Algonquin College student wins international World Design Organization competition
Posted on Wednesday, December 4th, 2024
An Algonquin College learner has won an international competition hosted by World Design Organization (WDO), earning admission to the 34th World Design Congress in London, UK. Laura Avila, a Level 02 student in the Interdisciplinary Studies in Human-Centred Design program, partnered with three other students in North Macedonia, the United States and India to compete in the WDO design sprint under the theme Heritage in Motion: Defining the Future by Design.
In collaboration with WDO Young Designers Circle, the Heritage in Motion design sprint challenged international student teams to pitch projects focused on design research and strategy. Held online between Sept. 30 to Oct. 21, 2024, the theme explored pluriversal design – an approach that recognizes diversity in communities and welcomes the perspectives of historically marginalized or underrepresented groups in the design process. Evaluation criteria included how well the students mapped the problem, identified gaps in the existing solutions landscape and displayed innovation in their solution. In addition, each team was tasked with incorporating one of seven sub-themes based on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals into their design.
Algonquin College student Laura Avila.
“We specifically chose the topic of Technological Craftmanship as it connects sustainability, craftsmanship and recovering traditional cultural practices by thinking about them in another way,” said Avila. “In that frame of reference, we chose a craft that we wanted to work in.”
The WDO design sprint provided an opportunity for students worldwide to network with one another as well as with the Young Designers Circle. As a facilitator of the Young Designers Circle and principal investigator of the Human-Centred Design Lab, Jed Looker recognizes the importance of holding these types of events for students and emerging designers who are just starting out in their careers.
“WDO – to which Algonquin College is a member – and the Young Designers Circle have a mandate to explore new projects related to the WDO mission and vision, which is very much in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” said Looker. “For this design sprint we tried to make the teams as multidisciplinary as we could underneath the design umbrella. We had fashion designers, industrial designers, communications designers and architects all working with each other.”
Avila’s team won for their project Reversing Desertification Through Esparto Grass Weaving. Native to southern Spain and northern Africa, esparto grass was traditionally used for weaving but has been replaced with synthetic materials in modern times. Avila and her team explored how esparto grass could be used to slow desertification in Spain by preventing soil erosion and supporting vegetation growth.
Rendering of vegetation growth on woven esparto grass.
“We wanted to find a specific geographical area and focus on a craft that incorporated our backgrounds. I brought my crafting experience from Latin America and one of my teammates knew about Chinese traditional crafting,” she said. “Desertification happens when there is a lot of green matter growing but not enough water to support it. Woven esparto mats protect the soil from evaporating water, which then enables plant growth and prevents soil erosion on mountain slopes.”
Avila and her team are looking forward to meeting each other in-person when they attend the 34th World Design Congress. Held biennially, the three-day conference is a unique opportunity for the students to observe the international design community delve into global design issues on a global stage. The event takes place in September 2025.