Harnessing design as a superpower to help face the climate crisis

With demand for energy soaring and the need to rethink energy use more pressing than ever, what role(s) can designers, architects and other planning professionals play in a society where transformation is urgently needed? How can they help change the way we think about the future of the planet’s energy needs? 

Bringing together researchers and practitioners, designers and architects, this series of public events held in conjunction with the Transform! exhibition will aim to spark reflection on the potential benefits of finding new formal responses to the current context of socio-ecological transition. By deconstructing current standards of thinking about our lifestyle habits, we can collectively reflect on the futures we want to see.

From January to April 2026, diverse audiences will be invited to attend these gatherings, which will take various forms, including panels, talks and conversations, all with the goal of creating a friendly environment conducive to discussion.

Engaging in this process is especially vital given that the Montréal 2030 Strategic Plan calls for fundamental changes in our practices, with creativity, innovation, collaboration and experimentation systematically incorporated into our efforts to hasten the green transition and reduce social inequalities, among other things. Emerging design practices and the diversity of cultural, social and economic perspectives that they can generate are essential for achieving those objectives. 
 

Given the wealth of content featured in the exhibition and the diversity of subjects meriting in-depth exploration, a cycle of four public talks will be presented during winter 2026. The inaugural event will be held in January 2026 and will feature a conversation between four up-and-coming Montréal-based designers as well as an international guest speaker. In the form of a friendly Pecha Kucha,* this gathering aims to gather studios and designers who are prepared to share their achievements, innovative approaches and thinking on how the climate crisis is transforming their design vision and practice. Ranging from design of everyday objects to redefinition of methodologies, each contribution will seek to provide insights into the key role of design in building a sustainable and inclusive future.

*Pecha Kucha is a presentation format in which a small number of slides are shown at a steady pace. It relies on visual information to convey a message. The format requires eloquence, a good storytelling sense, pacing and concision.

Persons or firms selected agree to: 

• Give a short presentation (10 minutes) at the opening event of the cycle of talks to be held at the Biosphère in January 2026;
• Prepare the visual aids required for the presentation;
• Collaborate with Space for Life and the Bureau du design to prepare the communications tools for the event.

Each participant will receive $400 in compensation from Space for Life.

Persons and firms meeting the following conditions are eligible to submit applications:

• Be a university graduate in a design discipline (e.g., architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, graphic design, industrial design, urban design, environmental design, urban planning, experience design, interactive design);
• Be a collective or an individual designer;
• Have fewer than 10 years’ work experience in design;
• Have been a Canadian citizen or permanent resident for at least 12 months;
• Be a resident of or have a production studio located in the Montréal agglomeration;
• In the case of a collective, all members must meet these criteria, and a team lead must be designated to represent them. 
   

A selection committee will study the eligible applications using the following assessment criteria: 

• Degree to which the projects, practice or business model incorporate environmental concerns;
• Innovative nature of the projects/approaches presented;
• Clarity of the presentation and ideas.

In addition to these criteria, the selection will also be made so as to ensure a diversity of disciplines and perspectives.

The selection committee is made up of the following: 

• One representative of Space for Life;
• One representative of the City of Montréal Bureau du design;
• One representative of the programming committee. 

In addition to filling out the online form, applicants must provide the following documents (maximum 10 pages, saved as a single PDF file):  

• Letter of intent (250 words);
• Title of the presentation;
• Description of the proposed presentation (250 words) and supporting images;
• Curriculum vitae;
• Portfolio.

Form (French only)

Confidentiality
The City of Montréal will ensure that all documents received remain confidential, subject to enforcement of the Act Respecting Access to Documents Held By Public Bodies and the Protection of Personal Information.

• Call for applications: September 15, 2025
• Deadline for submitting an application: November 1, 2025
• Public announcement of selected designers: December 2025
• Public event: mid-January 2026

The Biosphère, a Space for Life Museum, is a hub for dialogue about the environment between science, art and communities. This iconic structure designed by Buckminster Fuller is the site for the North American premiere of the exhibition Transform! Designing the Future of Energy produced and circulated by the Vitra Design Museum. The touring exhibition highlights the multifaceted role of design in the energy transition, exploring it at different scales, from the human body’s potential for generating energy to tools and devices for producing renewable energy in our homes, the energy transition in the areas of architecture and mobility, and the energy aspects of urban planning.

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