The 7th edition of the Distributed Design Awards has just been launched, and we are pleased to introduce the incredible sponsors who are making this year’s event possible.

Let’s take a closer look at the awards categories and the sponsors supporting them!

Project Excellence Award

Every year, the Distributed Design Platform offers the Project Excellence Award, which all submission compete for by simply participating in the Awards.

The winner will receive 2000€ to further develop their project, providing a significant boost to bring their ideas to the next level.

WASP AWARD: Residency in Italy

This category is dedicated to designs that empower navigation of 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 receive a fully funded two-week practice-based residency at the WASP headquarters in Massa Lombarda, Italy. This incredible opportunity includes flights, accommodation, access to WASP’s 3D technology, mentoring, and training from WASP experts.
Note: The residency must be undertaken between January and March 2025 and requires a basic knowledge of 3D software.

About WASP: WASP (World’s Advanced Saving Project), founded in 2012 in Massa Lombarda, Italy, designs, produces, and sells 3D printers globally. Inspired by the Potter Wasp, WASP aims to address human needs such as food, housing, health, and energy through large-scale 3D printing. Their mission is to provide technological solutions that offer real benefits to humanity, particularly in response to global housing challenges. WASP’s commitment to sustainability is evident in their use of recycled materials and digital fabrication methods, making construction more accessible and eco-friendly.

Citizen Driven Innovation Award

This category is dedicated to designs that foster a better understanding and tackling of environmental challenges through creative actions, contributing to the empowerment of local and global communities.

The winner of the Citizen Innovation Award will receive a Smart Citizen Starter Pack and the opportunity to have their project featured in European-wide citizen science and research projects on social networks like CitiObs and More4Nature.

About Smart Citizen: Smart Citizen empowers communities by providing tools to measure and understand their environment. The open-source Smart Citizen Kit allows users to monitor air and noise pollution, sharing data with the larger community. Since 2012, Smart Citizen has been fostering citizen engagement in environmental monitoring, promoting decentralized data collection and empowering individuals to take action based on their findings.

Critical Materiality Award

This category is dedicated to designs that embrace material innovation and responsible principles, transitioning from traditional processes, and critically reflecting on the role of materials and practices.

The winner of the Critical Materiality Award will receive a 50% Fabricademy Scholarship at the Fab Lab Barcelona node (valued at approximately 4000€) and the chance to develop their final project in collaboration with Kniterate. The program starts on September 17th, 2024, and runs until April 2025.

This award category is a joint collaboration between Fab Lab Barcelona and Kniterate:

About Fab Lab Barcelona:  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.

About Fabricademy: Fabricademy is a six-month intensive program that blends digital fabrication, textiles, and biology. The curriculum explores the connections between human technology and the environment through ecodesign, biodesign, smart textiles, and more.

About Kniterate: Kniterate offers an affordable, compact digital knitting machine that turns digital designs into knitted objects. By supporting decentralized production and mass customization, Kniterate is bringing garment manufacturing closer to communities, promoting a sustainable and personalized approach to fashion.

Transformational Design Award

This category is dedicated to designs that challenge manufacturing and consumption through innovative, transparent processes and open-source flow.

The Transformational Design Award winner will receive a 50% Fab Academy Scholarship at the Fab Lab Barcelona node (valued at 3750€). The program, directed by Neil Gershenfeld of MIT’s Center For Bits and Atoms, focuses on rapid prototyping and personal fabrication. Classes start on January 22nd, 2025, and end in June 2025.

This category is supported by Fab Lab Barcelona. 

About Fab Academy: Fab Academy offers a comprehensive Digital Fabrication program based on MIT’s course “How to Make (Almost) Anything.” The program teaches students to prototype their ideas into tangible products, fostering innovation and creativity in personal fabrication.

People’s Choice Award

This year, the People’s Choice Award winner will have the opportunity to exhibit their project together with the other categories’ winners at the Vienna Design Week in September 2024.

We would like once again to extend our grateful thanks to all our sponsors for their generous support and commitment to fostering innovation in design. 

Stay tuned for more updates and get to celebrate and discover the future of Distributed Design!