R+D for the Built Environment is the ideas workshop for design, construction, and real estate industries.
Led by Michelle Kaufmann, the R+D for the Built Environment group is an amalgamation of makers, designers, architects, and engineers working on innovative solutions for commercial and residential buildings in the Bay Area. From the scale of the desk to the scale of the region, we generate ideas and prototypes that bring value to the end user and large tech clients. We aggregate the best thinking around today’s biggest design challenges and develop solutions that can be brought to life in our buildings and neighborhoods. With humans at the center of our work, we’re creating an optimistic, resilient, resource-efficient, technologically-enriched and beautiful future.
Why Apply - Benefits and Resources
Participating fellows receive:
- Funding support to further research, test, and prototype their project. Fellows are awarded $20,000 as an unrestricted stipend plus an additional $4,000 travel allowance for a one-week trip to the R+D Lab in Mountain View, California mid-way through the program.
- A network and cohort. Fellows will receive feedback from R+D affiliates in the architecture, design, and construction industries working with a major Bay Area tech client. Fellows are also encouraged to leverage their cohort as sounding boards and thought partners.
- Access to fabrication and prototyping tools during their one-week trip to the R+D Lab. Fellows have access to facility resources (3D printer, CNC machine, woodshop, meeting spaces, indoor and outdoor secure spaces for making, testing, and demonstrating) and R+D feedback.
- A platform to share ideas. Participants can present findings to R+D affiliates working on global real estate tech projects. R+D will post fellows’ work on an R+D publicly-accessible website. Participants will be allowed to share their work developed during the fellowship publicly, with exception to any confidential information shared by R+D for the Built Environment with the Participant.
Expectations and Desired Outcomes
Meetings, presentation and workshops
- Participation in an initial kick-off call with the R+D team and other incoming Fellows (2 hours)
- One week-long onsite working visit at the R+D Lab in the summer. Physical prototypes can be built here at this time.
- One 45-minute video conference presentation to R+D and/or relevant architecture or design representatives. Attendance in other Fellows’ presentations (3-hours total) is expected. Presentation to occur midway through the program.
- One final 45-minute video conference presentation to R+D and/or relevant architecture or design representatives. Attendance in other Fellows’ presentations (3-hours total) is expected. Presentation to occur in December.
- Monthly (or mutually agreed upon cadence) 30-minute check-ins.
Deliverables
- Individual work proposal on what the final and interim deliverables are.
- Submission of final presentation (must be in Google Slides), including any data reports, photos, diagrams, summary of outcomes and a video voice-over of the presentation.
- Physical output (model, prototype, mock up, or otherwise) of final work. Mock-up can be returned to Fellow after a mutually agreed upon loan period. Return shipping to be incurred by fellow unless otherwise noted.
- April 3 Fellowship announced, application window opens for rolling submission.
- May 31 Application window closes at 11:59 PM PST.
- June 14 Candidates selected for interviews announced. Candidates should be prepared to discuss a draft plan proposal during their interview.
- June 17-21 Week of video conference interviews.
- June 25 Selected candidates announced.
- July 1 Fellowship program begins.
- September 9-13 Onsite week in Mountain View, CA to tour the R+D Lab, workshop, and take advantage of any fabrication tools.
- September 25 Mid-review presentation via video conference.
- December 11 Final presentation via video conference.