【RIMOWA】Announcing the Finalists for the 2026 RIMOWA Design Prize

The finalists for the RIMOWA Design Prize, now in its fourth year, have been announced. The RIMOWA Design Prize aims to utilize the flexible ideas of young designers to create a better society. This prize was established in 2023 to celebrate Germany's long design tradition and to shed light on the creativity of the next generation of designers.

With 'mobility' and its impact on society as its theme, this prize generates a wide range of ideas, reflecting RIMOWA's values of timeless design, innovation, and durability. Through collaboration with prominent design professionals representing Germany and extensive mentoring sessions, it provides valuable experience to students, further refining their ideas. Since its inception in 2023, the scale of this prize has grown year by year, with its network of participating universities expanding from an initial 15 schools to over 40 educational institutions today.

For this year's RIMOWA Design Prize, leaders representing the global design community were assigned as advisors to the 21 pre-selected semi-finalists, carefully guiding the students through the development process. In addition to valuable mentoring, participants were provided with a professional working environment and valuable networking opportunities, allowing them to realize their ideas in the best possible setting.

The seven finalist projects to be announced this time will be unveiled in Berlin on May 11, 2026. On that day, a judging team of nine, consisting of seven RIMOWA Design Prize mentors and two special judges, will conduct the final evaluation from the perspectives of creativity, global relevance, originality, and timelessness. After presentations by the finalists and deliberations by the judges, the best project and a special award will be selected, and then announced at an awards ceremony moderated by Berlin-based Valerie Präkelt.

One of the finalists, Niklas Henning from Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal University, will present "Paludi Harvester," developed under the mentorship of Stefan Daniel. This project addresses the environmental challenge of peatland regeneration while maintaining agricultural productivity. Two interconnected machines harvest crops grown in peatlands and process them into standardized bundles or bales. Designed to operate efficiently during the limited harvesting season in freezing conditions, this system protects delicate ecosystems while maintaining sustainability.