The call for clusters is now open to proposals which respond in innovative ways to this year's challenge. To submit a proposal, please send up to two pages describing your objectives, a clear schedule, expected costs, sponsors, requirements, outcomes, etc. As well as a one page CV or bio for each champion.

The sg workshops are a unique creative cauldron attracting attendees from across the world of academia, professional practice and industry. The workshops are open to 100 applicants who come together for four intensive days of design and collaboration.

Workshops are organised around 10 clusters, each a unique hub of expertise, comprised of people, knowledge, tools and materials. Clusters are led by two champions exploring a specific area related to the challenge, lasting for four days in equal partnership with 10 collaborators each.

Physical prototyping is encouraged to complement digital investigations and to help answer ambitious research questions related to the challenge. Carnegie Mellon has extensive physical prototyping facilities and applicants are encouraged use these. A public exhibition party will be held on the last day showcasing the outcome of the workshops.

Champions are also encouraged to form their own collaborations with the host university or sponsorships with local firms to provide additional equipment as needed.

sg2020 Vision

Humans change the world. Design both enables and realizes this change. But the current rate and reach of global transformation challenges design to learn, adapt and act. The climate crisis, urbanization, population growth (and decline in some places), and technological complexity each pose deep issues for design.

Design needs new views, tools and practices. Practitioners and researchers must understand and embrace the design, science and social policy of sustainability, robotics, big data, machine learning, the Internet of things, the data economy and much more.

Design’s scope, reach, technologies and tools will all change radically. But to what end? And how?

At sg2020 we seek new visions for design and new strategies for achieving wise change. We seek viewpoints that expand our capabilities to deal with the existential issues we face.

Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture, Pittsburgh USA

The School of Architecture provides deep immersion in the discipline of architecture, within the Carnegie Mellon culture of interdisciplinary innovation and creative inquiry.

It defines the discipline of architecture as the integrated pursuit of design creativity, historical perspective, social responsibility, technical expertise, and global environmental leadership.

This world-class architecture education rests on the fundamental premise that architectural excellence demands both rigorous training in fundamentals and the development of unique specializations. Students may extend their core knowledge either through concentration in architecture sub disciplines like sustainable design or computational design, or through interdisciplinary interaction with CMU’s other renowned programs.