The Prototype Grants are awards for UK architecture and design studios for prototype development and second-stage design research in more sustainable supply chains
At a time when supply chains are under considerable pressure, and linked to fossil fuels or extractive processes, there is a need for innovation in low carbon alternatives. The Prototype Grants are awards for UK architecture and design studios for prototype development and second-stage design research in more sustainable supply chains.
At Future Observatory, we recognise that some of the most urgent design innovation towards the green transition is happening in practice; and that this is where supply chain challenges first reveal themselves. That's why we believe funding support is needed for architecture and design studios, in order to scale new prototypes and innovate the networks and ecosystems that deliver them.
Future Observatory is the Design Museum’s national hub for design research and the green transition. Established in partnership with the UKRI Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) we act as a catalyst by supporting design research that can have real impact.
The next decade is no ordinary decade. The climate crisis demands rapid change, and design is critical to that challenge. Future Observatory’s mission is to support design researchers in addressing the material, systemic and behavioural changes required by the green transition.
Today, direct funding opportunities for architecture and design practices are scarce; while at the same time, there is an abundance of new approaches ready for next stage research and development. Future Observatory aims to bridge this gap, with four agile awards for second-stage design research projects.
We are looking to hear from practitioners ready to break away from business-as-usual models and materials, and work collaboratively towards green transition solutions at supply chain scale, with a particular interest in bioregional, biomaterial and regenerative approaches.
The Prototype Grants aim to:
• Encourage the next-stage development of projects, products or protypes that are low carbon, bio-based and/or regenerative.
• Explore, support or redesign emerging supply chains that support these low carbon, bio-based and/or regenerative projects.
• Support existing UK-based small- to mid-size architecture and design studios to develop ideas that can have impact.
• Address a need for agile green transition funding in design research, where funding is scarce and action must be taken quickly in order to meet green transition demand and deadlines.