Limkokwing University collaborated with EcoWorld to create sculptures of 12 Chinese zodiac signs from recycled art for the company’s annual Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival (L’art Est Eco) held at Eco Majestic in Semenyih on 3 October.
EcoWorld is a property development company that offers affordable, upgrader and luxury homes, integrated high-rise developments and green business parks. The company’s projects are strategically located within the matured and fast-growing development corridors in the Klang Valley, Iskandar Malaysia and Penang.
The company is well-known for its efforts and commitment in promoting a future with self-sustainable green communities. This year’s Lantern Festival featured 12 Chinese zodiac sign sculptures designed by Limkokwing students. The sculptures were built using recycled materials to reflect the company’s pledge towards the community and environment.
The project involved over 50 students from Product Design, Professional Design, Event Management and Foundation in Design. Refugee students enrolled under Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (SKM) in collaboration with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) also contributed their creative skills to make this project a success.
The designs were sized between 2 to 7 feet based on the Chinese zodiac symbols and creatively constructed using recycled materials such as kitchen utensils, plastic bottles, glass bottles, aluminum cans, unwanted electrical components, old computers parts and etc.
During the installation of the sculptures, students learned to work as a team in a creative and challenging environment. As future designers, they have learned to turn waste into treasure, proving that upcycling designs are not only eco-friendly and economical, but can also can be beautiful, stylish and of good quality.
Zarish Saleem from Pakistan shared that the project provided good exposure to students in terms of teamwork and creativity. “If you have a creative mind, you can turn anything ugly into something beautiful,” she said.
Shahzaib Sohail, her classmate also added that teamwork is the key to success in every project. “If you are alone, you cannot do big things,” he exclaimed.
Their lecturer, Mr. Timothy feel it’s the lecturer’s responsibility to integrate students so that they learn to work together. “Once they have graduated from Limkokwing University, it will be easy for them to work with people from different fields of expertise to exchange thoughts, skills and knowledge,” he added.