Competition

"Garden and the Tower" is Atelier Thomas Pucher's winning design for the headquarters of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to be built in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The design is envisaged as "a global sign, made of light." The tower, very much the centerpiece of the design, will have a textile skin which, if we understand the design intent, will not only let sunlight and daylight in by day (an environmentally friendly way of illuminating the interior) but intentionally let artificial light out by night, to dramatic effect should the visualizations prove remotely accurate. The designers' approach to managing heat gain suggests that there's beauty in the function too. Read More

So you are in holiday mode, probably lounging down at the beach or by a big open fire with the snow falling outside, depending on where you live. There’s nothing on TV and you have read all the books of interest, so now what? Well, if you fancy yourself as an artist, you might like to enter a competition to design the livery for the first of the new Pipistrel Panthera aircraft and stand to take home 1,000 euro (approx. US$1,290). You have until January 10, 2012. Read More

Developed by the California-based company Making Virtual Solid, True3D is billed as "an augmented reality navigational display engine designed to provide non-distracting, translucent location guidance." That's another way of saying that True3D takes the head-up display (HUD) to its logical conclusion - it uses a 3D projector to beam the display across the entire front window of the car, therefore keeping the driver's eyes on the road by unobtrusively blending in with the real world beyond the windscreen. Read More

YouTube and Lenovo have joined forces to launch a global initiative that challenges youngsters to design a science experiment which can be performed in space. Two winning entries chosen by a panel of scientists, astronauts and educators - including A Brief History of Time author professor Stephen Hawking - will have their experiments conducted by astronauts aboard the International Space Station and live streamed on YouTube for the world to see. Read More

On the last two occasions, the overall winner of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon has gone to Germany's Technische Universität Darmstadt but this year the top honor has stayed with one of the home teams. As the name might suggest, the University of Maryland's winning WaterShed project features some novel innovations to make the best use of water, in addition to an intriguing internal waterfall that helps reduce the load on the structure's air conditioning system. Read on for a brief look at the top five winning projects, as well as the People's Choice. Read More

The votes have been tallied in the Electrolux Design Lab 2011 and coming out on top in a field of over 1,300 entries received from over 50 countries is Slovakian design student Adrian Mankovecký for his Portable Spot Cleaner. Comprising two components that are separated and placed on either side of a garment, the pint-sized washing machine would be powered by a sugar crystal battery and use negative ions and steam to clean stains. Mankovecký will receive a prize of 5,000 euro (approx. US$7,025) and a six-month paid internship at an Electrolux global design center. Read More

Given that there are currently robots that can find trapped miners, swim through rubble and see through walls, it’s only natural that some of us humans might feel a little ... inferior, perhaps. Should you be one of those people, it will almost certainly make you feel better if you go to Budapest, and take in the Bacarobo Stupid Robot Championship. The three main rules: robots must operate automatically, they must be funny, and they must be useless. Read More

The grand final of this year's Electrolux Design Lab 2011 competition is fast approaching. The field has been reduced to the last eight solutions for compact living and video presentations of the concept designs produced. The young designers will get their chance to pitch for victory in front of the judges on September 7 in London, but before that Electrolux has opened up the ballot box for the People's Choice - a chance to reward your favorite design with some of the limelight. Read on for a look at those video presentations... Read More

Victorinox has opened a public online vote to choose the best sustainable design submission to its "Time to Care" competition. The call for entries has been open since January 2011, and the seven best were chosen by jury in May. Throughout June, July, and August, the top seven designs are open to a public vote. The ultimate winner will be awarded prize money at a ceremony in October, and work with Victorinox to bring the design project to fruition. Read More