New Dawn long listed for Dezeen Awards 2025

Now, here is a great designer that knows what 'walking the extra mile' really means... Congratulations Aga Blonska! To see New Dawn longlisted for the Dezeen Awards (one of the highest international standards in design) is such a joy! And also a powerful example of why I founded ROOTS: to show how design can truly begin with the soil and how regeneration (not extraction only!) can be our guiding principle.

This project was born out of nothing but conviction. My Studio Simone van Es initiated and invested the research into the relatively new material PHA and the challenge of large-scale 3D printing. Aga, 3DMZ | 3D Makers Zone and I were just “crazy enough” to take it on — investing countless hours, energy and belief in something that seemed impossible at first. History has shown us that many artists and designers once seen as unconventional were in fact opening doors to change. New Dawn carries that same spirit.

It was thanks to works like New Dawn that ROOTS Exhibition won the Masterly Award and was named Best Exhibition at Milano Design Week by Corriere della Sera. Exactly because it represents a new way of designing — fragile yet bold, rooted yet forward-looking.

The material makes it groundbreaking: PHA, a biopolymer made by microorganisms. Unlike PLA, which only composts under special conditions, PHA breaks down in all natural environments. Soil, water, even marine. Leaving no trace, no microplastics, only a return to the soil. 🌱 ROOTS Milano was the first place in the world to see such an advanced large-scale 3D print in PHA.

I’m thrilled that New Dawn is on display at The Frozen Fountain during GLUE amsterdam connected by design. Looking forward to meeting new designers and continuing the dialogue there. And a little spoiler: New Dawn will also be part of our upcoming presentation 'Plantbased' at Dutch Design Week, where we will again explore what it means to design differently — from and with the soil.

Thank you Aga for designing for us and for taking this journey together. Here’s to a bright and regenerative future!

X S 🌱