Behind every project at VAN•HOA lies a story—a story filled with inspiration, where creative thinking evolves and thoughtful design philosophies come to life. For the RMIT Alumni Green Business Showcase 2024, this project wasn’t just an opportunity for VAN•HOA’s team to explore new ideas, but also a chance to blend art with sustainability, while forming new connections to shape a circular and sustainable future. Circular design is far from simple. It’s a collaborative effort that requires everyone involved to work together throughout the journey.
From embracing the CIRCO Design methodology to crafting the Green Spiral concept, each step we took felt like a spiral—slowly unfolding new layers, proving that creativity isn’t just for show, but for changing the way we envision the future.
The First Touch Point: CIRCO Design
In marketing and advertising, where campaigns often consume vast resources and generate waste, sustainable thinking is no longer optional—it’s a necessity. Especially in event organizing, many intricate crafted booths and beautiful displays often end up as waste right after the event. Facing such challenges, we found the solution in CIRCO, a Dutch methodology introduced in Vietnam by GIZ, designed to navigate the complexities of moving beyond traditional linear design.
CIRCO is more than just a method; it’s a way of thinking, encouraging us to see everything through the lens of its lifecycle. Every product, every decision—from creation to use, recycling, and renewal—becomes part of a greater system.
Guided by CIRCO, we dived deep into its principles, asking questions that seemed simple but carried profound impact: “How can this material be optimized for reuse?” “What happens to this booth after the event?” “How can design inspire businesses to adopt sustainability as a core value?” These questions unlocked decisions about every detail—from the wood and fabric to modular assembly techniques that minimized waste.
CIRCO didn’t just inspire us; it challenged us. It created a kind of pressure—a positive force that pushed us to stay focused, to avoid slipping into old ways of thinking, and to keep our ultimate goal clear: to make design a tool for transformation.
The Green Spiral: When Nature Inspires Sustainable Design
With CIRCO as our foundation, we needed a concept to anchor the project—and Green Spiral was born. At first glance, the spiral may seem like a simple shape found everywhere in nature, from seashells to galaxies. But in the context of circular design, it becomes something much more—a symbol of continuous growth, renewal, and interconnectedness.
We saw the spiral as more than a shape. It became a way to tell a story—a story about cycles of growth and how ideas, like spirals, can expand outward, unlocking new possibilities and creating sustainable value over time.
In circular design, each loop of the spiral represents a key stage in a product’s journey: material selection, production, use, and eventually, reuse or regeneration. The Green Spiral became our compass, reminding us to design not just for the present but for the future, ensuring that every choice contributes to a sustainable ecosystem.
The next step was bringing the green spiral to life. How could we weave its essence into every corner of the exhibit? Our first sketches featured overlapping circles, creating a sense of endless motion. Each line, each curve was refined to do more than just inspire; it had to reflect the very philosophy of circularity—a quiet invitation for viewers to reflect on how design, art, and the environment are deeply interconnected.
The Showcase Booths: Sustainability in Every Detail
Once the concept was clear, the real challenge began: translating it into reality. How could we create something not just beautiful but also genuinely sustainable?
The exhibition booths became a perfect embodiment of our Reduce–Reuse–Recycle mindset paired with creative design. Each booth told the story of a participating business, standing out with its unique identity while remaining harmoniously aligned with the showcase’s concept.
The structure was intentionally simple yet thoughtful: three wooden columns, four connecting beams, and fabric panels stretched over the frame. Every detail was designed for purpose and longevity. The modular wooden beams could be easily assembled and disassembled. No adhesives, no hard-to-recycle materials—everything was built to be reused for future events or adapted for different needs.
Building sustainably wasn’t easy. We faced countless moments of doubt and deliberation. There were hours spent fine-tuning the length of a single wooden beam or the tension of a fabric panel. But it was in this careful attention to detail that the project’s heart emerged. What seemed small and insignificant became silent declarations of what we believe in: sustainable design is worth the effort.
Just like the spiral, VAN•HOA’s journey is a cycle of never-ending creativity. Each project opens up new horizons, new possibilities—this time, not just for innovation but for the planet and its future.
At the RMIT Alumni Green Business Showcase 2024, the story we’re telling isn’t about beginnings or endings. The most beautiful part lies in the journey—an infinite spiral of growth, connection, and transformation.
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