DuPont Imagineering Awards: Italian winners Recently coming to an end was the awarding of the prizes to the three winners and five special mentions in the Italian section of the industrial design competition “DuPont Imagineering Awards” (117 registered), selected according to creativity, meaningful and appropriate use of techno polymers, possibility of manufacturing and quality of presentation. The theme of the 2001-2002 edition was “safety in recreation and leisure time”.

The first prize of 5000 euro went to a degree student from the school of design at the Università della Sapienza in Rome, Generoso Parmegiani, who designed a brake for roller blades. “Stop Wheels” is the result of ten years of experience with roller blades of the young designer, who proposes a single piece made using injection moulding with the polyester thermoplastic elastomer, DuPont™ Hytrel® which is easy and light to transport. It fits by pressing it onto the wheels of the rollers – when crossing crowded public places where it is forbidden to roller blade, or when you need to overcome obstacles, it is no longer necessary to take them off, instead you can just insert Stop Wheels to block the rollers.

The second prize of 3000 euro goes to other students from the same university in Rome, Mario Pierdominici, Diego Biancone and Andrea Mazzara put forward “Lobster”, a spinarose which is inspired by the toughness of lobster pincers to offer increased safety in an operation which can result in annoying scratches on the hands and arms. In the natural position the device stays open and allows to insert with ease stems of a maximum diameter of 15mm, inside it contains three integrated elements which block the passage of spines, activated using a small amount of pressure and moving along the stem. A tool which is easy to manufacture industrially and which can be marketed at a competitive price.

Winner of third prize was the camping stove “Sguscio” by Matteo Dadati, doctorate student in industrial design at the Politecnico in Milan. It offers improved safety for lovers of camping, minimising the risk of pans toppling over (and resulting burning) whilst cooking outdoors. Three folding feet made from polyester resin DuPont™ Rynite® PET, create a base which is larger then that of the traditional camping stove, reducing at the same time to a minimum the size once folded. The hinges integrated in the feet are another advantage of the design, which also includes a component which functions as a holder for the gas cylinder and a cooking surface fitted in the main part which contains the feet.

Finally the Honourable Mentions: Simone Contessa and Aurelio D’Angelo (from LUDI Rome) for the clippers, “Nails”; Samuele Meda (degree course in industrial design, Politecnico of Milan) anti-capsize rake “Rasta”; Silvia Penazzi and Lisa Rinaldi (school of architecture Biagio Rossett, Ferrara) for “Snake Loop”, a device for carrying skis on the shoulders; Sara Passamonti (Istituto Europeo di Design, Roma) riding saddle “Varenne”; Melissa Arroni, Antonio Cristofaro and Elisa Allegri (Corso di Laurea in Disegno Industriale, Politecnico di Milano) for “Water Neck”, a collar which hides an inflatable life jacket.

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