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Indian architect’s bio-cladding system wins Swarovski Foundation’s ‘Creatives for Our Future’ program, promoting greener cities globally.
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An Indian architect’s “bio-cladding system” for greener cities is one of six global projects chosen by the 2025 Swarovski Foundation’s ‘Creatives for Our Future programme’, an initiative along with the United Nations Office for Partnerships.
The 29-year-old architect, Mangesh Kurund’s project is the only one to win from India and his project “uses lightweight tiles embedded with water to cultivate algae and moss, mimicking natural water management processes,” a note from the Foundation said. “This living cladding purifies air, sequesters carbon, and reduces urban heat, contributing to healthier, greener cities,” it explained.
Other winning projects included eco-friendly housing solutions for refugee camps in Nigeria, textiles made from ocean waste in Egypt by local fishermen, and a device making music more accessible for the deaf community from Indonesia, among other winning initiatives, the note said.
The 2025 winners were chosen from 487 applicants and announced at a recent reception at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Each winner gets a €20,000 grant, besides mentorship, access to industry experts, and a global support network to scale their projects and accelerate progress towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to the Foundation’s communication.
With this support, Kurund hopes “to turn his concept into a scalable, impactful and commercially viable system, developing functional prototypes that can be tested in a variety of real-world conditions,” the note said. “My architectural ideas have always revolved around bridging the gap between built and natural environments to create inter-connected, complementary spaces. …. Just as trees purify the air and provide natural cooling, this cladding acts like the bark of a tree and does exactly that for buildings,” he said, in the statement.
Jakhya Rahman-Corey, Director of the Swarovski Foundation, said the groundbreaking solutions demonstrated the “transformative power of creativity in tackling global challenges.“ Annemarie Hou, Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships, pointed to the importance in supporting “young people with the tools to create a sustainable world.”
The programme is in its fourth year and supports the next generation of creative innovators driving sustainable solutions across architecture, fashion, circular design, community development, product design, and technology, the note said.
Published on April 27, 2025
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