Voters will choose green design winner
Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, September 21, 2010
MINNEAPOLIS - Six semifinalist designs have been chosen in Project UDesign, the first competition in the furniture industry that will be determined by crowdsourcing, or online voting.
Students at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia have submitted designs for an eco-friendly wing chair.
A panel of industry experts chose the semifinalists.
The competition is sponsored by Cargill's BiOH polyols business, maker of the soy-based ingredient that replaces a percentage of petroleum in foam used for upholstered furniture cushioning.
The six designs and related video footage are now displayed on Cargill's Experience BiOH blog at www. experiencebioh.com, its You- Tube channel at www.youtube.com/user/BiOHPolyols, and its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BiOHFans.
Voting for Project UDesign opened last week and runs through 11:59 p.m. Oct. 19.
The six semifinalists will be narrowed down to three finalists based on votes cast through Oct. 3. The winning student's chair will be chosen based on votes from Oct. 3 through Oct. 19.
Designs from the three finalists will be displayed in the Century Furniture showroom at the High Point Market, which opens Oct. 16. Market attendees will be invited to vote online during their visit to the Century showroom.
On Oct. 20, votes will be tallied and the student winner will be recognized during the WithIt Student Mentoring day at market.
Century has pledged to put the winning design into production and will pay the Project UDesign winner a royalty for each chair it sells. The winner also will receive a $1,000 award from Cargill's BiOH polyols business.
"We want to demonstrate to the home furnishings industry and consumer that environmentally friendly products and great design can go hand in hand," said Cargill BiOH business unit leader Yusuf Wazirzada.
Additional sponsors of Project UDesign include Toray International's brand of Ultrasuede upholstery covers, which are made using Toray's EcoDesign manufacturing process; Century Furniture, and the furniture design department at Savannah College of Art and Design.
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