An exhibition featuring more than 100 concepts and products chosen as finalists or honorable mentions in the 2018 Golden Pin Design Award kicked off Nov. 16 at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park in Taipei City.
 
Organized by the government-supported Taiwan Design Center and the Industrial Development Bureau under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the show is themed Nature Knows and highlights innovative sustainable solutions. Running until Jan. 13, 2019, the event consists of four sections on bionic, spatial and technological designs, as well as items made from recycled or reused materials.
 
Speaking at the opening ceremony, TDC Chairman Chang Chi-yi said this year’s honorees were selected by a group of 76 local and foreign experts, the largest ever judging panel for the award. He expressed hope that the Golden Pin will continue to attract pioneering ideas and products and help further strengthen Taiwan’s burgeoning design sector.
 
Standout exhibits by local talents and studios span custom glassware made from recycled champagne bottles; a mist-spraying installation aimed at spotlighting eco-friendly cooling systems; and flash cards to educate children in cultural traditions.
 
Equally impressive are robotic arms programmed to build structures from prefabricated concrete blocks and a rice-paper book documenting the results of an urban rice farming project in Taipei.
 
According to TDC, this year’s Golden Pin received a total of about 7,000 submissions from home and abroad in its product and concept categories, of which 91 were selected as finalists and 742 as honorable mentions. The winners will be announced Nov. 29 at a ceremony in Taipei, with concept award honorees receiving a cash prize of US$13,000 to help bring their ideas to fruition. (KWS-E)