Sugarcrete® team to showcase at Milan Design Week 2025

The University of East London’s award-winning Sugarcrete® team has partnered with Barcelona’s Bagaceira Project to debut a market-ready prototype of new Sugarcrete® acoustic panels at Milan Design Week 2025, taking place from 8 to13 April. The showcase highlights UEL’s leadership in low-carbon design - transforming agricultural waste into high-performance materials for the built environment.

The acoustic panels are made from Sugarcrete® an eco-innovation that turns sugarcane byproduct (bagasse) into durable, scalable building components. These bio-based acoustic panels outperform traditional petroleum-based products in sound absorption, fire resistance, and indoor air quality - all while reducing carbon footprints by more than 160%.

Beyond design, Sugarcrete® carries significant environmental and social impact potential. Large-scale production could help revive 8 million square metres of underused sugarcane farmland in Spain’s Costa Tropical region, sequestering 48,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually, and reinvigorating rural economies through the reuse of dormant factory infrastructure.

With their sleek design, modular form, and strong sustainability credentials, the panels showcase how climate-conscious materials can meet both aesthetic and performance-driven demands in modern interior architecture.

Created through an intensive live-build workshop with UEL Master of Architecture students, the acoustic panels were developed using parametric design, CNC fabrication, and extensive material testing - including for acoustic performance, thermal conductivity, and fire safety. The result is a market-ready prototype now set to make its public debut at one of the world’s most influential design events.

Alan Chandler, Associate of the Sustainability Research Institute at UEL and co-creator of Sugarcrete®, said,

To have Sugarcrete® featured at Milan Design Week is a real testament to the strength of the research, the creativity of our students, and the urgency of rethinking how we build. This project isn’t just about replacing materials - it’s about designing a better, fairer system that values waste as a resource, and design as a driver of change. Milan gives us the opportunity to show the world what’s possible when sustainability and innovation go hand-in-hand.

Sugarcrete® will be exhibited at Milan Design Week as part of the Built by Bagasse initiative, one of 69 projects funded by the EU Worth Partnership II, and highlights UEL’s leading role in circular design thinking, carbon-conscious architecture, and next-generation materials research.

The UEL team will use their Milan Design Week presence to connect with industry leaders, designers, and researchers, further positioning UEL as a hub for sustainable material science and future-facing architectural education.