Creators of the future, get ready! The crQlr Awards 2022 will be accepting applications from September 1st

After a highly successful first edition, FabCafe Global and Loftwork Inc. are proud to present the “crQlr Awards (“Circular” Awards) 2022, a competition for projects and ideas that design circular economy. Applications will be accepted from September 1 through the end of October.

Launched in 2021 as Japan’s first award in the field of circular design*, the crQlr Awards aim at supporting companies and people working toward the implementation of circular economy systems. The awards are open to both large and small-scale projects as well as ideas in early planning stages, with the goal of nurturing a community where the players of sustainability can connect across industries and countries, share knowledge and technologies, and create new value.

Last year’s awards attracted 204 projects from 24 countries, and applicants included companies, organizations, startups, and designers. Among them, 63 award-winning projects were presented with “crQlr Certification” kits to support and promote their circular economy initiatives.

The crQlr Awards are not limited to awarding projects, but also aim to create new connections between applicants and the jury members to provide further visibility to unseen initiatives, and to organically connect projects scattered around the world. Last year, a two-day crQlr Summit was held to provide an opportunity for feedback and discussion between the award-winning teams and the award jury. This created an opportunity for international players to exchange opinions from diverse perspectives.

This year’s crQlr Awards will announce further details and open the application open call on Thursday, September 1, via FabCafe.com and Loftwork.com news pages, as well as the crQlr official website.

*Circular design refers to the design of products and services that aim for a circular economy. Design includes the design of mechanisms.

Application period: August 4 – October 22, 2021
Total number of applications: 204 projects / 24 countries
Jury: Ana Laura Cantera, Anita de Wit, Cecilia Tham, David Benjamin, Enrique Lomnitz, Guillaume Charny-Brunet, Mariko McTier, Mohamed Muse Hassan, Richard Ekkebus, Singh Intrachooto, Willemijn de Iongh, Akihiro Yasui, Tasuku Kato, Fumio Nanjo, Tatsuya Takeda, Tim Wong, Kalaya Kovidvisith, Kelsie Stewart, Hiroki Tanahashi
Number of projects awarded: 63 projects (see links below for awarded projects).
For further details: https://crqlr.com/2021/announce/

Here are the reports on the crQlr Summit, a two-day online event that served as a mutual learning camp for award participants, as well as an opportunity to connect with global leading figures of the circular economy.

How to design an update to a sustainable future? crQlr Awards 2021 General Comments

Report (only available in Japanese): https://fabcafe.com/jp/magazine/tokyo/crqlr-summit-0/

Theme: A Multidisciplinary Approach

Report: https://fabcafe.com/es/magazine/taipei/crqlr-summit-1

Theme: Materials and the Circular Economy

Report: https://fabcafe.com/magazine/kyoto/crqlr-summit-2

Theme: Creating Scalable Impact

Report: https://fabcafe.com/magazine/bangkok/crqlr-summit-3

Theme: System Design and Natural Resources

Report: https://fabcafe.com/magazine/barcelona/crqlr-summit-4

crQlr Awards Project Overview

FabCafe Global
Loftwork Inc.

crQlr (“circular”) is a global consortium that supports the practitioners and future creators of a new society based on a circular economy. In order to share these new ideas widely, we believe in going beyond a focus on financial targets. Instead, we aim to provide a vision for a future where design and art are intentionally incorporated into a more inclusive conversation around how to achieve a circular economy. In that spirit, ‘crQlr’ seeks to foster a creative vision essential for the creators of the future who bring the circular economy to life. https://crqlr.com/

FabCafe is a place to accelerate creative serendipity with a nice cup of coffee and collaborative peers.
As an open creative platform, FabCafe aims to empower everyone to take the initiative to make anything, turning their ideas into reality and sharing those ideas in a more tangible way with local and global communities.
A single FabCafe can be a creative hub for designers and the local community to share and experiment with innovative ideas. A network of FabCafe communities worldwide can create an ecosystem that kick-starts the next mass customization movement from the bottom up! https://fabcafe.com/

Loftwork is a creative company that designs websites, contents, communication strategies, and spaces through open collaboration. Loftwork operates communities and platforms such as FabCafe, a global digital manufacturing community, MTRL (Material), which explores new possibilities for materials, and AWRD (Award), which promotes co-creation through online public contests, and provides a wide range of creative services by collaborating with various talents. https://loftwork.com/