Design Researchers in Residence

Supported by Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Design Researchers in Residence is Future Observatory’s annual programme for design research into the climate crisis hosted at the Design Museum. The residency supports thinkers at the start of their careers to develop new research on environmental concerns and centred around a particular theme.

During the programme, researchers receive mentorship, studio space and a stipend, and their research is displayed through public events, an exhibition and a publication curated and edited by the Design Museum.

Each year the residency accommodates four researchers, working in different design disciplines, to further develop their individual responses to the theme and brief.

The residency has two main aims: to provide design researchers in the early stages of their careers time and space away from their regular environment to develop and produce new work; and to offer museum visitors an opportunity to engage with live design research projects.

The residency studio, located at the Design Museum, provides a place for the residents to work as well as a space to exhibit their finished projects.

The 2022/2023 residents will develop projects that use the island as a lens to think through varying climate challenges.

As we confront the climate crisis, we cannot necessarily rely on a new invention to solve all of our problems. This year’s residency theme asks: rather than making something new, how can design respond to what’s already there?

The 2021/22 display closed on 25 September 2022.

The applications for this year's cohort closed in September 2022. The open call for the next cohort of Design Researchers in Residence will go live in summer 2023.

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