September 2014, New York City – The Buckminster Fuller Institute is pleased to announce the Finalists for the 2014 Fuller Challenge. Now in its 7th cycle, The Fuller Challenge invites designers, architects, activists, entrepreneurs, artists, planners and scientists, from all over the world to submit their game-changing solutions to solve humanity’s most pressing problems. A $100,000 prize is awarded to support the development and implementation of one outstanding strategy.
With the strongest and most diverse pool of entrants to date effecting change in 93 countries across the world, The Fuller Challenge remains the only prize program specifically working to identify, catalyze and celebrate individuals and teams employing a whole systems approach to problem solving. Buckminster Fuller described this approach as comprehensive, anticipatory, design science and was one of the early pioneers of design-thinking that starts with a deep understanding of the “big picture” context, or macro-system, of a problem space.
“We are very proud to track the impact our prize program is having on the international discussion about how to address the big challenges we face. References to holistic, systemic and integrated approaches are everywhere, but it remains difficult to really understand this approach unless you can see it applied in a specific context. This is complex, complicated, long-term work that does not lend itself well to a simple sound bite or elevator pitch. The Fuller Challenge continues to be unique as a showcase for applied whole systems design and the remarkable people at the leading edge of this approach,” said Elizabeth Thompson, BFI’s Executive Director and Co-founder of The Fuller Challenge.
R. Buckminster Fuller defined design as “the effective application of the principles of science to the conscious design of our total environment in order to help make the Earth’s finite resources meet the needs of all humanity without disrupting the ecological processes of the planet.” Each of our seven finalists detailed below applies Fuller’s expansive definition of design. They also embody Fuller’s definition of a design scientist as a synthesis of artist, inventor, mechanic, objective economist and evolutionary strategist.
THE 2014 FULLER CHALLENGE FINALISTS
The seven proposals now under consideration for the prestigious 2014 grand prize of $100,000 have undergone a rigorous, multi-stage review for adherence to the Challenge entry criteria by the members of the Challenge Review Committee including targeted analysis and evaluation by a select group of experts and advisors. Detailed information about each project and associated media can be viewed at http://bfi.org/challenge/
For futher information please contact: challenge@bfi.org.
