2007 International Aluminum Extrusion Design Competition

Student Class Winning Entries

1st Place: MP3 Holder - Ilya Yakubov from Dawson College
2nd Place: Kitchen Fire Extinguisher Storage Unit - Vicki Kohanek from University of Bridgeport
3rd Place: Buffet Side Table - Jordan Bailey and WilloWall - Louis Filosa, both from Purdue University

1st Place: MP3 Holder submitted by Ilya Yakubov, senior at Dawson College in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

First Place, earning a prize of $3,000, was awarded to Ilya Yakubov, a senior at Dawson College in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, for his design of an extruded aluminum MP3 holder. The design accommodates popular MP3 players, as well as some cell phones. According to Yakubov, a minimalistic design was used where form follows function. Yakubov attributes the efficiency of the extrusion process to being able to produce a product with fewer parts at a reduced cost. Noting that any MP3 player accessory would have a significant market, one of the judges noted that the design was adaptable yet had a clean, structural look.

2nd Place: Kitchen Fire Extinguisher Storage Unit submitted by Vicki Kohanek, industrial design student at University of Bridgeport

Second Place, earning a prize of $2,000, was awarded to Vicki Kohanek, an industrial design major from University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Connecticut, for her extruded aluminum kitchen fire extinguisher storage unit. Kohanek chose extruded aluminum for its strength and lightweight characteristics allowing the unit to hold its shape while carrying the weight of the fire extinguisher and accompanying supplies, as well as mounting effortlessly to a wall or cabinet door. The three-compartment storage unit holds a fire extinguisher, flashlight, and first aid kit. Werner remarked that the design defined what should be included in the kit while holding them in an organized and easily manageable fashion.

3rd Place: Buffet Side Table submitted by Jordan Bailey and WilloWall submitted by Louis Filosa, both industrial design student at Purdue University

Third Place was awarded to two sophomore industrial design students at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, who will share the $1,000 prize for their individual entries. Jordan Bailey designed a buffet side table specifying extruded aluminum because of its "easier construction, maintenance, and usability characteristics" also noting that aluminum is affordable, available, and has the ability to be recycled and reused. The simplicity of the design combined with the lightweight nature of aluminum makes the buffet bar both easy to produce for the manufacturer, as well as easy to assemble and maintain for the end user.

Sharing Third Place was Louis Filosa's WilloWall design, an extruded aluminum wave-like wall texture consisting of three main parts: concave and convex waves with a mounting rack; rubber caps may be used to keep out dust, pests, or other small objects and accompanying rack for mounting. In keeping with his own design philosophy, Filosa tried to achieve a design with a modern style that's new and unusual while also being functional. Filosa noted that the "design utilizes the complex form that aluminum extrusion can have," creating a strong yet aesthetically pleasing texture for both indoors and out. Filosa feels that the most interesting and unique attribute of the WilloWall is movement; given its thin-wall construction and interior structural wall, wind will make it appear to be a living, moving wall. Potential uses for the WilloWall include adding visual appeal to buildings, hiding damage, concealing wires, or decreasing exterior material cost.