Autodesk Announces Winners of Build Something Student Design Challenge

Students from Five Countries Capture Awards for Innovation and Sustainability

SAN FRANCISCO, Jul. 16, 2008—Autodesk, Inc. announced the winners of the Build Something Student Design Challenge, a design contest created to encourage the next generation of design professionals from around the world to showcase their skills using Autodesk digital technologies in industrial design, architecture, civil and mechanical engineering and 3D animation.

Andrew Southwood-Jones, Narrabundah College, Australia: UniCube, a prototype of environmentally friendly campus residences.

“It is exciting to see the creativity of today’s students come to life through sophisticated and innovative designs,” said Paul Mailhot, Autodesk senior director, worldwide education programs. “The Build Something design contest is just one of the programs we are undertaking to challenge students to put their imagination and passion into action through design, and demonstrates Autodesk’s support for the next generation of design professionals.”

Andrew Southwood-Jones of Narrabundah College in Australia, won the Architecture Category as well as the Grand Prize for the General Categories for his UniCube prototype—a digital model of a green campus residence designed using Revit Architecture software. Incorporating the practice of building information modeling (BIM), the UniCube features aesthetically pleasing spaces tailored for student life, renewable construction materials and green building technology, including gabion walls and rainwater recycling.

“The Student Design Challenge was an excellent opportunity for me to put my skills into practice by using Revit Architecture software. As an Australian, I gained valuable exposure to an international competition while helping to develop my future career portfolio,” said Southwood-Jones. “In addition, the resources on the Autodesk Student Community are of considerable assistance. Design software, which is a necessity for many students, is expensive for students to purchase, and the Autodesk Student Community not only provides free professional software, but also offers useful tutorials and forums which enable me to use the latest software to the fullest extent to produce accurate and more innovative designs.”

Roland Cernat of Hochschule fuer Gestaltung Schwaebisch Gmuend in Germany, won the Industrial Design Category and went on to take the Grand Prize for Sustainable Design for his ORIENS zero-emission motor glider concept based on the cradle-to-cradle principle, which makes designers think about how their products can be disassembled and reused. Cernat used Autodesk AliasStudio software to sketch the curves of the design and bring it through completion.

Additional winners and runners-up in the various categories are as follows:

Winners were selected by a panel of industry experts from Autodesk and Autodesk customers such as HOK, AlchemyLabs, Palumbo Motorcars and Miller Legg. The judges and the companies they represent share Autodesk’s vision of using design as a way to create a better, more sustainable world, and encouraging more students to pursue careers in design and engineering.

“Depletion of natural resources. Climate change. Global population explosion. These are some of the major problems facing our planet today, and as a result, the architecture industry is returning to a holistic view of design, ethics, balance, and democracy,” said Jana Revedin, founder of Jana Revedin architects and design challenge judge. “We encourage young architects to be inquisitive, passionate and humanistic generalists who find a special, personal way to produce a sustainable architecture design, representing a long-term, environmentally friendly investment.”

Students participated in the challenge by joining Autodesk’s Student Engineering and Design Community. Since its launch in September 2006, this global online community has attracted more than 310,000 members from around the world. Designed to give students access to the tools they need to prepare for their future careers in architecture, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial design, and games and animation, the site offers free* downloads of Autodesk design software as well as access to the expertise and experience of their peers and educators, as well as Autodesk professionals. To date, students and faculty have downloaded more than 550,000 design software programs.