The Royal College of Art, the world’s leading university of art and design, will take part in the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), Glasgow, to raise awareness of its leading work in creating sustainable design solutions for the future. Events include:
4th November: The Terra Carta Design Lab in collaboration with HRH The Prince of Wales’ Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI).
To promote the Terra Carta Design Lab, HRH The Prince of Wales’s Sustainable Market Initiative, the Royal College of Art (RCA) and their Design Lab partners will host an afternoon event with guests from business, philanthropy, politics, art, and education, featuring high profile conversations and panels focusing on the important role of design in tackling the climate crisis, as well as the vital role the next generation of RCA designers, artists and entrepreneurs can play.
10th November: The Department of Transport announces new iconic British electric vehicle chargepoint design developed by RCA and PA Consulting
The Department of Transport will announce the iconic British chargepoint design, developed by the RCA and PA Consulting. Set to become the next great British emblem, electric vehicle chargepoints across the UK could become as recognisable as the red post box or black cab. The design will be unveiled at COP26 and could be seen on streets across the country from 2022.
31st October – 12 November: Polar Zero at Glasgow Science Centre features Antarctic air sculpture by RCA PhD candidate Wayne Binitie
On display throughout COP26, the immersive exhibition Polar Zero at the Glasgow Science Centre, will invite visitors to pause and reflect on humanity’s impact on our past, present and future. Developed by Wayne Binitie, RCA PhD student, in collaboration with the British Antarctic Survey and Arup, the exhibition’s centrepiece is a cylindrical glass sculpture encasing Antarctic air from the year 1765 – the date that scientists say predates the Industrial Revolution – and an Antarctic ice core containing trapped air bubbles that reveal a unique record of our past climate.
About Terra Carta Design Lab
The Terra Carta Design Lab is a collaboration between the Royal College of Art and HRH The Prince of Wales (Royal Visitor to the RCA) and Sir Jony Ive (RCA Chancellor and former Chief Design officer at Apple) to invite some of the world’s most talented design students to develop credible and sustainable solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis. The Design Lab highlights the urgent need to focus on the creative collaboration between art, science, design, and engineering to produce credible and sustainable solutions to the climate crisis. Students and recent alumni from the RCA have been invited to develop credible and sustainable solutions to the climate crisis, addressing the damage being done to our planet and creating solutions that align with the aims of the Terra Carta, drawing inspiration from, and giving back to, Nature. Through the Terra Carta Design Lab, students will have the opportunity to explore this link using local initiatives to restore biodiversity, reduce greenhouse gases, support developing countries and catalyse a new economic and social model that realigns people with their environment.
