David Benjamin
Founding Principal of The Living and Associate Professor at Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
ENTRY
crQlr Awards 2024
What is crQlr?
crQlr (“circular”) is a global consortium that connects and empowers diverse players who are striving towards a circular economy.
The world’s transition from a linear to a circular economy is being shaped by societal changes, government policies, fluctuating global and local markets, and the undeniable effects of climate change. Recognizing that sustainability cannot be achieved solely from a top-down approach, crQlr, powered by FabCafe—a global creative community hub—and Loftwork—an Asian creative company—has engaged with a wide range of experts including designers, local governments, the private sector, educational institutions, artists, and other experts worldwide to foster various forms of creative innovation.
The crQlr Awards aim to explore a vital question: How can we transform our current economic system into a circular one? By harnessing the power of a global community, crQlr promotes open collaboration and interdisciplinary initiatives, believing in the potential of creativity to drive new innovations and shape the future of the circular economy.
Criteria
The following points, as well as the jury’s individual points of view and areas of interest, are used as the basis for evaluating the Jury Prizes:
- Is the work creative? Does it show an insightful understanding of circular economy or novel collaborative relationships? for People
- Does it have an overall positive and measurable impact on the environment? for Planet
- Does the work provide solutions to the challenges faced by society and business for activating a circular economy? for Profit
The aim of the crQlr Awards is not to award the “best” projects, but to discover and support creative, unique, and promising projects that give a new perspective to society and individuals aiming for a circular economy.
Judges
Cecilia Tham
Co-founder and CEO at Futurity Systems
Gregory Constantine
Co-founder and CEO of Air Company
Anni Korkman
Programme Director of Luovi Productions, Helsinki Design Week
Renaud Haerlingen
Architect, former Principal at Rotor and Co-founder of Rotor Deconstruction
Sachiko Hirosue
Osaka Namari-Suzu Seirensho Co., Ltd. President and CEO
Maël Hénaff
Course Leader at MA Material Futures, Central Saint Martins London
Kalaya Kovidvisith
Co-founder FabCafe Bangkok
Gwyneth Jong
Co-founder of FabCafe Kuala Lumpur
Nami Urano
Marketing Leader at FabCafe Kyoto, SPCS Community Manager
Perspectives for project ideas
Material
New bio-materials, upcycled materials and processing technologies that disrupt the linear economy. Thoughtful products and services that make use of innovative materials.
Products & Services
Products, apps, experience design, DX, and services that provide new value for a circular economy. Designs which make us think, “This should have been here all along!”
Art
Creative expressions that inspire hope, evoke emotional responses, and provoke important questions about the circular economy, society, education, and manufacturing industries.
System
Positively disruptive systems, supply chain management interventions, business strategies, modular systems, and other inspiring system-focused projects.
Education
Educational initiatives that apply circular economy principles, promoting sustainable practices and resource efficiency within learning environments.
City
City and citizen-led initiatives that champion sustainability and foster interconnected urban ecosystems. Inspiring projects grounded in a city’s ESG frameworks, which drive both measurable and intangible impacts.
Prizes
Individual Judge Prizes
Each of the judges will award a personalized prize name and an individual comment to up to 5 entries.
Special Prize
We invite submissions for projects and ideas that push the circular bioeconomy forward, regardless of genre or scale. We will recognize and award three outstanding initiatives.
The top three selections with the most votes will be chosen from the activities and projects recommended by our panel of 10 judges. These recognized projects will have the opportunity to be exhibited and presented at the crQlr Exhibition at FabCafe Tokyo in Tokyo, Japan in March, 2024 as part of our ongoing efforts to promote and celebrate these innovative endeavors.
Merits
As part of the crQlr Awards recognition, the following benefits will be offered to the winners:
- Special Prize Winners will have their projects displayed in Tokyo, Japan as part of the crQlr Summit and Exhibition, scheduled for March, 2025.
- Special Prize Winners will be given financial support for round-trip airfare as well as a 3-night stay in Tokyo (up to one person per winning project) to join the crQlr Exhibition & Summit.
- All Winners will receive individual prize names and comments from crQlr Judges. These prize names and comments will be posted on Loftwork and FabCafe media channels. The comments will be considered as Creative Commons and winners are permitted to use them freely.
- All Winners will receive the “crQlr Awards Winner” logo kit to promote their award-winning project.
- All Winners will receive media coverage on all FabCafe, Loftwork, crQlr websites, and social media.
- All Winners will receive media coverage on media sponsor communication channels including IDEAS FOR GOOD, Zenbird and Circular Economy Hub.
- All Winners will be invited to join the crQlr Exhibition & Summit scheduled for March, 2025.
Schedule
- Open Call Period … Tuesday, Sep 17th, 2024 –
Friday, October 18th, 2024, 12:00 JST→ Monday, October 28th, 2024, 12:00 JST(UTC+9) - Evaluation Period … November, 2024
- Winners Announced … Jan, 2025
- crQlr Exhibition & Summit … March, 2025
Application outline
- Submission period
Tuesday, Sep 17th, 2024 – Friday, October 18th, 2024, 12:00 JST
- Entrants
Anyone can apply regardless of nationality, age, or gender. Entry is open to the public and can include individuals, groups, municipalities, startups and/or established companies. Working professionals as well as students are welcome to apply.
- Cost of entry
Free.
- How to enter
Entries for the awards should be submitted online using AWRD (“Award”) at https://awrd.com/en/, a creators’ platform run by Loftwork Inc. Entrants will need to create their own AWRD user account (free of charge) to submit their entry
STEP 1
Registration on the AWRD website.
To submit your project, please make a free account on the AWRD website.
STEP 2
Review the application requirements
Please make sure to review the application requirements in advance.
STEP 3
Fill out the entry form and submit the application.
There is no limit to the number of entries per applicant. Multiple entries are allowed.
