Two University of Oregon students are among four finalists in an architecture contest that prizes original, non-toxic and ecologicaly sound building products.
Zander Eckblad, an undergraduate in the UO's Product Design Program, and Yin Yu, a graduate student in the Interior Architecture Program, both in the School of Architecture and Allied Arts, have advanced in the Oregon BEST Red List Design Challenge. Finalists were announced recently at the International Living Future Institute’s annual unConference in Seattle.
The Red List Design Challenge, hosted by Oregon BEST (Oregon Built Environment and Sustainable Technologies Center, a state signature initiative) and the International Living Future Institute, inspires teams to design original, non-toxic and ecologically sound building products that meet the demands of the institute's "Living Building Challenge" and use the state’s natural resources.
The finalists will be supported in development of prototypes of their ideas.
Zander proposes the use of a non-toxic, plant-based cellulose nano-fiber as an alternative to traditional fiberglass insulation. He will develop a cellulose nano-fiber aerogel, derived entirely from plants, that could be three times as effective as fiberglass insulation at an eighth of the cost.
Yu's proposal is for an "open window blind" to improve the performance of traditional window blinds to provide privacy without limiting daylight. The shape of the blind is inspired, Yu said, by the structure of Oregon pine wood as viewed with a scanning electron microscope.
The other two finalists are Sukita Reay Crimmel of From These Hands in Portland, whose proposal is for a “ready-mix” for earthen flooring, and Stacy Stemach of Stemach Design and Architecture in Bend, who has proposed a "crane lamp" made with salvaged scrap wood and an energy-efficient LED luminaire.
The finalists now enter phase II of the challenge, during which they’ll develop protoypes of their designs. The winner will be announced at Oregon BEST FEST, the Northwest's premier cleantech innovation conference, Sept. 11-12, in Portland. First prize is $10,000, in addition to assistance with commercialization of the product. The second-place winner receives $5,000.
"We are excited to work with these four finalists in the coming months to explore the potential for each to meet a real need in the marketplace," said Johanna Brickman, manager for the Sustainable Built Environment Program at Oregon BEST. "That's the reward for us in sponsoring this competition – seeing small businesses emerge out of innovation."
- by UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts