Given the exceptional level of the projects in the running for the award, the jury also recognised two other projects, ‘The Beetle Bottle’ and ‘Aer’, with Honourable Mentions
A clean-up kit for marine oil spills wins the second IED Alfaro Hofmann Collection Award
Date
07 July 2025
'S.L.I.C.K.', or Scalable Liquid Integration Containment Kit, conceived to clean up accidental oil spills has won the second edition of the IED Alfaro Hofmann Collection Award.
Devised by Cheyenne Berry, an IED Barcelona Product Design student, it is an ambitious and necessary solution for a real problem, as the jury charged with deciding upon the winning project expressed: “Accidental oil spills are a growing concern at sea, especially among recreational vessels, which sometimes do not take sufficient precautions or correctly delimit the spaces in which they carry out cleaning tasks. In the case of an accident, ‘S.L.I.C.K.’ offers a very interesting and accessible solution. And what’s more, it’s an aesthetically spectacular product”, said the panel of experts, on this occasion composed of Andrés Alfaro Hofmann, Collector and Interior Designer; Salvi Plaja, SIMON Company Chief Design Officer and President of FAD; and Uli Marchsteiner, Teacher at IED Barcelona.
Berry, who received her award on 13 June in a ceremony held at La Casa de la Llum-Simon, was not the only student to receive a recognition. Given the exceptional level of the projects in the running for the award, the jury decided to acknowledge two other proposals with Honourable Mentions.
These are 'The Beetle Bottle' by Abdelaziz Moustafa, a compact, modular bottle that enables water to be collected in arid environments by taking advantage of night-time humidity; and 'Aer' by Pol Carbonell, a compact wind-power generator designed for cyclists seeking independence and autonomy.
In the first case, the jury pointed out that “it is a simple product but one that offers a very important solution, taking into account the crucial role of water for human survival”. In the case of the latter, it attributed the reason for its decision to “the possibility of generating clean and renewable energy in a compact object designed for different uses and adaptations”.
Exploring New Horizons
In this second edition of the IED Alfaro Hofmann Collection Prize, both the winning project and the other finalists provided different solutions to the challenge posed by the Design School — “Exploring New Horizons” — which, in line with the SDGs, entailed devising new products that respond to humanity’s innate urge to explore new horizons. Among others, a portable AGI device that reinvents our interaction with intelligent systems, a set of school furniture to reinvent the classroom in nature, and a completely modular umbrella whose parts can be replaced without the need for screws or tools, were also presented at La Casa de la Llum-Simon.
The winning and shortlisted projects will be on display until 11 July at La Casa de la Llum – Simon (c/ Sancho de Ávila 66, 08018 Barcelona)
The jury, the IED Barcelona management, and members of the School of Design staff pose with the Product Design students.
The winner project: "S.L.I.C.K."
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