When we dreamed up this design competition, we made the parameters for entry intentionally broad. That’s because we wanted to encourage submissions that defied categorization—those miscellaneous, unusual, unique designs that deserve to be celebrated, but might not fit into a certain mould. And wow, did Edmonton-based One­twosix deliver.

Industrial designers Matt Carr, Nick Kazakoff and Brendan Gallagher (a team that nabbed our Industrial Designer of the Year award in 2020) created the Pop-Upsicles—a collection of popsicle-shaped outdoor seating—for the Benchmarks street furniture competition put on by design-focused nonprofit MADE and Edmonton’s annual KDays exhibition.

The bright, durable and joyfully summery seating was made in collaboration with [Re] Waste, a local company that recycles plastic waste into high-density polyethylene. It’s sustainable, sweet design that we hope sticks around.

Project: Pop-Upsicle benches
Designer: Onetwosix Design
Collaborators: [Re] Waste (materials)
Location: Edmonton

Meet all of the 2024 WL Design 25 winners here.

Alyssa Hirose

Alyssa Hirose

Alyssa Hirose is a Vancouver-based writer, editor, illustrator and comic artist. Her work has been featured in Vancouver magazine, Western Living, BCBusiness, Avenue, Serviette, Geist, BCLiving, Nuvo, Montecristo, The Georgia Straight and more. Her beats are food, travel, arts and culture, style, interior design and anything dog-related. She publishes a daily autobiographical comic on Instagram at @hialyssacomics.