A Global Design Competition, in Partnership with Aibuild
Open Chair is a global ideas competition inviting architects, designers, makers, engineers, and creative thinkers to reimagine one of the oldest objects in human history through the lens of digital fabrication and open design.
Throughout history, the chair has served as a testing ground for innovation, where ergonomics, materials, culture, and craft converge. With the rise of desktop manufacturing and accessible digital fabrication, the way we design and make objects is changing once again. Open Chair challenges participants to explore this new frontier by designing a full-scale chair that can be fabricated using a standard home 3D printer, assembled with minimal tools, and shared freely as an open design. This is not simply a challenge of aesthetics. It is a challenge of systems thinking, fabrication strategy, assembly logic, and design excellence.
Participants are invited to create proposals that balance beauty with buildability, developing chairs that are not only visually compelling, but also realistically printable, constructible, and reproducible. Whether your proposal is minimal or complex, experimental or conventional, what matters is the clarity of the idea and the intelligence of its execution.
The competition is open internationally to students, graduates, professionals, makers, and multidisciplinary teams. Selected projects will receive exposure through Creathlon’s platforms, with money awards presented to the winning proposals.
Key Dates
• Registration Closes: 22 October 2026
• Submission Deadline: 6 November 2026
• Winners Announced: 12 January 2027
Prizes
• 1st Prize: £600 + Certificate
• 2nd Prize: £300 + Certificate
• 3rd Prize: £100 + Certificate
• Honourable Mentions
Registration Fees
• Early Bird: £5 Single / £10 Team
• Regular: £15 Single / £25 Team
• Late: £25 Single / £35 Team
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