Award winning products at the intersection
of food and design!

Once again, the Parmigiano Reggiano Design Challenge invited designers to submit products that celebrate the rituals associated with cooking and enjoying food. This year the entries were required to consider three concepts that are very important to Parmigiano Reggiano: Biodiversity, Aging and Zero Waste. The competition attracted hundreds of entries from designers across the globe – here are the winners!

More than just a cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano is a true Italian Masterpiece.

At first glance, a cheese brand sponsoring a design competition may seem strange. However, when you think about the fact that Parmigiano Reggiano is not just any cheese, but a true Masterpiece of Italian culture, then it all starts to make perfect sense.

With the Parmigiano Reggiano Design Challenge we seek to inspire young designers to imagine a world with products that make cooking and eating a more interesting, enriching and delightful experience – much like Parmigiano Reggiano cheese elevates virtually any dish through its uniquely distinctive taste, texture and aroma.

A few quick facts about the Design Challenge.

Once again, Parmigiano Reggiano organized the competition in collaboration with Alessi, while Kartell
graciously hosted the Awards Party in their New York flagship store.

Designers had to consider at least one of three themes that are important to Parmigiano Reggiano: Biodiversity, Aging and Zero Waste.

The competition attracted about three hundred entries from designers across the globe which competed in two categories: ‘In the Kitchen’ and ‘At the Table’.

The jury evaluating the entries included some of the most influential thought-leaders in the design industry, including: Mauro Porcini, Karim Rashid, Debbie Millman, Donald Strum, Fabio Novembre, Alessia Genova, Kevin Bethune, and Qing Yan. This year, Chef Michele Casadei Massari, the U.S. brand ambassador for Parmigiano Reggiano, and four-time James Beard Award-winning Chef Michael Nischan also joined the jury to provide a culinary perspective.

Ultimately, the jury selected a total of 12 Award Winners with separate Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards for Professional Designers and Design Students in each of the two categories. From these, the judges selected one project as the recipient of the Best of Show Award, and that honor went to John Jack Elliott for his lamp, Matassa.

VISIT THE DESIGN CHALLENGE SITE

Here are the Award Winners!

Ultimately, the jury selected a total of 12 Award Winners with separate Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards for Professional Designers and Design Students in each of the two categories. From these, the judges selected one project as the recipient of the Best of Show Award, and that honor went to John Jack Elliott for his lamp, Matassa.

BEST OF SHOW AWARD

The Matassa lamp won the Gold Award at the Professional Level in the ‘At the Table’ category, and also received the Best of Show Award. The designer of the lamp, John Jack Elliott is the Director of Graduate Studies and Associate Professor of Human Centered Design at the College of Human Ecology, Cornell University in New York. The name of the lamp was inspired by a ball of tagliolini – a long flat pasta that is cut into thin strips and is often sold as tangled clumps – much like fettuccine.
Matassa is the Italian word for “clump”. He describes it as “a sculptural light fixture that offers a softly diffused lighting source by which to enjoy a perfectly cooked pasta made more delicious with a generous sprinkle of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese”. Beyond the pleasing aesthetic quality of the lamp, what makes this project truly unique is that the waste created by the fabrication of one part of the product is used as a separate component in the same product. Specifically, the scraps from machining the aluminum ceiling holder – which form a loose clump when machined – are re-purposed to make the diffuser of the lamp, resulting in zero waste. In keeping with the focus on environmental responsibility, the aluminum comes from 100% post-consumer content, and the bulb is a full spectrum LED. Also, at the end-of-life, the product components that cannot be reused can be recycled.

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AT THE TABLE

PROFESSIONAL LEVEL

Gold Award: Matassa Lamp by John Jack Elliott
Silver Award: Totem by Isabella Lovero and Enrico Bosa
Bronze Award: Apertivo by Ryan Twardzik

STUNDET LEVEL

Gold Award: Sensei by Kim Bujak
Silver Award: LIDfree by Chia-Chun Chuang & Pei-Chun Hsueh
Bronze Award: Bean Chair by Lulu Pennell

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IN THE KITCHEN

PROFESSIONAL LEVEL

Gold Award: Haptics of Cooking by Boey Wang
Silver Award: HUB by Rotimi Solola
Bronze Award: Cooking Totem by Design2Gather Studio

STUNDET LEVEL

Gold Award: Unità by Nicole Tan
Silver Award: Folks by Kevin Chiam
Bronze Award: Gorw-n-Glow by Jez Sun

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The Awards Party

On May 19, just a few days after the close of the competition, Parmigiano Reggiano hosted a lively party at the Kartell flagship store in NY. The party featured a showcase of the Award Winners and a short ceremony to present the Best of Show Award to the winner. The party took take place at the very end of NYCxDesign – New York City’s annual Design Festival – consequently it was attended by many members of the design community who gathered to celebrate the winners while enjoying snacks featuring Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

[wp-video-popup id=”video1″ video=”https://youtu.be/QJ2HQBqUhgM”]

To share the evening with the people who could not attend, we captured some of the highlights in this short video.

Thank You!

We would like to thank all of the designers who submitted entries, and congratulate the Award Winners for entering products that elevate the experience of cooking and enjoying food. Also, we’d like to thank our amazing judges for their time and expert insights. Lastly, we would like to thank Alessi for sponsoring the initiative and Kartell for hosting a wonderful party!