WdKA Students Design Prototypes for the New Store
Design students from the Willem de Kooning Academy (WdKA) have created a series of products for the New Store, the regenerative museum shop of the Nieuwe Instituut. They were asked to make each product from a single panel of SeaWood, a sustainable seaweed-based building material. The students created fully functional prototypes, complete with packaging, user manuals, visual presentations and product names. The result is a series of products that highlight the practical potential of regenerative design.
18 June 2026
The designs were created during a two-and-a-half-day design sprint at the WdKA in Rotterdam in spring 2026. Each team worked with a single panel of SeaWood, a BlueBlocks material made from seaweed and other organic materials, which is also available in the New Store. The teams had to transform their panels into functional flat-pack products that could be sold as separate parts in a flat box.
Regenerative products
The project aimed to conceive and create products that are as regenerative as possible – meaning that their production, transportation and purchase have no negative impact, but instead contribute to the restoration, renewal or ongoing reconstruction of ecosystems and healthy living conditions for humans and more-than-humans. The assignment therefore aligns with the principles of the New Store, the Nieuwe Instituut’s alternative museum shop.
Designs from a single SeaWood panel
Each team was given a single SeaWood panel and asked to design a product that could either be bought ready-made or easily assembled by users themselves. They had to develop a prototype accompanied by clear instructions for non-designers. The designs had to be easy to assemble, require minimal additional materials, and adhere to regenerative design principles at environmental and social levels.
Take a look at all six designs below.
Rotterdammen
Rotterdammen is a draughts or checkers game made from a single sheet of SeaWood. It features an engraved playing board and a fragrant finish. It was designed by Jip Puts, Kristina Andreeva, Senna Klimsop, Ayla Kalaonra Huncaen and Thomas Quispel.
Sea Light
Sea Light is a modular tea light holder with sustainable packaging made from paper derived from plant waste. It was designed by Gaia Monaldi, Miles Rosensweet, Marina Vavoula, Ruth Cojocaru and Zuzanna Najmanowicz.
After Life
After Life is a vase for dried flowers that can be assembled entirely by hand from a single sheet – no tools required. It was designed by Daniel Bakker, Boris Kamenski, Miles Guillaume, Patrick van Osch and Carla Rodriguez.
Table Waves
Table Waves is a modular desk organiser whose components can be flexibly arranged. It was designed by Yulia Zakharniova, Alan Boshoff, Avelina Svankulova, Anuycha Artosin and Matias Tuschen Cano.
Rots in de Branding
Rots in de Branding is a flat-pack bookstand for use at home, in the kitchen or in a bookshop. It was designed by Finn Carroll, Dan Prip, Elisa Tremouilhac, Guus Kentie and Marijn van Geest.
Seaquence
Seaquence is a modular construction set inspired by sea creatures, seaweed and coral reefs. It was designed by Nick Gyselynck, Annika Smith, Mees Profittlich, Filippo Gramaglia and Ece Harput.
About New Store
New Store is the Nieuwe Instituut's museum shop where we envision the shop of the future: one that helps rather than harms the environment. New Store ultimately aims to be completely regenerative. It acts as a testing ground, bringing designers’ ideas and proposals into the real world. Together, we explore what it means to design, produce and shop in a fully regenerative way. Every product in the museum shop is the result of a partnership with a local designer.
