Biomimicry, natural materials and 3d printing technologies come together in the award winning design ‘Shapes of Sweden,’ an automobile seat made of 3d printed pinewood by Lilian van Daal. The design is the recent winner of the Volvo Design Challenge 2015 and along with the other inspiring finalists is currently on display at Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven (Oct 17-25, 2015).

As part of the Volvo Challenge, Lilian van Daal undertook an investigation into to whether an automobile’s seat (among other metals, plastic and foam materials used in the industry) could be made with a renewable, natural material. She researched and experimented with pinewood and 3D printing technologies, which allow her to mimic natural structures with incredible detail. As a renewable material readily available in Scandinavia, her selection of pinewood as a material makes a strong connection to the Swedish car brand.

Her Shapes of Sweden prototype car seat was made possible by 3D Systems Benelux, along with collaboration from designer Fons Broess and chemist Yashwant Panthak.

Created in 2014, the Volvo Design Challenge is an annual competition for designers. This year four young designers were in the running: Borre Akkersdijk, Lilian van Daal, Bob Schiller and Jólan van der Wiel. Each designer received a working budget for development of a design based on Volvo’s ‘Designed around you’ philosophy.

The jury inclusive of Niels van Eijk and Miriam van der Lubbe (Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe), Edwin Jacobs (director ofCentraal Museum Utrecht), Willem van Roosmalen (Fontanel), Koert van Mensvoort (Next Nature Network), and Mirjam van Coillie selected the winner in Amsterdam on the 2nd of October, with the jury expressing their surprise at the high quality of the entries.

During the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven (17-25 October 2015) the work of all the Volvo Design Challenge participants will be on show in an overview exhibition in the Klokgebouw (Hall 2). More information about this specific exhibition can be found here.