Spread across several spaces at Kazerne, we invite you into a world where ten young designers dig into what we ignore, forget or render invisible, and present work that is beautiful, meaningful and hopeful.
Ten recent graduates of Design Academy Eindhoven dig into what we ignore, forget or render invisible, and present work that is beautiful, meaningful and hopeful. From a complete food system built from shipping containers to gold recovered from electronic waste, from a boat clad in linoleum to lamps that seem to capture light. Da Trash Club won the Award 2026 with a performance that elevates waste into meticulous design. Each project invites dialogue and wonder.
The projects ranged from practical innovations to philosophical reflections. Benjamin Onno Dikmans showed with Rewild Farming: Starter Kit how discarded shipping containers can become a system for local food production. Aglaé Jerry Wilson depicted the diversity of Black and mixed-race identities in an installation of ceramic tiles and sound. Gad Lomholt Nimér gave linoleum a new life as a boat and developed a new glass technique. Laurin Böhm mapped the living world of the Rhine on a handmade raft. Matthijs Koerts stripped the loudspeaker to its essence and elevated the mould to a source of design. Da Trash Club used dance and hilarious costumes to debunk the myth that waste disappears. Baguette Studio demonstrated how lamps made from wax can be produced locally and circularly. Sara Ballout revealed informal energy networks, Valdís Steinarsdóttir recovered gold from e-waste, and Valentin Dugrais brought back forgotten horsehair. Each project offered a unique perspective on the power of design: as a critical mirror and as a source of an alternative future.
The Kazerne Design Award is an encouragement award for recent alumni of Design Academy Eindhoven. The jury honours the nominees with an exhibition and the winner with €5,000, with thanks to Bureau Binnenstad Eindhoven and EE Exclusives (2026–2028), Rotaryclub Eindhoven-Soeterbeeck (2023–2025), and Stichting Loyola (2020–2022).
The exhibition featuring work by the nominees and more can be visited free of charge at Kazerne until the end of September. You are most welcome!
The Award Show, including presentations by all nominees, can be watched on the Kazerne YouTube channel.
Alongside the Kazerne Design Award nominees, discover the next step of the Back to the Flax collective (DAE students followed by Kazerne Foundation over multiple years) and the artworks presented by Contempo Gallery in the former stables of the monumental heritage building.
Come and look, come and eat (on the lovely terrace!), have a drink, stay the night, meet each other – and be inspired by hopeful ideas for the world of tomorrow.
Free entrance.