First Lady Michelle Obama brought the 10th Annual National Design Awards to DC with a White House ceremony honoring the recipients on July 24, 2009. Issued by the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York, the awards recognize excellence and innovation in design; this year’s winners included SHoP Architects for architecture, Hood Design for landscape design and TsAO McKOWN Architects for interior design.
The event featured public education programs, panel discussions and workshops. It also publicized National Design Week, which will take place in New York’s Cooper-Hewitt Museum from October 18 to 24, when the museum will launch an exhibit featuring National Design Award winners from the past 10 years. Titled “Design USA: Contemporary Innovation,” it will be on view through April 4, 2010.
For information about National Design Week and a full list of 2009 award recipients, visit www.cooperhewitt.org.
Here Comes the Sun
A village of 20 one-of-a-kind houses will spring up on the National Mall from October 8 to 18. These compact, modular abodes will bring the latest solar technologies to the forefront as teams from 20 colleges and universities compete to design, build and operate the most attractive energy-efficient solar-powered homes.
The fourth occurrence of this event since its inception in 2002, the 2009 Solar Decathlon will host teams from the U.S., Canada, Germany and Spain. Each home in the competition must produce enough electricity and hot water from solar panels to perform all the normal functions of a home—from powering the lights to cooking, washing clothes and dishes and maintaining a comfortable temperature. Homes will be open to the public for tours from October 9 to 13 and October 15 to 18.
"As part of the building competition, the next generation of green engineers, architects, designers and professionals gains valuable experience that will help them to lead America toward a clean energy future,” says Steven Chu, secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, which sponsors the Solar Decathlon. For more information, visit www.solardecathlon.org.
