Do you want to showcase your distributed design solution on the stage of Pakhuis de Zwijger? Respond to our open call and get your project noted, meet peers working on sustainable and social designs and get the opportunity to visit designers in another European city!

Circular cities, donut economics, regenerative design. These are concepts that we think, talk and do more with in the past few years. New economic, industrial, and design principles to move towards an ecological and socially sustainable future.

We are living in a society with linear and degenerative systems. In these systems we take raw materials from the earth, make products, use them for a while and then discard them, losing the earth’s resources as waste. During these processes wealth and opportunity are driven into the hands of a few, resulting in bigger wealth inequality. In order to turn this around, we need a system that is regenerative and distributive by design. Part of this system change stands for recognizing the intertwinement of social, natural and cultural assets. How can we foster a collaborative approach in this new system? How can we respect the boundaries of nature and give something back to it rather than only consuming the sources?

OpenCall

Is your work based on regenerative principles?

Designers can play a crucial role in reaching a new economy. As part of the European Distributed Design program, Pakhuis de Zwijger launches an open call for those who take the distributive design principles. Which are: open, collaborative, regenerative and ecosystemic. We are looking for anybody, from designers to artists, researchers, architects, engineers, (tech) startups, students, makers, and others in the mutual quest towards a regenerative future. We will select at least six pioneers to showcase their designs on the Pakhuis de Zwijger stage and on our website and join us for network and workshop meetings. Two pioneers will get the chance to visit another European city and get inspired by other designers.

What are we looking for?

Design projects that take the Distributed Design Principles into account:

  • Open – transparent, replicable and accessible designs.
  • Collaborate – enabling people to become active participants in the design process.
  • Regenerate – the design renews and restores the systems that we are part of. Both ecological and social.
  • Ecosystemic – recognizing the complexity of interactions between cultural, natural and social assets.

We are open for any designs, projects, ideas that involve social and ecological inclusion. Designs can be products, collaborations or ideas for the new system where we no longer take from the natural world and marginalized groups, but we give back.

Application process

Open for entries → Monday, September 4, 2023 Submissions deadline Friday , October 20 , 2023

The selected projects will be shown on our stage during our distributed design event on Monday, November 27th, 2022 .

Partners

This initiative is organized by Distributed Design – a project co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Union – and Pakhuis de Zwijger. Distributed Design 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.