Design Researchers in Residence 2025/26: Open Call

We are currently seeking proposals for the next cohort of Design Researchers in Residence. This residency aims to support research that critically interrogates intersecting mineral landscapes in the UK – geological, ecological and urban – through case studies, field research, and by building human and non-human relationships.

Minerals, concentrated in the Earth’s crust, are a finite resource.

Global demand for critical minerals is accelerating, particularly with the transition to renewable energy systems. The International Energy Agency estimates that by 2040, the demand for key minerals like lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements will be four times greater than today. These materials are integral to the manufacture of clean energy technologies, including wind turbines and electrical networks, which are central to the UK’s net zero goals.

From kaolin pits in Cornwall to salt mines in North Yorkshire, the UK’s geological landscape is scarred by centuries of mineral extraction. These materials are not only held in geological strata, the mineral composition of soil and water plays a crucial role in supporting biodiversity and regulating ecological processes. Mineral fertilisers are used to provide plants with nutrients to grow. These delicate dynamics, often overlooked, are integral to the health of both natural and agricultural landscapes.

Simultaneously, there is a second mineral landscape in our urban environments, veins of ore embedded in discarded consumer electronics. Post-use materials represent a critical untapped resource.

Can net-zero goals be sustained through the continued extraction of finite mineral resources? How can design research better understand the UKs dependence on these minerals?

We are looking for practitioners working across industrial design, architecture, bio-design, systems design, policy research, material research, craft or graphic design. Projects may engage with a range of related themes, including but not limited to: mapping nutrient cycles and supply chains, mining ore streams, material science and the circular economy. We welcome applications that reflect on how we source, use, and repurpose minerals, and reckon with the full lifecycle of matter.

We encourage applicants to interpret the brief as openly as possible.

Design Researchers in Residence 2025/26: Mineral will run from September 2025 to June 2026.

To apply, please visit the Future Observatory website for further instructions and download the Application Form.

• All applications must be submitted to the email mineral@designmuseum.org with the subject line ‘Mineral Application’, by midnight on Sunday 14 September 2025. Entries received after this deadline will not be accepted, and incomplete entries will not be considered.

• Please direct any queries about the application process or the Design Researchers in Residence programme to the same email address.

• Shortlisted applicants must attend an online interview during the week commencing on 22 September 2025, and successful applicants will be informed in the following week.

• Please refer to the accompanying documents, ‘Call for entries’ and ‘Terms and conditions’ on the Design Researchers in Residence webpage of the Design Museum or the Future Observatory websites to ensure you fit the criteria for entry.

Design Researchers in Residence is Future Observatory’s programme for design research into the climate crisis hosted at the Design Museum. This funded residency supports thinkers at the start of their careers to develop new research on environmental concerns centred around a particular theme.

The residency has two main aims: to provide design researchers in the early stages of their careers time and space away from their regular environment to develop and produce new work, and to offer museum visitors an opportunity to engage with live design research projects.

Each year the residency accommodates four researchers, working in different design disciplines to develop a piece of independent research in response to the theme and brief. Towards the end of the residency, the work of the four residents is presented in a free display at the Design Museum and in an accompanying print publication.

Each resident is provided with a commissioning budget of £6,000 and a bursary of £11,400, as well as studio space at the museum and a programme of mentorship, training and seminars from experts both in and outside the Design Museum.

Background image: Brickfield Firing by Oliver Udy, courtesy of Rosanna Martin.