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Join the seventh edition of the Distributed Design Awards!
The Distributed Design Awards celebrate the creative, mind-shifting and responsible design responses to the post-industrial design paradigm. We recognize multidisciplinary, innovative and sustainable designs from Europe’s makers, designers and creatives.
We’re looking for design projects that take the following into account:
→ Social challenges and human wellbeing
Both of the end-user and potential co-producers are included in co-creation or design (socioeconomic business models, regenerative systems, etc.)
→ Distributed Design principles
Open source, and transparency, allows for adaptation and/or customization.
→ Circular economy principles
Local production, smart manufacturing, responsible materials, convivial tool making, product life cycle and afterlife.
APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN
WHO IS IT FOR?
This award is open to anyone working in the creative disciplines dealing with Design and Making: creative players, makers, designers, artists, architects, scientists, students and others.
We promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Inviting everyone, with Europe based projects, independent of their origin, ethnicity, creed, culture, gender identification or religious background to join!
A broad definition of ‘emerging creatives’ is adopted to include designers, makers and practitioners who apply the Distributed Design concept to diverse applications, this could include platforms, deployments or products and services for example. This call is open to those of any background or experience, independent of present academic involvement.
📢 Applications Process
Open for Entries → May 29th
Submissions Deadline → Monday, July 15th
🗓 Entry Guide & Rules
Before submitting your project, please read the detailed application guidelines:
Note that by agreeing to the terms and conditions, prize winners are also committing to participating in the residency and learning program provided by the sponsor.
AWARDS CATEGORIES
Project Excellence Award
Design that best tackle all four core values of the Distributed Design Platform: Open, Collaborative, Regenerative, Ecosystemic.
🏆 The winner will be awarded 2.000€ in funding to further develop the project.
WASP Award
Design that empowers navigating complex and uncertain scenarios through a hands-on, knowing-in-action methodology by utilizing and integrating 3D printing technology.
🏆 The winner of the WASP AWARD will be awarded a fully funded two weeks practice-based residency at WASP headquarters in Massalompbarda (Italy), including flights and accommodation, to be able to develop their project, having access to WASP’s technology and support, receiving mentoring and training from WASP experts to be able to utilize a range of printers available at location. Winners will have access to the facility to develop their project autonomously.
The residency, in agreement, must take place starting from January and no later than March 2025.
Requisite: Basic knowledge of 3D software
Critical Materiality
Design that embraces material innovation and responsible principles transition from traditional processes, critically reflecting on the role of materials and practices.
🏆 The winner of Critical Materiality will be awarded a 50% Fabricademy Scholarship at the Fab Lab Barcelona node (Prize value: approx 4000€) and the opportunity to develop their final Fabricademy project in collaboration with Kniterate.
Learn more about Fabricademy here!
Transformational Design
Design that challenges manufacturing and consumption through innovative, transparent processes and open-source flow.
🏆 The winner of Transformational Design will be awarded a 50% Fab Academy Scholarship at the Fab Lab Barcelona node (Prize value: 3750€).
Learn more about Fab Academy here!
Citizen Driven Innovation
Design for a better understanding and tackling of environmental challenges through creative actions and contribute to the empowerment of local and global communities.
🏆 The winner of Citizen Innovation will be awarded a Smart Citizen Starter Pack and will have the opportunity to have the winning project mentioned within the context of European-wide citizen science and research projects on social networks, such as CitiObs and More4Nature.
Learn more about the Smart Citizen Kit here.
People’s Choice
Design recognised by people and the Distributed Design network online. The most voted entry during June.
🏆 The People’s Choice winner will be will be exhibit at the Vienna Design Week in September 2024.
Note:
All submitted projects will compete for the Project Excellence and People’s Choice awards.
Winning projects will have the opportunity to be exhibited at the Vienna Design Week.
THE JURY
This year’s jury is made up of international distributed design experts on each assessing round, representing 20 high-profile cultural and design institutions in total, these are Maker, Danish Design Center, Espacio Open, Opendot, Politecnico de Lisboa, Happylab Vienna, Knowledge Center Vestmannaeyjar, P2P Lab, Pakhuis de Zwijger, Re:publica, Polifactory, Ars Longa, Fablab Budapest, MAO, Fab City Foundation, IAAC, Global Innovation Gathering, Design & Crafts Council Ireland, Metalab, SPLOT Institute, WASP.
First Round Jury
Second Round Jury
AN INITIATIVE OF
The initiative is organized by Distributed Design, a project co-funded by the European Union. It fosters the role of emerging Makers and Designers as part of our new digitized world. It celebrates, supports and inspires these professionals from across Europe and provides opportunities to support the mobility and circulation of their work to connect them with new, digital markets.
SUPPORTED BY
Fab Lab Barcelona is the research and innovation centre, situated inside the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC). It focuses mainly on Research, Education, and Services, pushing the boundaries of what Fab Labs can be and do in neighbourhoods, cities, and regions. It’s also the headquarters of the Global Coordination of the Fab Academy program and leads the Fab City Project, an initiative that aims to develop a new model for locally productive and globally connected self sufficient-cities.
The Distributed Design Platform is led by Fab Lab Barcelona at IAAC.
WASP (World’s Advanced Saving Project) is a company born in 2012 in Massa Lombarda, Italy, that designs, produces and sells 3D printers Made in Italy all over the world.
The wide range of WASP 3D printers has been developed to answer human needs: food, housing, health, energy, work, art and culture. Inspired by the Potter Wasp, which builds its own nest with material recovered from the surrounding environment, WASP was born
with the aim of developing large-scale 3D printers, to build houses with natural materials and available on the territory. The main company target is to provide effective benefits to humans through technological innovation and research.
Kniterate creates innovative tools aimed at bringing digital knitting technology to the masses. Kniterate enables users to design and produce customized knitted goods easily and efficiently. Promoting a local and on-demand production model, fostering creativity and sustainability in fashion and other industries.
Smart Citizen is a network, starting with a sensing device and evolving towards a community that empowers citizens not only through data, but also methodologies for action. Since 2012 Smart Citizen has worked to empower communities to better understand their environment by developing open tools for citizens. With our tools, users are better informed about the world around them. The Smart Citizen Kit allows people to easily measure and collect data such as air and noise pollution from their environment, and visualize it while sharing it with everyone on its dedicated platform. All of these, while being completely open-source and customizable to your needs. Built by communities for communities.