23 Sep 2009
Transition Network Announced as a Finalist in the Curry Stone Design Prize
I am delighted to be able to announce that Transition Network has been chosen as one of three finalists for the Curry Stone Design Prize. The Prize is, according to the organisers, “an annual award to exceptional emerging design innovations that contribute positively to living circumstances for broad sections of global humanity. It is awarded to an individual or group of designers for extraordinary design projects or innovative ideas. The Curry Stone Design Prize rewards and supports new design projects and/or ideas that improve global, societal, and/or humanitarian conditions and represent innovative thinking. It is supported by the Curry Stone Foundation of Oregon and administered by Architecture For Humanity”.
The two other finalists are Handmade Building and Transformative Public Works. All three finalists recieve $10,000 (Transition Network, not me!) and then the winner, announced at an event in Kentucky tomorrow evening, wins $100,000. You can find more detailed press packs about the whole thing here. I’ll let you know the outcome of it.
There is a rather nice story associated with being announced as a finalist for this prize. When we were first told, we were told that I would need to fly to Kentucky to be present, along with the other two finalists, at the award ceremony. I told them that I don’t fly, and told them why, and said I hoped that wouldn’t be a problem, and that perhaps we might explore using video conferencing. To their enormous credit, they went away, had a think about it, and then announced that in fact, all three finalists would be presenting by video conference! I think they are very much to be congratulated on taking this seriously, and I’m sure the event itself will equally, if not more successful as a result.
It is fascinating how this prize represents another recognition from the world of design that Transition is, in many ways, a design project. Alastair Fuad-Luke in his recent book Design Activism: Beautiful Strangeness for a Sustainable World, puts Transition on the cutting edge of design thinking, as something that is collaborative and creative. It is a great honour for that to be recognised and acknowledged, alongside the other two finalists’ extraordinary work.