created design solutions with the intent of creating a more conscious society.

CARBO
Colombia
Body Category Winner

Sargassum algae proliferate in Latin America. Sodium alginate can be extracted from them, essential for making the CARBO bio-skin. With the use and processing of this type of algae in conjunction with materials such as activated carbon, affected ecosystems can be helped, and bioplastics can be created to generate new circular and local economies. CARBO focuses on replacing materials with polluting characteristics, such as those derived from petroleum in the fashion industry. CARBO is biodegradable and contributes to carbon capture.




Cespress
Chile
Home Category Winner

Cespress adds value to the grass waste we find in every corner of the world. It is formed of solidified grass lodged in the mower deck. The development begins with door-to-door grass collection and undergoes a cleaning process free of impurities. It is subjected to exhaustive experimental tests: (fire retardancy, compression, thermal transmittance, and traction. It can be subjected to tooling and CNC technologies. Its Ornamental mechanical physics properties stand out, accentuating the raw material. It has infinite product lines. There are six recipes developed to date.

Polychromatic Polymer
Colombia
Work Category Winner

An alternative to typical construction materials is proposed. Its decomposition can result in a process that helps improve the natural environment. Through the exploration of opacity, texture and colour, the implementation of bioplastics in architecture is sought to generate different living conditions, achieving control of light and chromatic qualities to obtain a piece that is easy to change according to the purpose of the designed space.




Clima, el desafío de diseño más grande...
Argentina
Play & Learning Winner

The climate crisis is a fact, and the eco-social transition cannot be postponed. Understanding it motivated the creation of a book object for a wide audience relevant to the conversation. An interdisciplinary team developed a design framework based on three axes: what is desirable for humanity, what is sustainable for the planet, and what is feasible in each sphere of society (and how to do it). Clima is a complex approach where the different types of knowledge do not compete for dialogue.

Agropelo acolchado de ahorro hídricos para plantas
Chile
Community Category Winner

Agropelo is a human hair mulch recovered from a network of more than 250 hairdressers. It maintains soil moisture, reducing direct evaporation by 71% and saving up to 48% of irrigation water. Agropelo prevents the development of weeds, protects the roots from the cold, adds nitrogen, calcium, chloride and sodium to the soil, improves plant growth and increases the quantity and quality of production. This innovation created a product capable of reducing agriculture’s water use and regenerating the soil.

Find the summary of all finalists of Diseño Respone 2023 here.