New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Project category

Identify the award category for which this project is being submitted
Shaping a circular industrial ecosystem and supporting life-cycle thinking

Email user
hello@theminimonoproject.com

Basic information
Project title
The MiNiMONO Project

Full Project Title
{Empty}

Please provide a short, catchy description of your project to be used in communication towards the public.
MINIMONO is a collection of furniture and everyday objects for families that challenge imagination and creativity following the guiding principle of circularity for a regenerative future.

What was the geographical scope of your project?
National

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

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
Berlin

Does your project address mainly urban or rural issues?
Mainly urban

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)
2021-09-01

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As an individual in partnership with other persons
Please provide the contact details for the project promoter (the individual or representative of the organisation authorised to represent the project).
- First name: Julieta
  Last name: Benito Sanz
  Gender: Prefer not to say
  Nationality: Spain
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Senefelderstr 1
  Town: Berlin
  Postal code: 10437
  Country: Germany
  Direct Tel: +49 179 8521536
  E-mail: hello@theminimonoproject.com
  Website: https://www.theminimonoproject.com/
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
- URL: https://www.instagram.com/theminimonoproject/
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): #theminimonoproject #furnitureforfamilies #minimonoathome
- URL: https://www.facebook.com/theminimonoproject
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): #theminimonoproject #furnitureforfamilies #minimonoathome
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?
Previous participants

Description of the project
Please provide a summary of your project.
MiNiMONO is a collection of long lasting multifunctional flat pack furniture and everyday objects made from Recycled-HDPE.

The pieces have different purposes depending on the user: a stool can also be a plant stand, or a side table and therefore adapt to different spaces and age groups. It is furniture for kids that adults find so great that they want to keep using!

All pieces are resistant and durable, mono-material and very easy to assemble, they are suitable for indoors and outdoors and can be cleaned with almost anything. 100% RECYCLED 100% RECYCLABLE

They are meant to last a lifetime but can also be recycled or sent back to us for re-purposing.

We are Julieta and Dirk, a multicultural couple based in Berlin trying to create a better future for – and with - our two children. We are a family business with limitations, but with an honest and genuine desire to do well, stay accountable and constantly improve.

Please indicate the main themes of your project with 5 key words.
circular design

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
recycled material

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
waste neutral production

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
smart distribution

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
practical use

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.
Circular design: The MiNiMONO Project has been entirely conceived attending the principles of circular design, since we firmly believe that circular economy is the only possible form of long-term development and wellness.

Sustainable material: Durability is for us key to sustainability, so our products are made from recycled HDPE plastic sourced from industrial waste. HDPE is one of the easiest plastics to recycle and can be reused at least 8 times without losing any quality.

Conscious production: The pieces are CNC milled optimizing the sheets to the maximum, to implement our circular design concepts the off-cuts go back into recycling to create new sheets or other MiNiMONO products. From each sheet we use we have a maximum of 10% in off-cuts left, on some designs we get only 18gr per Kilo.

Optimized distribution: MINIMONO furniture is flat pack to minimize the carbon footprint of transport and shipment. Our packaging is designed to avoid as much waste as possible: all informations and assembling instructions are printed in the box to avoid creating packaging waste, plus it can easily be reused. We use worldwide climate neutral shipping with our partner DHL.

Circular product life-cycle: All products have an “end-of-life” guarantee: we offer to re-buy the pieces from our customers to retain ownership of the material and take responsibility for keeping it in use by making new sheets or turning it into new MiNiMONO products.

We truly believe in circular economy and for us it didn't make any sense to start a business in 2021 that wasn't based on the principles of circular design. We want to be the proof of concept that it is possible to have a successful business that is also sustainable.

We would love to contribute to normalizing the use of recycled plastic by creating a new value and inspire other businesses to help extend the demand of systems and better solutions for re-purposing raw materials in general.

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 design furniture and everyday objects for families knowing that each family is unique. Our designs challenge the imagination and creativity of the user and so everybody can find a new way to use them.

The MiNiMONOS are:
- fun for children and attractive for adults
- versatile and polyvalent
- suitable for indoors and outdoors
- durable and sturdy
- easy to clean
- flat pack and fast to assemble and dismantle
- unique! Each one is different and the colors come in batches
- inclusive for all body types, ages and sizes
- gender neutral in colors and forms

Each of our designs is easy to assemble by using just some strong hands or a mallet. They adapt to all sorts of places in the home,
both indoors and outdoors, bathrooms, kitchens... All items are easy to clean and water-resistant. They are gender neutral and inclusive for all body types, ages and sizes.

We design with both functionality and aesthetics in mind because we believe that everyday objects have the power to get people engaged with the circular economy.

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.
We think design has its roots in the needs of the society, and therefore should be able to react to social questions, needs and worries. We try to create a positive impact by: cooperating with like minded businesses on a local level, creating inclusive and gender neutral designs that are easy to assemble, making multifunctional furniture and optimizing the price.

We only sell through our own onlineshop to avoid intermediates and try to keep our products as affordable as possible.

It is our goal to inspire new generations to be responsible consumers, and we believe that offering them transparent and sustainable products like ours since childhood will contribute for them to develop consciousness about circular thinking and will help them make better choices to move towards a better collective future.

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
The MiNiMONO Project was crowd funded during Autumn of 2021, which gave us the opportunity to be able to tell our story, evaluate the general interest in our products and create a customer base. More importantly gave us the possibility to gain early feedback and inquiries coming directly from potential customers that have been precious benefits for the final development of the project. Having a dialogue between us as designers and our customers from the beginning of the project created not only a foundation of trust and transparency, but also collaborations, suggestions and a valuable word of mouth advertising that helped us enlarge our circle.

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.
It is one of our core values to maintain honest, meaningful and caring relationships with our providers and collaborators as well as our costumers. From the beginning we have tried to partner up with like minded businesses to create meaningful collaborations that generate an exponential impact.

We worked with Better Future Factory in the Netherlands, they helped us with the early stages of the project searching for the best recycled material for us and helped us optimize our designs.

The designer Anibal Hernández and the workers of our local cardboard factory Klöde Kartonage helped us find the right material, and form for our packaging. Always considering the overall environmental impact of it.

A recycling and sheet maker in the south west of Germany provides us with the sheets and tries to adapt to our color wishes.

We collaborated with Boomplastic in Poland to create the first objects (combs and carabiners) from MiNiMONO HDPE waste.

And now our friends from Merijaan help us with the re-use of our production waste letting us use their shredder and their Precious-Plastic injection machine. Together we try to find new projects and designs to re-use the leftovers of our manufacture process.

We still produce our furniture in a local co-working hardtech innovation hub and makerspace Motionlab in Berlin.

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.
Julieta Benito Sanz is an architect and has mainly worked in interior ad refurbishments, Dirk Lachmann studied law but most of his career has been in the art world. In 2010 he started a woodworking project with the Spanish artist Ion Arregui.

We had to learn new techniques and processes for this project like 3D modeling, CNC routing with the support of the Motionlab community. We also had no previous experience with recycled plastic, which we gained thanks to the collaboration with the team of experts of Better Future Factory, the online open source community of Precious Plastic and the Merijaan team.

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
The MiNiMONO project was successfully crowdfunded in November 2021, we we backed by 147 supporters and pre-sold 116 furniture pieces. Since then our online shop is open and we have both new and repeat customers.

We have been invited to present our project in the Milan Design Week 2022 and the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven. We have given workshops at the Adidas Green Lab and talks to inspired new designers at the “Fachhochschule Potsdam” and the “ESNE (Escuela universitaria de diseño, innovación y tecnología ) Madrid”.

Since we started this project in October 2021 we have produced furniture with a total weight of 1.822kg of recycled plastic which is the equivalent to 35.725 detergent containers.

Please provide documents showing the results, outcomes and impacts of your project
Both
PDF
- pdf-1-8457.pdf
Web link
- https://www.theminimonoproject.com/
- https://www.instagram.com/theminimonoproject/
Please highlight the innovative character of the project, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the project
MiNiMONO gives flat pack furniture a new value that differentiates itself in terms of quality and sustainability from the actual common practices.
Our furniture is not only efficient in storage space and economizes impact and transport costs but it is also manufactured, packed and delivered almost waste neutrally and the pieces are easily assembled without any screws or additional parts, which we consider an unique and innovative approach.

Even though you can assemble any MiNiMONO piece in less than 5 minutes without any tools, the furniture is sturdy and qualitative, can be unmounted and mounted again and be in use for many years which is normally not the case or even the goal of the mainstream flat pack furniture companies.

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your project.
The MiNiMONO Project has been entirely conceived attending the principles of circular design. We have given form to the project aiming to come up with solutions that unify design, manufacturing, logistics and use in the most sustainable way possible.

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.
Our designs can be reproduced anywhere in the world just using a CNC router, the manual works after are small and the off-cuts minimal. Once packed the flat pack pieces take very little storage space.

It is our goal to be able to produce our furniture in small workshops in different places of the world using recycled sheets from local waste.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the project addresses by providing local solutions
Plastic waste is a global problem, and every design that avoids the use of new plastic and recycles existing plastic into new long lasting products is helping to create a solution even on the smallest scale.

We consider that accounting the production and manufacturing process, logistics and products life-cycle as part of the design is essential and exemplary to create sustainable products, plus it adds another level of value to the final result.
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
{Empty}

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