What was challenging about designing something that is both a prize and a design object?

Designing a prize is always a challenge, because it must connect to both the recipient and the reason it is being awarded. At the same time, it must feel prestigious to receive and hold intrinsic value. Too often one ends up with either a gilded or a glass artwork. True to the “dugnad” spirit of Designers Saturday, there were also budget constraints, which made it even more demanding. The challenge was to create something unique, tied to the industry, that felt valuable, yet could be produced on a modest budget.

How do the trophies reflect this year’s theme Repurpose?

I wanted to pay tribute to parts of the industry that are essential but often overlooked – the practical building blocks that underpin every project. An aluminium profile, a column base, a ventilation cover, a piece of stone, and so on. At the same time, I wanted the trophies to have a solid base, which is why I chose marble – a material that has followed us from antiquity to today. The combination of the noble and the practical appealed to me. The approach of reusing various components in a new context is a literal translation of the word repurpose. It was also important to me that the design could be reused in the years to come, even under different themes.

What do you hope the winners feel when they receive the trophy?

The process makes each object unique. They were also built by me personally, which is something I never usually do. I spoke with a couple of the winners, and they were genuinely thrilled, which makes me very happy. In the end, it’s all about the winners – that they feel it is a prize worthy of their project. So, when one of them said it was the most beautiful prize he had ever seen, I was truly grateful.