Master's graduate Leon Butt wins the Frese Design Award

Leon Butt has won the 2026 Frese Design Prize with an innovative housing concept made from GRP hazardous waste. The 26-year-old master’s graduate from the University of the Arts Bremen was honoured for his project “Waste Becomes a Resource”. With a prize fund of €12,000, the award is one of the most highly endowed university prizes in Germany and will be awarded in full to a single individual for the first time in 2026.

On 5 May 2026, this year’s Frese Design Prize was awarded as part of the exhibition “ID Select. Frese Design Prize” at the Wilhelm Wagenfeld Haus. For the first time, the nominated final projects are being presented in a dedicated museum exhibition. The exhibition can be viewed at the Wilhelm Wagenfeld Haus until 31 May 2026 inclusive.

With his project, Butt addresses two key challenges: the management of hard-to-recycle GRP hazardous waste from wind turbines and the growing demand for affordable housing. Using so-called hub covers from wind turbines, he develops mobile, round tiny houses that can be used for holiday resorts, campsites or student accommodation, amongst other things. The design is based on existing industrial components and demonstrates how end-of-life materials can be transformed into sustainable usage concepts. The jury particularly commended the high level of feasibility as well as the combination of sustainability and design.

Jannes Schmidt also received a commendation for his video work “Don’t Kill My Home”. In it, the Master’s graduate examines the widespread practice of demolishing functional buildings and addresses the loss of resources, housing and social structures. The jury particularly highlighted the work’s poetic visual language.

The Frese Design Prize has been awarded by the Petra and Dieter Frese Foundation since 2014 and supports emerging designers in Bremen. With the prize money increased to €12,000 and the new practice of awarding it to a single individual, the profile of the prize has been further enhanced.

About the winner
"Leon Butt tackles a highly relevant social challenge: the management of waste materials from large-scale industrial plants. In his project ‘Waste Becomes a Resource’, he explores the materials from decommissioned wind turbines that are difficult to recycle. Following a thorough research phase, he has developed a compelling concept for repurposing the hub housing of these turbines into an innovative living module. He recognises the design qualities of the existing form and opens up a wide range of usage scenarios. The jury particularly commends the precision with which Leon Butt has thought through the technical, functional and material-related details. His concept is highly feasible – yet goes far beyond that: by extending the product lifecycle, he impressively demonstrates how design can act as a driving force for ecological and social transformation."


Honourable Mention
"‘In ‘Don’t Kill My Home’, Jannes Schmidt takes a personal experience as the starting point for a comprehensive critique of today’s construction industry. The jury was particularly impressed by the poetic visual language, which gives the audience space to grasp the emotional and material significance of architecture. With this film, Jannes Schmidt succeeds in creating a quiet yet all the more powerful narrative that calls for a new approach to our built environment."

• Dr Katerina Vatsella (independent curator, Bremen)
• Dr Julia Bulk (Director of the Wilhelm Wagenfeld Stiftung, Bremen)
• Ganna Bauer (Visual Identities, Editorial Design, Berlin)
• Mikaela Dörfel (Product Design, Kiel)
• Peter Wiesmann (Fashion Design, Paris/Geneva and Haute école d’art et de design (HEAD) Genève).