Laura Rajnai

Laura Rajnai is a graduate student of the Institute of Product Design at the University of Óbuda, Faculty of Industrial Product and Design Engineering. She is a creator with a material-centred design approach, her work is characterised by the intertwined and serendipitous relationship between biology and design. She strives to avoid extremes, to achieve sustainability and to strike a balance between tradition and innovation. In the spirit of environmental and social responsibility, her work is not only functional but also installation-oriented, and the COFFEEINARE-01 table lamp was designed in this spirit. The project also resulted in a Student Research Paper, which was awarded second place in the product design section of the Student Research Conference of the University of Óbuda, 19 April 2024. She is an in-depth student with a persistent experimental and analytical design thinking.

About the object

COFFEENAIRE-01 table lamp

The COFFEENAIRE-01 table lamp is the only completed piece in the COFFEENAIRE range of four luminaires. The luminaire has been designed with an environmentally conscious approach, from the first stroke of the pen, through to the finish and end-of-life management of the product. Its main materials are glass, concrete and a 100% biodegradable, highly compostable biopolymer containing coffee grounds.

Why coffee grounds?

“In addition to its many positive physiological and biological properties, coffee/coffee consumption also plays an important role in our lives from a cultural and social point of view, as countless friendships and acquaintances can be made over a good cup of coffee. In addition, coffee grounds are a kitchen waste that many of us produce every day in our households, and there are countless ways of dealing with them, but we often do not pay enough attention to them.”

As well as fulfilling its expected functions, the lamp has an installation and awareness-raising role, focusing on sustainability, alternatives to plastic, waste reduction and waste management.

The attachment to the lamp is reinforced not only by the material but also by the form/technology. It can be operated by touching a clearly marked point on the luminaire, so that we can connect not only sentimentally but also physically to the object and thus to the theme.