Design for the dead part of Aust's biggest design event

Seeds from Australia's floral emblem, the golden wattle, have been embedded into the lid of each urn so that after they are buried a tree can emerge from the ashes.

The five cypress macrocarpa trees used to make the urns have come from Box Hill Cemetery in Melbourne, and the cemetery sought out the founder of Revival Projects, designer Robbie Neville, to repurpose the timber.

Revival Projects is dedicated to salvaging construction and demolition waste from across Melbourne and reusing it for furniture and other projects.

At its timber mill in Collingwood, which is the only mill in the inner city, 100 of the urns are on display as part of Melbourne Design Week until Sunday, in an exhibition titled 100 Circles.

Visitors to the mill can buy an urn for $200 and even, eventually, make use of it.

People had bought the urns for family members and pets, said Neville, who has tailored urns for overseas use with plants native to other countries.

There are other fascinating projects on show, including a vending machine in NGV's Federation Court that supplies insect based snacks such as cricket corn chips and candied mealworms, as part of a focus on the future of food.

The Australian Furniture Design Award was on Wednesday given to Australian-Portuguese architect and designer Marta Figueiredo for her resilience cabinet.

On Thursday, an overall $5000 Melbourne Design Week Award for industry excellence went to industrial designer Adam Goodrum and French marquetry artisan Arthur Seigneur for another cabinet.

Melbourne Design Week is Australia's biggest design event and features a program of more than 300 exhibitions and events.

In its eighth year, the theme of "design the world you want" has meant a focus on energy, ethics and ecology.

Melbourne Design Week is on at various locations throughout Victoria until June 2.

Australian Associated Press