Honorary award
ESCI UPF, 2023
ESCI-UPF is the Superior School of International Business of Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain, specialized in international trade and global business education. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs, as well as research collaborations and international business partnerships. Additionally, each year, this institution awards honorary distinctions to outstanding members of the school.
About the trophy
The design project briefing for this honorary distinction involved incorporating the iconic tree located in the courtyard of ESCI-UPF's facilities, known as the Ginkgo Biloba tree (or "silver apricot" in Japanese), also referred to as the sacred tree and considered the oldest in the world, symbolizing longevity.
Following the concept of representing the passage of time that this tree embodies, the idea was to create an award with the appearance of a fossil. This involved engraving the leaves of the Ginkgo Biloba on a cylindrical plaster trophy, allowing those who hold it to see, feel, and touch this tree in a tangible way.
The plaster used is reinforced with natural fibers to provide strength to the trophy and prevent it from breaking easily. Both the text and the leaf illustration are engraved on the cylindrical surface using a laser engraving process.
