Building on our on-going Re-materialize programme focused on recycling material in the UAE and the wider region, Sharjah Architecture Triennial (SAT) is pleased to announce our first open call for local and regional designers. We invite emerging and established designers based in the UAE or the countries listed below (under Environmental Criteria), to submit a proposal for a functional product made with locally recycled materials. 

Through a selection process, chosen pieces will receive production support and then be displayed and sold in the SAT Design Store’s first collection: Re-store. This collection aims to showcase designers in the region, connecting them with fabricators in the UAE in order to meet the growing demand for environmentally-conscious and locally- and regionally-designed products.

Together with the Re-materialize programme, Re-store calls upon designers to take active part in the wider conversation around material choice and how it can play an important role in ensuring a more ecologically responsible future.

DEADLINE: All proposals should be submitted by email to [email protected] with the subject line: RE-STORE SUBMISSION by midnight (GMT+4) on 21 January, 2022. Submissions after the deadline will not be accepted.

Environmental Criteria: To minimize carbon footprint of shipping products and their respective materials, for this open call:

1) Applicants are limited to designers based in the UAE and in countries within a 2,100 km radius of Sharjah: Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. 

2) Proposed products must consider the following aspects of environmental impact:

• Resource origin: source of the material/method of sourcing or extraction/transportation method/processing of material
• Human health: working conditions/long term effects of the used material used (effects of degradation and aging)
• Ecological consequences: effect of ecosystems by material extraction/methods of disposing, reusing, recycling and upcycling

Product Criteria:

• The product belongs to one of the following categories: household functional objects, accessories, textiles, and graphics (prints, notebooks etc.)
• The overall volume of the packed object is to be limited to 0.064 m3.
• The product is affordable to the average consumer.
• The design is conceived and produced using fully or partially-recycled materials.
• The product is fully-recyclable.
• The product considers the following aspects of environmental impact:
• Resource origin: source of the material/method of sourcing or extraction/transportation method/processing of material
• Human health: working conditions/long term effects of the used material used (effects of degradation and aging)
• Ecological consequences: effect of ecosystems by material extraction/methods of disposing, reusing, recycling and upcycling
• The product is produced in proximity to the source of the materials.
• Packaging is reduced to a minimum or eliminated where possible.
• The product is newly designed exclusively for the Sharjah Architecture Triennial for one year.

Submissions Criteria:

1) A product description (between 300 and 400 words) explaining the design concept, the provenance and projected life cycle of the material and product.

2) A PDF (not exceeding 2MB) with a minimum of two (2) and a maximum of five (5) A3 panels that include 3D renderings, 2D drawings, photos of models or prototypes and experiments that visually describe the proposed product.

3) Designer biography of around 200 words.

4) Designer portfolio of previous work (not exceeding 2MB).

5) A detailed production budget for the production of one prototype.

6) A detailed production budget for the production of 20 final products.

Timeline:

29 November 2021: Open call announcement

21 January 2022: Open call deadline

February 2022: Announcement of winning entries

Top image courtesy of Sharjah Architecture Triennial.

> via Sharjah Architecture Triennial