What if… sustainability starts with stories, not solutions?

Monuments hold a wealth of knowledge—smart design principles, natural systems, circular logics, and everyday rituals—we’ve largely forgotten in modern life. They are not static memories. They breathe with materials, rituals, and intelligent design moves that still work today.

We’re seeking two complementary design studios to translate the silent knowledge of monuments into accessible, practical sustainability solutions for today. A duo with complementary profiles (e.g., social, spatial, design research, participation, gamification, communication) and a strong focus on positive behavior change. You combine an investigative mindset with imagination and can turn abstract insights into tangible forms.

This Co/Lab asks design studios to look beyond technical fixes. Explore how we can feel the value and intent of a monument: what does it reveal about different ways of living, dwelling, and caring for one another?

 

The Challenge
Monuments embed smart design principles, natural systems, and rituals we’ve forgotten. In Co/Lab: Silent Wisdom as a Building Block for Tomorrow, we rediscover this knowledge and make it applicable for residents, managers, and advisors. We focus on simple, affordable measures that improve comfort, health, and energy use. The full briefing explains this in detail.

 

What will you do?

  • Design Research – This Co/Lab begins by rediscovering the wisdom already present in a historic building—taking that wisdom, the original design, and the vision of the architect or building period as a blueprint for research, so we better understand why choices were made at the time.
  • Deepening in Practice – Building on the design-research insights, we zoom in on a representative case selected by the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE). The case addresses current questions around making monuments more sustainable in relation to use, experience, and preservation.
  • Toward a Tangible and Relatable Translation – All findings are collected and visualized: first in a document of practical examples and insights; then translated by the designers into a tangible, widely shareable outcome—for example a campaign, (public) intervention, training, or podcast.

    Note: producing the campaign/intervention/training/podcast itself is not included in this Co/Lab. The intention is to deliver the outcome in a way that enables the RCE—possibly with a third party—to implement it after the Co/Lab.

 

Who is it for?

Monument owners, tenants, and managers who have so far done little with sustainability—and professionals seeking low-threshold advice tools. We focus on the middle group who are willing, but simply don’t see what they can do.

 

Who are we looking for?

A duo of designers/design studios with complementary profiles (e.g., social, spatial, design research, participation, gamification, communication) and a strong focus on positive behavior change. You pair research rigor with imagination and can translate abstract insights into tangible forms.
Sounds like your kind of challenge? Apply here!


Applications are open until 13 November, 23:59 (CET).

Questions?

Email Lab Manager Justine Kontou: justine@dutchdesignfoundation.com