SolidWorks Green Design competition

It’s a sweet looking holiday in the UK, the summer looks to be firmly setting in and I suspect Waitrose is, right about now, running out of BBQ fuel, raw meat and faux-french lager as we speak. But a national holiday is not for the Americans and the team at SolidWorks has just announced a rather spiffy new Green Design contest.

Created in honour of Earth Day (and to promote its Sustainability add-on), the Green Design Contest has been established to give SolidWorks users around the globe the chance to demonstrate their creativity and consideration “for the Earth” by re-designing one of the world’s most ubiquitous objects – the airport terminal chair. Yes, an airport chair. Where aeroplanes fly from. For a green contest. OK – bear with me.

One of the brains behind the contest is DS’s Sustainability Guru, Asheen Phansey (that’s “fan-say” not “fan-see”.) elaborated. “Imagine a five percent reduction in the environmental impact of a chair at every stage of its lifecycle—from raw materials through manufacturing, distribution, use, disposal, and recycling,” said Asheen Phansey, product manager for SolidWorks Sustainability. “Considering the rows upon rows of chairs you see at an airport terminal, you’re starting to talk about a compounding benefit. Now expand that idea to other products. If we can use sustainable design for every product that’s made, designers and engineers can drastically improve the environmental footprint of their designs and truly enrich the planet.”

What are the rules?

According to the blurb, the contest requires contestants to use SolidWorks to design a “greener” chair that can be mass produced for the terminals of a fictitious new green airline.

Deliverables

• 250 word description
• A SolidWorks Model. Obviously. (tip: has to be a single body, single part model)
• A report from SolidWorks SustainabilityXpress.
• An report from SimulationXpress

Who can enter?

There are separate categories for:

• Commercial designers
• Students
• SolidWorks resellers.

What’s another name for Pirate Treasure?*

• Commerical Grand Prize: A trip for two to Chaa Creek rainforest eco-resort in Belize.
• Student first and second prize: A trip for two to SolidWorks World 2012 in San Diego.
• First place student also receiving a new Apple® iPad® 2 mobile digital device.
• DS SolidWorks will give away five additional iPad 2 devices to runner-up winners, and SolidWorks “goody bags” for 20 honorable mentions, in each of these categories.
• DS SolidWorks will also award iPad 2 devices for the leading designs submitted by reseller employees.

Judging

The judges for the entries will be myself, Josh Mings (of SolidSmack.com fame), Sol Diamond, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Dartmouth College and Mark Buckley, Vice President of Environmental Affairs for Staples. There will also be some judgly huddles from SolidWorks software experts, Stephen Endersby (Simulation Product Manager), the aformentioned Asheen Phansey and Mr. Rick “eDrawings” Chin (Director of Product Innovation)

When?

The Green Design Contest runs through midnight EDT on June 30, 2011.

More deets?

More details about the contest can be found at www.solidworks.com/GreenDesignContest

Further reading

Here’s a few bits and bobs to maybe have a read of it you fancy giving this a crack:

• Asheen’s Guide to Sustainability is must reading
• An article we ran in our inaugural edition of D3D Sustainability on linking Green Design, LCA and Simulation
• Leyla‘s look at Life Cycle Assessment from the same issue.
• While I’m sure SolidWorks will hate this, Autodesk’s Eco Workshop team has some fantastic resources covering almost everything

* See Check Your Head by the Beastie Boys – Track 17.
SolidWorks launches Green Design Contest to celebrate Earth Day
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