The Handrail Series transforms industrial stainless steel components into sculptural design objects, showcasing how rethinking purpose—not material—can lead to new forms without requiring new resources or manufacturing.
Define the problem/need you are solving or addressing with your project. How does it address the Open Call criteria, such as environmental impact, social engagement, circularity, user experience, resource efficiency, and community-driven solutions?
The Handrail Series utilizes prefabricated elements from a modular stainless steel railing system originally designed for architecture. By reinterpreting these components, the project creates a table lamp and a table clock without introducing new materials or tooling. This approach reduces resource consumption, avoids waste, and operates within existing production frameworks. Conceptually, the series challenges conventional notions of what needs to be “new” for a product to emerge. It provides a timely design response that aligns with evolving perspectives on production and consumption, resulting in a precise and minimal collection that emphasizes clarity, material honesty, and sustainability—not through sacrifice but through a shift in perspective. The project supports circularity, promotes social engagement, and encourages critical design thinking.
Please describe your project, reflecting on the concept, inspiration, materials, technical aspects, methods and process(es).
The Handrail Series comprises two pieces: the Stadia Clock and the Mini Handrail Lamp, both crafted from unmodified components originally designed for stainless steel railings. These industrial parts are repurposed through careful selection and composition to create bold, sculptural objects. Instead of altering the material, the design reframes it, revealing aesthetic potential in typically utilitarian elements. The process is founded on material research and theoretical exploration, emphasizing transformation through context. Manufacturing remains minimal, allowing the objects to be fully disassembled and recycled, reflecting an efficient, low-impact design methodology that demonstrates new possibilities in object culture.
What do you think makes your project innovative compared to the existing efforts and ideas in the field it addresses?
The innovation of the Handrail Series lies in its method: it doesn’t design new parts but reinterprets existing ones, challenging traditional notions of innovation in design. This series shifts the designer’s role from creator to curator, from form-giver to storyteller. The focus is not on what can be produced, but rather on how existing materials can be reframed. This perspective is ecologically responsible and culturally relevant, critiquing conventional product culture while providing an alternative that values context, function, and reimagination over mere novelty. Situated within the contemporary discourse on circular design, material reuse, and reduced production complexity, the Handrail Series is a compelling showcase of what can be achieved by innovative thinking applied to everyday materials.
Does it impact or reflect young people need(s) and how?
The Handrail Series resonates with a generation that prioritizes conscious design and meaningful consumption, reflecting a mindset focused on sustainability, transparency, and questioning the status quo. Instead of advocating for more, the project presents a thought-provoking “what if”—what if we produce less but think more critically about our choices? The transformation of architectural elements into sculptural everyday objects highlights how reduction and reuse can ignite creativity. It encourages young people to view design as both a means of expression and a form of reflection. The resulting pieces are not only functional but also philosophical, addressing a shift in how younger generations engage with objects and systems, driving home the importance of intentionality in design and consumption in pursuit of a sustainable future.
