OPEN CALL
THE FORUM INSTALLATION 2027
Open Call for Site-Responsive Installations
The Forum at Fabrik invites students and emerging designers to propose a temporary spatial installation for a prominent public-facing site in the Gaslight District, one of Cambridge's emerging cultural and urban destinations.
Created to support the next generation of designers, the program provides an opportunity to take an idea beyond drawings and models—to design, build, and present a full-scale work within an active public setting.
Up to three proposals will be selected and realized sequentially over the course of one year. Each selected project will receive:
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Up to $4,500 CAD in project support to realize the installation
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A $500 CAD honorarium through The FORUM Award
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A prominent public site to realize and present your work
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Professional documentation and public exposure
We welcome proposals from individuals and teams working across architecture, design, installation, and related spatial practices.
Bring us a strong idea. Show us how you would make it real.
Every site has its own conditions, limits, and possibilities. What would you make of this one?
Register to receive the Site Information Package.
01
THE SITE AS OPPORTUNITY
The Forum at Fabrik is a platform for architecture, design, education, and public exchange located in Cambridge's Gaslight District.
The installation site is a large window overlooking the district's main entrance and central courtyard, highly visible from the courtyard and surrounding public spaces. It is experienced from multiple positions and distances—from within The Forum, across the courtyard, and while approaching and moving through the district.
The Gaslight District remains active throughout the day and into the evening, giving the installation a strong and sustained public presence. Changing light conditions also transform the relationship between interior and exterior, creating distinct opportunities for the installation to be experienced during both day and night.
We invite applicants to consider the window not simply as a place to display an object, but as a site for spatial experimentation and an interface between The Forum and the public life beyond.
Each selected installation will remain on display for an extended period, offering emerging designers sustained exposure to the many visitors who move through the Gaslight District. During this period, The Forum will continue to host exhibitions, talks, professional events, educational programs, and community gatherings, bringing architects, designers, educators, students, industry professionals, civic and community organizations, and the wider public into direct contact with the work.
Together, the prominent public location and ongoing Forum programming provide selected designers with a highly visible platform to realize work at full scale and share it with both the design community and the broader public.
02
PROJECT SUPPORT AND THE FORUM AWARD
Each selected project will receive up to $5,000 CAD in total support toward its realization and recognition.
The Forum will provide up to $4,500 CAD toward eligible project expenses associated with the fabrication, materials, transportation, installation, and deinstallation of the work. Project expenses will be reimbursed based on actual costs, up to the $4,500 CAD maximum.
Upon successful realization of the installation, each selected designer or team will also receive a $500 CAD honorarium through The FORUM Award, presented at the annual FORUM Award Ceremony in recognition of their work.
Selected designers will also receive professional documentation of the completed installation.
03
WHO CAN APPLY?
The open call is intended to support students and emerging designers interested in exploring installation, space, and architecture through built work.
Applications are open to individuals and teams from architecture, design, installation, and related spatial practices.
Previous installation experience is not required. Proposals may be developed independently or emerge from academic coursework, studios, workshops, or collaborative research, provided that the applicant(s) hold the necessary rights to submit the work.
04
DESIGN PARAMETERS
Proposals should respond to the specific spatial, public, and physical conditions of the site. The following parameters should inform the development of the proposal.
SITE AND EXPERIENCE
The Forum window is experienced from multiple positions and under changing conditions: from within The Forum and across the Gaslight District courtyard, at close range and from a distance, and throughout the day and evening.
Proposals should consider these different viewpoints and conditions, including the relationship between interior and exterior and how the installation will be perceived during both daytime and nighttime conditions.
Integrated lighting is not required. However, proposals should demonstrate how the installation is intended to be experienced at night and identify any additional lighting conditions or equipment required to achieve that intent. Any proposed lighting should be included in the installation approach and budget.
MATERIAL AND MAKING
Materials and methods of making should be integral to the spatial idea.
Proposals should demonstrate a credible approach to how the installation will be fabricated, transported, assembled, installed, and eventually removed.
WEIGHT AND STABILITY
Lightweight construction is strongly encouraged.
Proposals should consider the overall weight, stability, support, and load distribution of the installation. Applicants should not assume that significant loads can be suspended from or substantially anchored to the existing building.
TEMPORARY AND REVERSIBLE
The installation is temporary and should be designed with its full life cycle in mind.
Proposals should allow for efficient installation and deinstallation without significant or permanent alteration to the existing space. The selected designer or team will be responsible for removing the installation at the conclusion of its designated exhibition period.
05
WHAT TO SUBMIT
Keep it concise. We are interested in understanding your idea, not the production of an extensive competition package.
REGISTRATION
Registration Deadline: October 16, 2026
Applicants must register by October 16, 2026 to participate in the open call.
Following a quick registration, applicants will receive the Site Information Package, including site photographs, dimensions, floor plans, sections, elevations, and other information required to develop the proposal.
OPTIONAL SITE VISITS
Registered applicants may also arrange an optional site visit with The Forum at Fabrik to experience the installation site in person. Site visits are not required to submit a proposal.
To arrange a site visit after registration, contact theforum@fabrikarchitects.ca.
SUBMISSION DETAILS
Submission Deadline:
November 16th, 2026 11:59 p.m.
Format: Single PDF, maximum 5 pages
Page size: 11 × 17 in (Tabloid), landscape
Maximum file size: 10mb
Submit to: theforum@fabrikarchitects.ca
Please use the following email subject line:
THE FORUM INSTALLATION 2027_Project Name _Applicant Name
Please name your file:
FORUM2027_ProjectName_ApplicantName.pdf
Questions about the open call may be directed to:
Sifei Mo
theforum@fabrikarchitects.ca
PAGE 01: CONCEPT
Tell us about the idea and show us how the installation will be experienced.
Include:
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Project title
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A concise project description — maximum 250 words
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A primary view of the installation from the Gaslight District courtyard
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A view of the installation as experienced from within The Forum
The views may be drawings, renderings, collages, model photographs, or other representations that communicate the character and intent of the proposal.
PAGE 02: SITE RESPONSE
Show us how the proposal works with the existing space.
Include plan, section, and elevation drawings showing:
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The installation in relation to the existing window and space
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Overall dimensions and key dimensions
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Location and method of installation, including whether the work is floor-supported, suspended, attached, or otherwise supported
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Proposed lighting strategy and location of any additional light fixtures, if required
Drawings should provide sufficient information to understand the scale, position, and spatial relationship of the installation to the existing site.
PAGE 03: MATERIAL + REALIZATION
Show how the proposal can be made and realized.
Include:
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Materials and key dimensions
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Fabrication and assembly approach
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Key connection or construction details, as appropriate
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Deinstallation and removal approach
The proposal should demonstrate consideration of weight, stability, transportation, site access, and any equipment required for installation.
Detailed engineering or construction documentation is not required.
PAGE 04: BUDGET + TIMELINE
Provide a detailed line-item budget demonstrating that the complete project can be realized within the available $4,500 CAD project value.
Applicants are responsible for identifying and accounting for the costs necessary to fabricate, transport, install, maintain, deinstall, and remove their proposed installation.
Depending on the proposal, costs may include, but are not limited to, materials, fabrication, labour, transportation, equipment, installation, deinstallation, removal, and other project-specific requirements.
Identify any donated materials, in-kind contributions, sponsorships, or other resources on which the feasibility of the proposal depends.
Provide a concise project timeline outlining the anticipated process from design development through completion. The timeline should identify key stages and milestones.
PAGE 05: APPLICANT + RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
Tell us briefly about yourself or your team.
Include:
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Applicant and team name(s)
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Contact information
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Current school, practice, or professional affiliation, where applicable
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Short CV(s)
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Relevant design, fabrication, installation, construction, or making experience
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Selected examples of relevant previous work with proper credit
Relevant experience may be academic, independent, or professional.
JURY AND SELECTION
06
Proposals will be reviewed by an invited interdisciplinary jury bringing together perspectives from architectural education, professional practice, civic institutions, and the local community.
The jury may include design professionals, professors and educators, representatives of community organizations, and municipal or civic representatives. The final jury composition will be announced prior to the submission deadline.
Proposals will be evaluated according to three criteria:
30% — RESPONSE TO SITE
How thoughtfully does the proposal respond to the architectural, spatial, and public conditions of the Forum window?
The jury will consider its relationship to the interior and courtyard, different viewing distances, and its presence during both day and night.
30% — DESIGN CONCEPT
How clear, compelling, and spatially engaging is the design idea?
The jury will consider the strength and originality of the concept, its spatial qualities, and its potential to transform the experience of the site.
40% — DESIGN FEASIBILITY
Can the proposal be successfully realized?
The jury will consider the proposed materials, dimensions, weight and stability, fabrication, transportation, installation, durability, safety, reversibility, deinstallation, and the overall credibility of the realization approach.
The proposal must demonstrate that the complete project can be realized within the available project support.
Based on the jury's evaluation, up to three proposals will be selected for realization. The selected projects will not be ranked and will be installed sequentially over the course of the year.
The Forum reserves the right to select fewer than three proposals, or to make no selection, if submissions do not sufficiently meet the criteria and requirements of the open call.
Open Call Launch
September 8, 2026
Registration Deadline
October 16, 2026
Site Information Package issued upon registration.
Optional Site Visits
Available by appointment following registration.
Submission Deadline
November 16
Jury Review
Late November
Selected Projects Announced
Late November
Design Development and Coordination
Following selection, each selected team will work with The Forum at Fabrik to refine technical details and coordinate fabrication and installation.
Late November
Fabrication Period
December - February
Detailed schedules will be coordinated with each selected team following selection.
PROGRAM CHANGES AND SELECTION
The Forum at Fabrik reserves the right to modify the open call, project schedule, site conditions, or program requirements where necessary.
The Forum at Fabrik also reserves the right to select fewer than three proposals, or to make no selection, if submissions do not sufficiently meet the objectives, requirements, or feasibility criteria of the open call.
Any significant changes affecting registered applicants will be communicated directly to applicants.