GREENVILLE, S.C.—Drawing on the principles espoused by the concept of a circular economy, Michelin North America Inc. has selected "upcycling" as the theme of the 20th Michelin Challenge Design competition.
The competition will challenge entrants to take inspiration from previously recognized works over the past two decades, Michelin said, and to demonstrate how their repurposed Upcycle design increases social, environmental or economic value.
"The world is pursuing a circular economy, which does more with less by using fewer resources and raw materials in the production of solutions for the societal, environmental and economic challenges of our time," Nicholas Mailhiot, chairman of Michelin Challenge Design, said.
Three winners of the competition will be honored during the 2020 Movin'On Summit, set for June 3-5 in Montreal, where their entries will be displayed and their design portfolios reviewed by Michelin Challenge Design jurors and top designers from the auto industry.
"To move toward a circular economy, we are all challenged to find a second life or purpose beyond reusing and recycling," said Mike Marchand, partnerships director, Sustainable Development & Mobility, Michelin North America.
"Deepening the integration of design into the Movin'On global sustainable mobility summit through Upcycle is an ideal way to celebrate our 20th Michelin Challenge Design."
To recognize the role of design in sustainable mobility, artists, designers, engineers, architects, urban planners, futurists or teams are invited to take inspiration from one or more of 300 previously recognized Michelin Challenge Design entries.
Michelin created the Challenge Design competition in 2001 to encourage and recognize young designers around the world. The program's jury members are made up of advanced design leaders for major mobility producers and recently have been joined by experts from the global sustainable mobility community.
Through the first 19 challenges, Michelin has received more than 14,000 entries from 134 countries.
Michelin Challenge Design is open for preregistration. The entry portal for submissions—michelinchallengedesign.com—will open Jan. 1 and close on March 1.
Previous Michelin Challenge Design themes included Electrification (2010), Lightweighting (2013), Autonomous and Semiautonomous Vehicles (2014), Mobility for All (2016), and Inspiring Mobility in Megacities (2019).
To see previously recognized Michelin Challenge Design entries, click here.
The winner of last year's competition—"Inspiring Mobility"—was a team of university students from South Korea for their entry, "Depot," which offers citizens of Berlin in 2035 a mobile conveyance that can double as a pop-up-style individual space.