Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest

PROJECTS 2024

pHen

Outstanding Art Winner

Somogyvári Szonja, Gulya Nóra, Nagy Csongor Boldizsár

pHen introduces a sustainable approach to drawing instruments by using pigments that change color with pH variations. This innovation leverages pigments found in bacteria and vegetables, such as anthocyanins in red cabbage and actinorhodin in Streptomyces coelicolor, and is designed to be open-source and easy to produce with a 3D printer. The pH-responsive ink offers multiple colors in a single marker, allowing for creative versatility and reducing the need for multiple single-use markers.

FrostFrame

Dorottya Máté, Suhyun Jeon, Zsombor Égerházi

FrostFrame is a customizable bio-partition designed to protect refrigerator food from mold. It helps preserve food and ingredients in the kitchen that are often discarded due to inadequate preservation practices. FrostFrame consists of a combination of a paper and a frame. The paper is mixed with  eco-friendly biomaterials such as charcoal powder, baking soda, leftover coffee grounds, and ginger powder, each playing a unique role in protecting the refrigerator's environment, including moisture control, odor absorption, and anti-bacterial properties. These materials are adjusted to create replaceable eco-friendly paper made from repurposed kitchen towels. The reusable frame that holds the paper works as a partition in the fridge, adding aesthetic value to the product. The bio-filter materials can be tailored to suit different types of food, preventing cross-contamination. Over time, as mold develops on the paper, it creates a unique visual pattern, turning the used paper into a piece of art.

Cycle Gum

Vanda Turi, Karlotta Lainvae, Krisztina Vass, Leeagh-Marie Bouget

Cycle Gum was developed by a team of young women focused on female health. The team aims to educate teenagers about the menstrual cycle and its four phases by challenging existing taboos and narratives around menstruation through an opportunity for people who menstruate to learn more about their body. Cycle Gum is a tool kit containing a "reacting gum" and educational resources around the menstrual cycle and its phases. This "reacting gum" would change color or taste based on the phase of the cycle, to make what is invisible visible.

Mobile Workshop Cart

József Tamás Kovács, Balázs Nyári, Petra Börcsök

The Mobile Workshop Cart project addresses the significant problem of food waste in the EU, which amounts to 17 billion kg of fresh fruit and vegetable waste annually. With the EU ban on single-use plastics, the shift to cardboard takeaway boxes has highlighted the environmental impact of the paper and pulp industry. Mobile Workshop Cart involves creating a material from potato peels that can be used as a sustainable takeaway plate. The key component is a mobile workshop station that is used to collect organic waste, process it, and produce plates on site, establishing a closed-loop system at events such as markets or restaurants. This innovative approach aims to connect waste producers with artists and biodesigners, promoting sustainability and waste reduction.

Malu Lücking is an interdisciplinary designer based in Budapest. She graduated with a Bachelor’s from the Art Academy in Berlin in the department of textile and surface design and holds a Master’s degree in Biodesign from Central St. Martins, University Of The Arts London. Her work has a strong focus on speculative design futures and biomaterial research. Social, emotional and tactile experiences play an important role in her work. Driven by her fascination for the underwater world, for the past years, Malu’s work is all about algae. In her work, she explores the potential of both microalgae and macroalgae as a resource of regenerative aquaculture for today’s material world and the future of food. She also co-founded the material innovation start-up mujō in 2020. Currently she is working as a researcher and Acting Material Research Hub Lead at Moholgy-Nagy Art and Design University in Budapest.