Crystal has been 3D-printed into vases, upcycled into terrazzo and channelled into solar panels by the three winners of the Swarovski Designers of the Future awards for 2017.
TAKT Project, Jimenez Lai and Marjan van Aubel are the recipients of this year's awards, which recognise up-and-coming designers and give them the opportunity to devise a new installation for Design Miami/Basel.

Jimenez Lai recycled rejected Swarovski crystal to create his project, Terrazzo Palazzo
This year the three emerging designers have combined their projects into a single installation, revealed today as the collectible design fair got underway in Basel.
Since Swarovski became the awards sponsor in 2015, the entrants have had to work with crystal as a material while demonstrating an "innovative approach to design and pioneering use of new technologies". This year that has translated to a focus on 3D printing, recycling and renewable energy.
Lai, an architect and founder of the LA-based studio Bureau Spectacular, recycled rejected second-quality crystal to create his project, Terrazzo Palazzo.
This crystal contains minor imperfections that makes them unusable in Swarovski's usual pieces, although the flaws are said to be so small they're invisible to the naked eye.

Lai used the crystal to make a terrazzo tile, manufactured in Italy with the help of Brent Dzekciorius from Dzek, which is used to form plinth-like geometric structures in the Miami/Basel installation.
Lai even developed d...