With decorative gourd season on the horizon, and Climate Week NYC coming to a close, it feels fitting to revisit Studio CRÈME’s The Gourd Project. Brooklyn-based CRÈME Architecture & Design has been exploring how to bypass the waste cycle of disposable cups through a biodegradable, molded gourd. Once dried, gourds have traditionally been used as vessels for drinking and storage across cultures. CRÈME builds on this centuries-old craft by using molds to grow gourds directly into functional shapes – such as cups and flasks – creating sustainable, renewable, and compostable products with virtually no waste. Their custom-designed, 3D-printed molds echo the silhouette of a classic faceted glass, enabling gourds to grow into a stackable design.
CRÈME’s process shows how design can work hand-in-hand with agriculture. Founder Jun Aizaki explains, “Our goal has always been to use this gift from nature in modern applications. By creating molds for functional forms like cups and flasks, we have been able to grow vessels that are biodegradable, renewable, and fully compostable – grown, not manufactured.”
Aizaki found inspiration in the Japanese tradition of shaping watermelons into square molds and in the humble gourd itself – one of the world’s oldest vessels. While the practice of molding gourds is not new, mass-producing a consistent product from an organic material is challenging. CRÈME began by growing a few gourds in a backyard and eventually partnered with a farm to scale up production. Yet outdoor conditions – humidity, pests, weather, flooding – are hard to control. The team is eager to experiment with growing gourds in a controlled environment to limit these variables and produce a more consistent product.
Like the rapid growth of indoor hydroponic farming for greens, mushrooms, and watermelons, the hope is to cultivate gourds in a dedicated “Gourd Lab.” This controlled setting could minimize external factors and test whether a more uniform, high-volume product is achievable.
Why does this matter? Globally, hundreds of billions of single-use cups and bottles end up in landfills or oceans each year. Even paper cups often have plastic linings that make them difficult to recycle. The Gourd Project offers a different model – one that doesn’t rely on industrial production or complex recycling systems.
My own travels have shaped how I see projects like this. I fondly remember walking the streets of Japan and noticing the near absence of trash cans – and, more importantly, the absence of trash. Like camping, you take out what you bring in. I loved seeing people carry their own hand towels, eliminating the need for paper towels in public restrooms. It’s a group effort: by taking care of your own needs, collectively you help take care of everyone else by reducing disposable waste. And though I sometimes question the viability of The Gourd Project for large-volume consumption, I believe deeply in revisiting design to find new – or very old – solutions to modern waste.
Similarly, Jun Aizaki – who honed his skills in restaurant design at the Rockwell Group – believes that doing good for others is at the core of hospitality, and that this approach can be applied to other design disciplines. It’s a philosophy that translates seamlessly into The Gourd Project: designing objects that serve and sustain not just the individual, but the larger community.
As Climate Week NYC sparks conversations about cross-sector collaboration, The Gourd Project offers a glimpse of what’s possible when design and nature work together. Sustainable design isn’t only about new materials or technologies; it’s also about rediscovering ancient methods and adapting them for contemporary needs.
To learn more about The Gourd Project by CRÈME Architecture & Design, visit cremedesign.com.
Photography by Chris Collie.