From May 8–10, 2026, ECHO presented its first edition during GLUE Utrecht.

Fourteen designers work with aluminium from the production of street lighting poles, not as waste, but as a starting point for design.

The material used in this edition originates from industrial production, where aluminium is processed into components for public infrastructure. Off-cuts, surplus parts and discarded elements form the basis of the work.

By working with material that already has a defined shape, dimension and history, the design process shifts. There is no blank starting point. Instead, the material itself determines direction, proportion and outcome.

Each designer approaches this constraint differently, resulting in a range of objects and spatial interventions. Some works stay close to the original form, while others explore transformation through assembly, repetition or recontextualisation.

Together, the works form a collective investigation into reuse, material logic and the potential of what is already there.

What remains, returns.