Crystal Cabin Award goes to Lightweight Aircraft Seating team
Yesterday the Crystal Cabin Awards Association presented its coveted trophies for innovation in cabin technology and passenger experience. The winner of the 2023 University category was the Lightweight Aircraft Seating team from IDE.
Designed to offer students a forum for imaginative clean-sheet designs, the University category is one of the most innovative areas of the Crystal Cabin Awards. This year the honour was awarded to the Lightweight Aircraft Seating team. Congratulations to team members Thomas Hogeveen, Bas Ammerlaan, Maartje Ballemans and Agi Strijker.
We feel very pleased and honoured that we received this award from the jury of the Crystal Cabin Award Association, and want to thank them for this recognition. It feels extra special because our concept started out as an idea from a 2 hour design contest with people that didn't know each other. This really proves that the smallest idea can grow into anything big.
- Lightweight Aircraft Seating team
Lightweight, comfortable, sustainable
The concept of the winning team is lightweight, comfortable and sustainable. Lightweight because, the cushions of the seat are made of flexible thermoplastic elastomer TPU-98A via Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM); a specific 3D printing technique.
Via this technique ‘shape memory’ can be implemented, the shape returns to its original form after deflection. By using different infill percentages of a gyroid structure in the seating, different parts of the body can be supported. While at the same time, ensuring that no extra weight is used, only what is necessary.
The top layer of the chair is made of cactus leather, this is leather made of cacti and can be harvested without killing them and in half a year a new skin is produced. It is highly durable and gives users an expensive feel. Next to this, it also grows in Brazil, close to the Embraer plant.
A TU Delft | IDE top 3
In an exciting turn of events, this year, within the University category, student groups from the TU Delft | Faculty of Industrial Designing Engineering claimed all three nomination spots. Each project focused on the passenger experience in the air, specifically seating. Discover all three projects here.
Lightweight Aircraft Seating team
Team Alba
Team Horus
Crystal Cabin Awards
The Crystal Cabin Award is the international prize for innovation in the aircraft cabin. A high-calibre jury made up of renowned academics, engineers, specialist journalists and airline and aircraft manufacturer representatives comes together under the slogan “Let your ideas take off” to honour extraordinary cabin concepts and products. The competition was launched by Hamburg Aviation and is organised by the Crystal Cabin Award Association. This unique honour has been presented at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg every year since 2007. The trophies have become a seal of quality, known and coveted around the world.