New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Project category

Identify the award category for which this project is being submitted
Regaining a sense of belonging

Email user
hello@sekhina.com

Basic information
Project title
Pet Nat Opener

Full Project Title
Innovative design tool for easy opening pet nat and creating ceremony

Please provide a short, catchy description of your project to be used in communication towards the public.
We at Sekhina are passionate about beautifully designed concrete objects and pét-nat as a drink. Out of this enthusiasm, we created a 100% innovative, handcrafted, and sustainable bottle opener. With our innovation, we wish to promote the development of pét-nat culture and natural wine consumption and create a new style of habit. That also means respecting nature and sustaining organic ecosystems.

What was the geographical scope of your project?
National

Where was your project implemented?
Member State(s) and Western Balkans
Hungary

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
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Does your project address mainly urban or rural issues?
It addresses urban-rural linkages

Does your project refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations (hard or soft investments)?
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)

Has your project benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
No

Has your project won an EU prize with a monetary value awarded?
No

Is your project fully completed
Yes

Please indicate a date (mm/yy)
2023-01-20

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As a representative of an organisation
Please provide the contact details for the project promoter (the individual or representative of the organisation authorised to represent the project)
- Name of the organisation(s): Sekhina Design Kft.
  Type of organisation: For-profit company
  First name of representative: Gábor
  Last name of representative: Kasza
  Gender: Male
  Nationality: Hungary
  If relevant, please select your other nationality: Hungary
  Function: Co-CEO and Founder
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Bécsi út 189 1.em.2.
  Town: Budapest
  Postal code: 1032
  Country: Hungary
  Direct Tel: +36 20 480 8805
  E-mail: hello@sekhina.com
  Website: https://sekhina.com
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
- URL: https://www.petnat.sekhina.com/
- URL: https://www.facebook.com/sekhina.concrete.objects
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): #sekhina #petnat
- URL: https://www.instagram.com/sekhina
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): #sekhina #petnat
In case my project is selected as a finalist of the NEB Prizes 2023, I agree to share the name (individual and/or organisation’s), email address, website and social media accounts indicated above with other NEB Prizes finalists. I also agree to publish the name (individual and/or organisation’s), website and social media accounts indicated above next to the public description of my project in the channels of the European Commission.
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
Social Media

Description of the project
Please provide a summary of your project.
We at Sekhina are passionate about beautifully designed concrete objects and pét-nat as a drink. Out of this enthusiasm, we created a 100% innovative, handcrafted, and sustainable bottle opener.
Why is it for? Pét nat (short for Pétillant Naturel) is a sparkling natural wine fermented in the bottle. As pét-nat is a type of natural wine, it means the criteria that the grapes are grown on organic farms, are hand harvested and manually proceeded. Natural wines often called living wines, they are part of a whole ecosystem. During the production of natural wines no added yeast, sugar, tirage, or dosage liqueur are used during the production. No riddling, disgorgement, or filtration is made. Lees or sediment remain in the bottle and are mixed with the wine while drinking. Here you can get more flavour from the naturally occuring bicrobiology which lives on the grape's skin. In comparison to conventional wine-making, pét-nat has no second fermentation. This process is called the ancestral method and it is probably the oldest way to produce sparkling wine. Pét-nat is unpredictable compared to other sparkling wines.
Due to the high-pressure inside the bottle, usually it is complicated and nasty to open up a pét-nat. For this reason, this delicious drink is excluded from many events and places of hospitality and gastronomy. Now we want to change this! We created the perfect tool to open a unique Pét-Nat bottle without trouble and not wasting any juice and flavour. The opening process is exciting and scenic, providing community event and social experience, and can last up to 15-20 minutes or more.
We created this tool to give meaning to the slow procedure of opening and thus give culture to real pét-nat consumption and establish new rituals. That also means respecting nature and sustaining organic ecosystems.

Please indicate the main themes of your project with 5 key words.
pétillant naturel

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
natural wine

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
design and innovation

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
new rituals

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
sharing moments

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of sustainability and how these have been met. Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context.
Pét-nat as a type of natural wine in itself means a label for sustainable wine-making. Grapes are collected and proceeded manually, and sustaining terroir as part of the natural ecosystem is extremely important.
We at Sekhina believe that good design means integrity in our environment. Sekhina Pét-Nat opener is a pioneering innovation and contains 95% plastic-free materials. We aim to promote the quality of sustainable, handcrafted, and conscious design objects and also the culture of low-intervention wine-making. This is a slow but exciting twist on something tasty, like the slow food trend.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people (through design, positive emotions and cultural benefits) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context.
We believe that the essence of design is about balancing form and function. Giving elegance to the ceremony, valuing our surroundings, and respecting nature. Sekhina’s contemporary, innovative concrete objects are following the functionality of the Bauhaus and the principles of progressive design. Our shapes and forms are inspired by the minimalist style of the school of Scandinavian design and the architect Alvar Alto. Our high-quality products are based on the idea of sustainability and innovation.
Sekhina pét-nat opener is a multi-functional tool. First of all, it enables us to open the high-pressure pét-nat wine safely and without loss. Thus the drink is secured from spilling out, so the surrounding doesn’t get dirty. In addition, the bottle holder made of HPC concrete functions as a wine cooler and keeps the glass cold. The built-in and water-resistant LED light illuminates and highlights the bubbles and the stirring lees while opening. This gives a super groovy and exciting sight and captures attention during the opening procedure.
The Sekhina pét-nat opener keeps the opening procedure within appropriate limits and provides community event and social experience. Everyone can manage the pressure of the bottle with the help of the adjustable pin so that not even a drop is lost. Using the Sekhina pét-nat opener, the ceremony of the opening process is exciting and scenic. Senses and emotions are being stimulated, and it gives an exciting foreplay before drinking. Our tool prepares and leads the experience of consumption and perception. The essence of the opening ceremony is this.
We created this tool to give meaning to the slow procedure of opening and thus give culture to real pét-nat consumption and establish new rituals. Not even mentioning the hassle-free opening.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of inclusion (ranging from accessibility and affordability for all to inclusive governing systems, design for all principles or new societal models) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context.
Our aim with the product is to promote the quality of sustainable, handcrafted, and conscious design objects and also the culture of low-intervention wine-making. Because of the high-pressure inside the bottle, ususally only a few people and only the experts know how to open real pet nat. This we want to change. With the opener our aim is to make pet nat as a drink more accessible to everyone. Our mission is to make people more aware of natural and low-intervention wines, to educate them, to show them this good alternative. We put a great emphasis to education in the communication of our campaign. Pet nat is not only a fantastic juice, which has all the benefits of natural wines (it contains additives, no added yeast, sulfits, sugar, lower alcohol etc.), and as thus its consumption is healthier compared to conventional wines. Producing pet nat or any other natural wine means respecting nature and the existing ecosystem.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the project and civil society have been involved in the project and what has been the impact of this involvement on the project
During our campaign, our mission is to educate the public about the benefits of pet nat and natural wines and show them a good and sustainable alternative in comparison to conventional wines.
We introduced the prototypes of the pet nat opener at the Raw Wine Fair in Berlin end of November 2022, where we got very positive feedback. However, only a few wine-makers and dealers who participated at the fair do have real high-pressure pet nat (which means at least 3 bar pressure in the bottle) in their selection. As for most wine-producers it is still a more safe and more secure method to disgorge the pet nat before the final bottling. In this method pet nat is not anymore the drink it is supposed to be as the precious lees is taken away from the bottle. While disgorgement it loses its purity and its authentic, juicy flavour. Sekhina pet nat opener was born in order to make pet nat lovers and producers realize not to be afraid of this fantastic drink. Not to afraid to produce it, because now there is a tool that helps the hustle-free opening.

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and implementation of the project. Please highlight what the added value of their engagement was.
After having understood the problem of pet nat consumption (especially in Hungary) and the lack of knowledge about this wine, he started to find partners and make networking. We established cooperations with individual wine dealers, wine-makers, and wine specialists. We even started our own pet nat production with Hungarian manufacturer, Csobánci Bormanufaktúra. He participated at the Raw Wine Fair Berlin on 27th November 2022. It was the first occasion where we introduced the pét nat opener to the public. Also in the design field, we have found partners. Only the main part of the opener, the bottle holder made of High-Performance Concrete is produced in our manufacture. For the plywood and stainless steel parts, we found partners.

Please explain which disciplines and/ or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and implementation of your project. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was.
The creators of the Sekhina pet nat opener are Gábor Kasza (designer), László Folkmann (wine dealer, wine-specialist), and Róbert Ilcsik (economist, business man, and investor). They all have different backgrounds and knowledge and are experts in their own fields. As a designer, Mr. Kasza has been experimenting for years to create design objects made of HPC concrete. He got international remuneration with his sockets and switches made of concrete. By creating these design objects made of concrete, his mission was to reduce the use of plastic in households, and design pieces that please the eye and indulge the touch along with great proportions. Mr. Folkmann as a wine specialist knows a lot about conventional wines and natural wine-making as well. Mr. Ilcsik as an economist has the know-how of the business side of a start-up. In Autumn 2022 three new members joined the team, all students or alumni of the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest. Ms. Kata Muranyi Ph.D. is in charge of the communication and marketing of the product. Ms. Antónia Sterczer is doing the graphic design. Ms. Virág Duzsik has the communication duties of social media. As an assistant dealing with material parts of concrete, Mr. Péter Demko gives a helping hand.

Please give information on the results, outcomes and impacts achieved by your project in relation to the category you apply for. This includes also benefits from the project for direct and indirect beneficiaries
As a result of the production, we have created an innovative design object, which helps to solve a certain problem. We created this tool to give meaning to the slow procedure of opening and thus give culture to real pét-nat consumption and establish new rituals. Not even to mention the hassle-free opening.
The Sekhina pét-nat opener keeps the opening procedure within appropriate limits and provides community events and social experience. Everyone can manage the pressure of the bottle with the help of the adjustable pin so that not even a drop is lost. Using the Sekhina pét-nat opener, the ceremony of the opening process is exciting and scenic. Senses and emotions are stimulated, and it gives an exciting foreplay before drinking. Our tool prepares and leads the experience of consumption and perception. The essence of the opening ceremony is this.
By using the opener, we expect that the drink itself, pet nat will get a larger audience. It will have an impact on wine-makers, dealers, bars and restaurants, and pet nat lovers in general.

Please provide documents showing the results, outcomes and impacts of your project
Web link
Web link
- https://www.petnat.sekhina.com
Please highlight the innovative character of the project, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the project
As a result of the high pressure inside the bottle, usually it is complicated and nasty to open up a pét-nat. For this reason, this delicious drink is excluded from many events and places of hospitality and gastronomy.
Sekhina pét-nat opener is a multi-functional tool. First of all, it enables us to open high-pressure wine safely and without loss. Thus the drink is secured from spilling out, so the surrounding doesn’t get dirty. In addition, the bottle holder made of HPC concrete functions as a wine cooler and keeps the glass cold. The built-in and water-resistant LED light illuminates and highlights the bubbles and the stirring lees while opening. This gives a super groovy and exciting sight and captures attention during the opening process.

By now you might have already seen why the real high-pressure wine is worth being opened by the Sekhina pét-nat opener. The wine fits perfectly into the HPC concrete frame rounded by a plywood holder with a small and stylish stainless steel pin on the top. The bottle is stored standing so that the lees are being collected at the bottom. Once you place your pét-nat into the concrete holder, you pierce the crown cap with the threaded pin at the top of the opener. When you let it back a little, the pressure in the bottle is starting to release. With this, you can control the flow of the gas, and the strength of the foam. As a result of pressure loss, the sediment stirs up, but only as much as necessary to make a hazy drink. During consumption, the denser part with more lees remains at the bottom. While drinking the pét-nat you can taste the various layers of the drink. Thus there is a fine difference between the first and the last sip. A good pét-nat is more fruity, and the remaining lees at the bottom show other aromatic notes.
This is the World's first tool to open pét-nat without trouble and juice-wasting.

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your project.
Our aim in producing the pet nat opener was not to make another high-end design product but to give a real answer to a problem. First, we had to detect and understand the problem itself. Which is more complex than getting the ceiling dirty or not when opening a real, high-pressure pet nat. We have asked ourselves why so less people have real knowledge of natural wines. And why people do think that adding chemicals in the grapeyard is the best way to get good grapes? And why people do think it is necessary to add extra sugar, sulfites and other additives to produce good wine. We know that it has been hundreds of years since wine production is using these rituals. But there is a more sustainable approach, which is low-intervention winemaking.
After having detected and researched the problem - there is no tool for open high-pressure pet nat, which might be the cause that so less people have the chance to know real, high-pressure pet nats - we have started experimenting with the materials and the forms. It took us a while to find the perfect shape which is a bottle holder and cooler in one, and the perfect proportion of the concrete. Then we started experimenting with the colors and the plywood and the pin. Finally, we have reached the perfect symmetry in design, and have started production.

Please describe which elements of your project could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and context. This may involve for example aspects of the methodology, technology, processes, products, learnings etc.
We would like to share and spread the knowledge on pet nat and natural wines to a more broader audience. We would like to raise awareness on organic wine-making and let more networks and circles be established. Finally, we wish to get more people to become pet nat fans.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the project addresses by providing local solutions
We believe that promoting petnat and natural wine culture is one step forward toward sustainability. With our products we are concious of the ecological and organic approaches. Sekhina Pét-Nat opener is a pioneering innovation and contains 95% plastic-free materials. We aim to promote the quality of sustainable, handcrafted, and conscious design objects and also the culture of low-intervention wine-making. This is a slow but exciting twist on something tasty, like the slow food trend.
We at Sekhina believe that good design means integrity in our environment. The essence of design is about balancing form and function. Giving elegance to the ceremony, valuing our surroundings, and respecting nature. Sekhina’s contemporary, innovative concrete objects are following the functionality of the Bauhaus and the principles of progressive design. Our shapes and forms are inspired by the minimalist style of the school of Scandinavian design and the architect Alvar Alto. Our high-quality products are based on the idea of sustainability and innovation.
Please attach at least 6 high resolution images (or other types of visual representations, if images are not possible) to your application.
If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload or write below
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By submitting your application you confirm that you are the copyright owner of the images provided and that they can be used by the European Commission for the purposes of promoting the New European Bauhaus on all platforms (websites, print, social media and other).
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that you are not in in one or more of the exclusion situations foreseen under Article 136 of the Financial Regulation.
Yes

By submitting this application, I declare that I am not related to the entities subject to EU restricted measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and subject to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)1, and entities covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05), which are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed project has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.
Yes

By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the project and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary.
Yes

By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their projects, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted project, is found to infringe third party’s rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.
Yes

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you read and understand that the ‘Guide to Applicants’ of the NEB Prizes 2023, available online in the website of the NEB Prizes 2023, is an integral part of this application form and that it must therefore be observed when completing and submitting your application.
Yes