Open Call: Design for Circularity

Are you an Egyptian furniture designer or design student looking for an opportunity to deepen your knowledge and know-how of sustainable and circular furniture design?

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 29 APRIL

After four successful rounds of Bilingual Design – bringing Egyptian and Danish designers together to design and produce furniture, this year we are excited to announce that the project is taking on a new challenge which is to focus on Design for Circularity.

Circular design is a design strategy aiming at minimizing or ending waste in furniture throughout all its process from design to manufacturing to use to discard. How can we “close the loop” and build furniture from either biological materials that can safely return to the natural world or biodegrade naturally over time? If non-natural materials are used, how can we ensure that they can be reused or repurposed once their use in the design is finished? From that also comes the question of durability – How can we design products that can last but also have mechanisms for repair, repurpose and remanufacture?

All these questions and more will be explored in detail in the upcoming edition of Bilingual: Design for Circularity. The project is carried out in collaboration with the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen, DESiGNDUSTRY and Pinocchio Furniture Factory in Egypt.

Under professional supervision ten young Egyptian designers and twenty Danish design students will design furniture pieces according to the principles of circularity. The Egyptian participants will visit the Royal Danish Academy on a study trip in September, followed by an international workshop with the Danish students in the Mediterranean city of Damietta in November. There, the skilled local craftsmen at the Pinocchio factory will manufacture the designs of the Egyptian and Danish designers developed throughout the journey. The results of the workshop will be shown in Cairo and later in Copenhagen in public exhibitions where the designers will get the opportunity to receive feedback from the public.

Participants Profile:

• Egyptian applicants will apply in teams of two and work together on their designs throughout the process
• Both applicants should be between 18-35 years of age
• Both applicants should have already designed furniture (student projects count) and must show that in their portfolios
• Both applicants must be available for all the activities of the program in both Denmark and Egypt

Ten Egyptian designers (5 teams made up of two designers each) will be selected to participate in the programme in 2023.

All travel and accommodation expenses for the Egyptian participants in all activities and manufacturing costs will be funded by DEDI.

Bilingual Design for Circularity Timeline:

• Interviews for shortlisted candidates at DEDI office – May 10th
• Introductory session in Cairo – July 19th
• Study trip to Denmark – September 24th to 30th
• Study tours in Cairo –  November 21st to 24th
• Prototyping workshop in Damietta –  November 25th till 30th
• Exhibition opening in Cairo – December 1st
• Debriefing & evaluation session – December 10th

How to apply?

To apply please fill out THIS APPLICATION before the 29^th of April

Shortlisted candidates will hear back from us by 5th of May. Due to the large number of applications we receive only shortlisted or selected candidates will be contacted. A confirmation of the form’s submission once you submit it means it’s in our system.

Read more on Bilingual Design:

Bilingual stools in Denmark

Making new ways

 Since 2004, The Danish-Egyptian Dialogue Initiative has been bringing together Danes and Egyptians, enhancing their knowledge of each other’s culture and society and their mutual understanding. Partnerships are facilitated and carried out within the field of sustainability. DEDI’s projects benefit young Egyptian and Danish students, researchers, and professionals committed to meet the local and global challenges facing their communities.