SMaRT wins Good Design Gold Award

UNSW SMaRT Centre has won a 2026 Good Design Australia Gold and Best in Class Awards for its Green Ceramics MICROfactorie^TM Technology.

SMaRT won the award in collaboration with its commercial partner, Liverpool City Council, which operates a Green Ceramics MICROfactorie^TM that produces a range of engineered ceramic tiles made from glass and textiles wastes.

SMaRT won the Gold Winner Award in the Product Design Hardware and Building category, and the technology also won a Best in Class Award.

The Awards Jury said: “The Jury recognises SMaRT Green Ceramics as an impactful and innovative solution that transforms problematic waste streams into high-performance architectural surfaces. The team is commended for achieving impressive physical performance standards including 26.2 MPa wet flexural strength and perfect stain resistance while manufacturing at just 130°C in under six minutes, a fraction of the energy required for conventional ceramic production. 

"The Jury was impressed by the quality and aesthetic appeal of these products given their material origins, noting the range appears versatile and suitable across various applications and settings. The sustainability impact is significant, having diverted over 500 tonnes of glass and 18 tonnes of textile waste from landfill annually, while delivering an estimated 46% lower embodied carbon compared to conventional tiles. Well done.”

Inf announcing the subsequent Best in Class award, Good Design Australia said: "The Best in Class accolade recognises the leading projects in each sub-category - those selected by the Jury as exceptional examples of design excellence, innovation and impact.

"Rising to the top of an outstanding field, these projects represent the very best of the best. Each sets a benchmark for its sector and demonstrates what is possible when creativity, purpose and design leadership come together.

"Congratulations to the designers, teams and organisations behind this year’s remarkable Best in Class recipients."

Waste has a role in a circular economy

SMaRT Director, Prof Veena Sahajwalla, said the award was a fitting recognition not just of the ongoing research and development work by the SMaRT team in relation to the Green Ceramics technology, but for the collaboration with Liverpool City Council which commissioned the technology.

“Recovering materials from waste has a big role to play as we move towards a sustainable future and a circular economy, reducing our carbon footprint.

“Many of the materials needed for our future needs are finite in supply, so using innovative technologies to reform waste into value-added feedstock for remanufacturing means we can also accelerate our sovereign manufacturing capability. 

"Waste itself can, and must, be seen as a resource with economic and social benefits as we strive to be more sustainable, and that is why we continue our efforts to develop a range of MICROfactorie^TM Technologies that reform hard to recycle wastes into products and feedstock for remanufacturing."

Good Design Australia said: "his year’s Awards are presented under the theme Design that Leads - celebrating the critical role of design in navigating complexity, driving innovation and creating positive change.

"At a time of unprecedented social, environmental and technological change, this year’s theme recognises that good design is more than an outcome, it is a powerful way of thinking, imagining and acting. It challenges us to question what is, envision what could be and design better products, services, places and systems for people and planet."

The 2026 Australian Good Design Awards Ceremony will take place on Friday 9 October at the International Convention Centre (ICC) Sydney, bringing together more than 1,000 guests from across design, architecture, engineering, business, government and the wider creative industries.

The Ceremony will celebrate the very best in contemporary design and reveal the recipients of the Good Design Award Best in Discipline, Special Accolades, the Good Design Award for Sustainability, and the Australian Good Design Award of the Year – the nation’s highest design honour.

Good Design Australia Managing Director Rachel Wye said the range of projects recognised in 2026 reflected the role design now plays across the economy and community.

“Design is an important economic and social capability. It influences the products we create, the services we rely on, the policies we develop and the way organisations respond to complex problems,” Ms Wye said.

“This year’s Award winners are addressing energy costs, healthcare, environmental degradation, artificial intelligence, disaster preparedness, accessibility and community wellbeing.

“Australia has an extraordinary design community and an opportunity to use that capability to strengthen our economy, improve lives and build industries that can compete internationally.”

Setting the Global Benchmark for Design Excellence

The Australian Good Design Awards recognise excellence from around the world across 13 overarching design disciplines and more than 30 categories, encompassing Built Environment, Communication Design, Concept Design, Digital Design, Design Research, Design Strategy, Engineering Design, Fashion and Textiles, Next Gen, Policy Design, Product Design, Service Design and Social Impact.

Every project is evaluated by an independent Jury of more than 100 Australian and international design experts against three core criteria: Good Design, Design Innovation and Design Impact.

Established in 1958, the Australian Good Design Awards are Australia’s longest-running international design awards and one of the world’s most respected design recognition programs.