Design ideas meet real-world urgency: BE OPEN honors practical climate solutions at UNEA-7

BE OPEN crowns design teams at UNEA-7 in Nairobi, pushing ideas toward real-world trials

At the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi this week, BE OPEN presented the winners of its Designing Futures 2050 competition, a global design challenge aimed at practical solutions for environmental and social pressure expected by mid-century. Organizers gathered finalists and partners at a public event during the assembly to spotlight projects that pair strong design thinking with clear paths to implementation. The announcement framed the awards not as abstract concepts but as short-term starters meant for pilots, partnerships and on-the-ground testing in communities facing climate stress today.

Why the competition showed up at the UN and what the initiative wants to do

Designing Futures 2050 is BE OPEN’s multi-year effort to push design beyond concept art and toward deployable tools that reduce pollution, restore nature and make cities more resilient. BE OPEN, a platform that connects designers, funders and civic groups, chose the UN Environment Assembly as a stage because the gathering draws national policymakers, development agencies and NGOs who can help move ideas into testable projects.

The competition asked teams to imagine practical interventions that could still be scaled and useful by 2050. That focus — not purely on style or theory but on measurable benefits, local buy-in and affordability — explains why winners tended to combine creative thinking with solid implementation plans, such as pilot budgets, monitoring ideas and clear partner lists.

Winners and their practical proposals: what stood out and why

BE OPEN named three top winners and several runners-up, representing teams from different regions. Rather than futuristic blueprints, the chosen projects shared a common trait: they can be tested quickly and improved in the field.

One winning team from Southeast Asia proposes a community-led mangrove restoration model that uses low-cost, locally sourced materials and training programs to revive coastal ecosystems while protecting villages from storms. The project scored points for mixing nature-based protection with livelihood support — a design that aims to deliver both safety and income within a few years.

A second winner, based in East Africa, offered a modular, solar-powered shelter system designed for informal settlements. Its novelty is in simple, durable parts that local workshops can build and repair. Judges liked that the plan included a business model for local manufacturers and an outline for a pilot in a Nairobi neighborhood, making rapid deployment realistic.

The third winning entry came from South America and centers on circular materials: a community recycling hub that turns local plastic waste into affordable construction panels for schools and clinics. Its strength was a clear route from waste collection to product testing, plus early talks with municipal partners who could adopt the panels for public buildings.

Honorable mentions covered topics such as urban cooling through green corridors, small-scale oxygenating wetlands for rivers, and design guides to make coastal tourism more nature-positive. Across the board, judges favored projects that showed how design could reduce harm while creating economic opportunities for local people.

Voices from the stage: organizers and winners on what this recognition means

“Design must be accountable to people and place,” said a BE OPEN representative at the event, calling the winning projects “design with a timetable.” A winner from the mangrove team described the award as a bridge from idea to action: “We now have the introduction points to test our work where communities asked for it,” they said, emphasizing local leadership and hands-on training.

Organizers also noted that the UNEA setting helps winners get in front of agencies that fund pilots. “The prize brings attention, but the next step is practical support,” another BE OPEN spokesperson added, noting that the ceremony was aimed at creating those follow-up links.

What happens next: pilots, partners and a path to scale

Winning teams will receive mentoring, access to potential funders and introductions to partner organizations that can help run pilots. BE OPEN and its partners expect some projects to move into small-scale field trials within a year, with monitoring built in so results can be shared rapidly and adapted.

For the public, the event is meant to show how design can be part of climate and nature solutions in a hands-on way. The projects chosen at UNEA-7 are not final answers; they are early-stage models designed to be tested, refined and expanded if they prove effective. That practical focus — real prototypes plus real partnerships — is the core promise behind BE OPEN’s approach.

Sources

• prnewswire.com