The Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers (AWFS) announced the winners of its Design It Digital (DID) student CAD competition during a virtual awards ceremony on Aug. 27.
The winners of the 2020 Design It Digital Competition are:
• 1st Place Middle School/High School: Barn Bunkbed by Theodore Tran, Mark Keppel High School, Alhambra, CA (Instructor Paul Lam)
• 2nd Place Middle School/High School: Lincoln Logs Bunk Bed by Caden Bialow, Princeton Day School, Princeton, NJ (Instructor Chris Maher)
• 3rd Place Middle School/High School: Noah’s Ark by Nikhil Gandhi, Princeton Day School, Princeton, NJ (Instructor Chris Maher)
• 1st Place Post Secondary: Fish Hive by Patrick Duckett, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA (Instructor Craig Smith)
• 2nd Place Post Secondary: Universus Bunk Bed by Vladimir Hernandez, Harold Washington College, City College of Chicago, Chicago, IL (Instructor Ivanhoe Tejeda)
• 3rd Place Post Secondary: Sleepy Science Bunk Beds by Nicole Seman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA (Instructor Diane Brancazio)
Watch the awards ceremony here.
You can see the finalists presentation boards here.
DID is a Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) competition open to students in North America. In the contest, students are presented three hypothetical scenarios in which a client is asking for a custom piece of furniture. Students choose their favorite client project and design a solution using CAD and rendering software. They also estimate project materials, labor hours, and hardware costs to calculate the price of their creation and make sure it falls within budget. Students then create a project presentation board and upload it to the DID contest website for judging.
AWFS received more entries compared to the 2018 inaugural contest, particularly from post-secondary students. The three scenarios presented for which students could design their entries were: a loft apartment fish tank; themed bunk beds; or a desk for a YouTuber with accommodations for AV equipment. Patrick Duckett, who received First Place Post Secondary, also won 2018 Design it Digital first place high school in while a student at North Cobb High School, and also was the 2019 SkillsUSA national Cabinetmaking contest High School Gold medalist.
The 2020 Design it Digital judging panel consisted of Don Bigelow from Hexagon, Doug Hague from Architectural Woodwork Institute (AWI), and Saúl Martín from Architectural Woodworking Company in Los Angeles. The projects were scored based on quality of design, quality of CAD drawings and renderings, manufacturability, marketability, and overall concept.
The Post-Secondary level prize packages are:
• 1st Place: $1,000.00 (USD) and a Lammello Biscuit Jointer from SWM and Colonial Saw
• 2nd Place: $500.00 (USD) and a Semi-PRO 2 HVLP Spray System from Fuji Spray
• 3rd Place: $250.00 (USD)
The High School level prize packages are:
• 1st Place: $1,000.00 (USD) and a Semi-PRO 2 HVLP Spray System from Fuji Spray
• 2nd Place: $500.00 (USD)
• 3rd Place: $250.00 (USD)
The next Design It Digital competition is planned for 2022 with contest information released in Fall 2021.
