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Design Researchers in Residence
Apply now to join the 2026/27 cohort of Design Researchers in Residence with projects responding to the theme of ‘Grown’.
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Design Generators
Apply for funding to combine design-led interventions with arts and humanities methodologies to make positive contributions to the green transition
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Design Researchers in Residence: Mineral
A free display of new design research, responding to the climate crisis.
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Publication: Design Researchers in Residence 2025/26 MINERAL
This publication features the work of the 2025/26 Design Researchers in Residence. It accompanies an exhibition staged at the Design Museum from June to September 2026. This year's theme, Mineral,
Authors:
Alfred Yatlong Yeung, Elise Limon, Rafael El Baz, Rosa Whiteley, Abbie Adams & Leilah Hirson-Comley
The Stone Demonstrator
A low-carbon construction prototype putting pre-tensioned stone building techniques to the test. Visit The Stone Demonstrator at Empress Place on the Earls Court Development site.
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On display at the Design Museum
Tools for Transition brings together four UK research projects driving change across housing, healthcare, local planning and resource management. Free to visit.
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Research updates
Weaving Voices into Place
Tools for Transition
Combing the digital coastline
Tools for Transition
South Powys Design Lab
UK 2040
What does the world sound like to a tree?
An interview with Mike Thompson
Future Observatory Journal
Issue Nº3: In Abundance
‘A good poem can take you to places you are not expecting’
Design Exchange Partnerships bring design researchers together with non-academic organisations, such as businesses, NGOs or local councils, in strategic partnerships capable of addressing green
Mandy Haggith
Future Observatory opens display space at the Design Museum
Future Observatory and the Design Museum today open a free display space dedicated to design research responding to environmental crises. Located on the museum’s second floor balcony, the Future
How can the culture sector drive the green transition?
Today, we are publishing two cultural policy reports across circular fashion and the screen industries which suggest how the UK cultural sector might adapt to meet national net zero commitments. In
New cohort of Design Researchers in Residence announced
Future Observatory and the Design Museum are excited to announce a new cohort of Design Researchers in Residence, who will spend the next year at the museum developing innovative projects that respond
Islands: material mapping
Islands: Material Mapping attempts to make visible some of the journeys of the materials used in Design Researchers in Residence: Islands
Author:
Liesl Maria Bragança
Four projects to design the UK’s green future
Following a call for proposals, four innovative Green Transition Ecosystems are funded across the country to tackle the climate crisis and address the challenges posed by the green transition. The
Reducing the environmental impact of exhibitions
Have you ever walked around an exhibition and wondered what happens to everything when the show is over? To the exhibits, the beautifully-built walls, plinths and cases? Where does all this stuff go?
Author:
URGE Collective
How can the culture sector drive the green transition?
Today, we are publishing three cultural policy reports across architecture, cultural institutions and exhibition impact which suggest how the UK cultural sector might adapt to meet national net zero
‘You can fit the tools you need to make a stone beam in a suitcase’
Over 30% of global carbon emissions are produced by construction. To meet national and international climate targets, the UK therefore needs to radically rethink the materials with which it builds.
Steve Webb
‘Housing is one area where individuals can take meaningful action’
Facilitating the adoption of domestic retrofitting in Canterbury and East Kent is a Design Accelerator led by the University for the Creative Arts. Our coordinator Leilah Hirson-Comley spoke with
Sam McElhinney & Heba Sarhan
Redefining the problems, reframing the questions
The following conversation sees Future Observatory’s curatorial director, Cher Potter, in discussion with the 2022/23 cohort of Design Researchers in Residence on the topic of design research.
Marianna Janowicz, Isabel Lea, James Peplow Powell & Rhiarna Dhaliwal
‘If we care about the planet, we should care about pigeons’
Ahead of the opening of the Design Researchers in Residence’ exhibition at the Design Museum in late-June, our coordinator Leilah Hirson-Comley caught up with resident James Peplow Powell.
James Peplow Powell
‘Games are well suited for tackling complex problems’
Game Changing, a Design Accelerator led by Swansea University, explores the potential of co-designing games for increasing understanding of climate change.
Report: Green Transition Ecosystems townhall
On Tuesday 31 January, we were delighted to welcome a host of design researchers, business entrepreneurs and higher education institution representatives to the Green Transition Ecosystems (GTE)
Author:
Leilah Hirson-Comley
meet the future observatory network
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