Carl Nielsen Design Accelerator
An annual initiative supporting Australian industrial designers working in sustainable design.
Carl Nielsen Design Accelerator
Supported by a generous bequest from Carl and Judy Nielsen, Powerhouse selects one project designed in Australia that demonstrates outstanding design in sustainability.
This accelerator program is open to industrial designers up to 10 years post-graduation. Each program will be tailored to the recipient and may include industry mentorship, production or research assistance or outreach support up to the value of $25,000. Powerhouse may also seek to acquire the winning project into the Powerhouse Collection.
2025 Recipient
Olson Hamilton-Smith is a Melbourne-based, Northern Territory-raised designer and manufacturer of Taiwanese heritage. Trained at RMIT, Melbourne Polytechnic and the Elisava Barcelona School of Design and Engineering, he has worked across the world of design, including at IHS Design, a furniture manufacturer, and DCG Design, leaders in public art, lighting and specialised architectural installations. He is also an artist in his own right, having been a finalist for the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize in 2023, and is the founder and lead designer at Loop Cycles, a Brunswick-based workshop specialising in custom engineering, design and fabrication with a focus on cycling.
