Žan Girandon
he/himA new material from used technical textiles: exploring potential use cases and developing prototypes
Žan Girandon is a Ljubljana based industrial designer who holds a BA from ALUO. Currently, he is finalising his master’s thesis on water filtration, building on the Dodola project that was part of BIO27’s production platform in 2022. In recognition of his extracurricular contributions, he received the Rector’s award for group work on the “Food for Tomorrow” project, which placed third in an international Student Service Design Challenge. Girandon also received the group Prešeren award at ALUO for exhibit “T-60” at the Lighting Guerrilla. As one of the leaders in “The Collective Body” project, he explores architectural culture and material sharing relationships. He co-founded the Pjorkkala association, where he is involved in experimental approaches in 3D printing with clay.
Project
The project “Remanufacturing technical textiles” aims to address the urgent need to explore new ways of processing materials that are already present in the world but discarded too fast. With a focus on technical textiles, which are often discarded after their primary use, the project seeks to unlock the full potential of these complex and multi-layered materials, while reducing the extraction of virgin materials. The primary objective of the project is to develop a new material made from used technical textiles, those materials already have high level of durability, mould-resistance, and UV-resistance, and are suitable both for indoor and outdoor use. The project aims to further explore potential use cases for the material, and to develop prototypes that showcase its possibilities. Experts from various fields, including education, craftsmanship, and manufacturing, will be invited to encourage a dialogue between design, technology, and society.
