Global Google contest seeks 3D shelter designs

Google and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum have kicked off an global competition challenging users to design a simple human shelter in 3D with Google SketchUp.

The summer-long Design It: Shelter Competition, launched on the birthday of Frank Lloyd Wright and concluding on the Guggenheim Museum’s 50th anniversary, is inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright and a recent Guggenheim exhibition called “Learning by Doing.”

The competition offers a twist on an assignment given to students at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture and aims to empower anyone to use Google tools to think about design and ultimately share their ideas with the world.

After choosing a location in Google Earth, competition participants will use SketchUp to design their shelters in 3D and upload them to the Google 3D Warehouse. They submit an official entry on the Guggenheim website and, within a couple of days, will be able to see their work, as well as other participants’ submissions, with the Google Earth Plug-in on the Guggenheim Museum’s website.

The deadline for model submissions is 23 August, with 10 finalists to be selected by 7 September and winners to be announced on 21 October.

Winners will receive airfare and two nights’ accommodation for two in New York City, behind-the-scenes tours of both the Guggenheim Museum and the Google office in New York, complimentary admission to selected New York museums and a Google SketchUp Pro 7 license.