The magic of moulded wood

We are one of the world's leading manufacturers of moulded wood. More than a mere material, moulded wood is a medium that has helped form the history of furniture design. Its robust flexibility, enormous tensile force, rigidity and its thermoformability in particular have all contributed to its importance.

The medium of moulded wood requires thoughtful, memorable design combined with a high level of technical skill. This has led to an unusual synergy between international designers and our company. Countless models and many successful market launches bear witness to the fertility of this cooperation. Our company also has a grand tradition of partnerships with international design universities.

Wanted: new talent

Impress us with your unusual, aesthetic, innovative and functional design!

Who can participate in the competition?
Students at international educational institutions for design and young designers (within two years of
beginning to work as a designer).

Which pieces can I submit?
Any designs that include moulded wood. Combine moulded wood with other materials at your discretion.
They could be furniture designs, but we also expressly welcome pieces from other areas of application.
You can submit stand-alone pieces, group projects or thesis projects.

When is the deadline for submission?
31 January 2011

Prizes

What are the prizes?

• 1st prize:   €10,000 and a completed prototype
• 2nd prize:   €5,000 and a completed prototype
• 3rd prize:   €3,000 and a completed prototype
• 4th-10th prizes:   Prototype, 1:1 scale

Awards ceremony
We will celebrate the winning ten as part of a gala event on 24 May 2011 in Cologne, Germany, one day before the Interzum trade fair begins. Our guests will include international designers, well-known furniture manufacturers, university professors and journalists. It will be an outstanding opportunity for the winners to make contact with the furniture industry company representatives in attendance.

The best show their best

Media presence

Starting in May 2010, we will be informing all of the relevant national and international media about the competition. We will invite representatives of the international media to a press conference on 24 May 2011 in which we will present the results and award winners.

Documentation

In August 2011 we will be publishing a book that features depictions of all of the designs submitted as a documentation of BeckerContest 2011. This documentation will be distributed to all of the participants and companies in the global furniture industry.

Trade fair presentation

Interzum, the international trade fair of the furniture supplier industry, will be held in Cologne, Germany, on 25-28 May 2011. Part of our stand at the trade fair will be devoted to presenting the prototypes of the winning designs. A brief text will accompany each design. The prototypes will be presented to a wide spectrum of international industry professionals.

BeckerContest 2011

1. General information about the competition
Fritz Becker KG is one of the world's leading moulded-wood manufacturers. Our customers mainly operate
in the furniture industry.
As part of its 75th anniversary celebration, Fritz Becker KG is holding the BeckerContest 2011.
It aims to promote and encourage young designers around the world.

2. The competition's aims and the benefits for the organiser
We would like to give young designers the opportunity to present their ideas for moulded wood in an
international competition.
Ten award-winning prototypes will be presented to international professionals at the 2011 Interzum
exhibition in Cologne. All submissions will be recorded in a publication. The participants will retain
the rights to their ideas. Ultimately, we would like manufacturers to add the designs to their product ranges.

3. Eligibility
All students at educational institutions for design and young designers (within two years of beginning
work as a designer) can participate in the international competition.

4. Costs of participation
Young designers may participate in the competition and publication of the record free of charge.

5. Participation requirements
Only ideas that include moulded wood in their designs may be submitted to the competition.
Combinations with other materials are also permitted.
You can submit stand-alone pieces, project or thesis work.
Each participant can only submit one piece.

The following documents must accompany each participant's submission:

• 1. The completed submission form, which can be downloaded at www.beckercontest.com.
• 2. A maximum of four informative and concise, titled pictures of the design (photographs,
• or black-and-white or colour images in a maximum format of DIN A4) and/or a model in 1:5 scale
• or smaller.
• 3. A brief, printed description of the submission in German or English with a maximum length
• of 1,000 characters.
• 4. A written declaration that the person submitting the piece is indeed its creator, that the piece
• is indemnifi ed from all third-party claims and that Fritz Becker KG has been granted indemnification
• in the event of claims from third parties.
• 5. A Windows-compatible, executable CD-ROM containing a maximum of four digital images of the
• submission (at least 3,500 × 2,500 pixels and in TIFF format) and the brief description as a
• Word or TXT file. These images and brief descriptions will be used for publication in the competition
• record. In addition, you can include a good-quality video of up to two minutes in length on the
• CD-ROM (AVI or QuickTime MOV format, with a resolution of at least 640 × 480 pixels).

To uniquely identify the documents, participants are required to include their name and address on each
one, placing them in the upper right on the back and on the CD-ROM. On the model, the name and
address must be visible from below. Participants should pack their submissions carefully and professionally.

Please send the competition documents to:
BeckerContest
Fritz Becker KG
Am Königsfeld 15
33034 Brakel
Germany

Participants are responsible for transportation insurance.

6. General technical conditions
For information on the general technical conditions, see www.beckercontest.com.

7. Deadlines and dates
The competition documents must be submitted to Fritz Becker KG by 31st January 2011 (submission deadline).
The jury will convene on 7th and 8th February 2011. The award ceremony is on 24th May 2011 in Cologne.
The ten winners' prototypes will be exhibited at the Becker stand during the Interzum trade fair in Cologne
from 25th to 28th May 2011.

8. Jury
The international jury consists of the following people:

• Dr Marc Brunner, Germany
• Barbara Friedrich, Germany
• Alfredo Häberli, Switzerland
• Dr Sabine Thümmler, Germany
• Willem van Ast, Netherlands
• Professor Dieter Zimmer, Germany
• Dr Ralf Becker, Germany
• Technical experts:
• Günter Schwarz, interior designer
• Joachim Schelper, Fritz Becker KG

9. Evaluation criteria
The idea must be new and will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Innovation
• Function
• Product aesthetics
• Design concept
• Industrial manufacturability
• Interdisciplinary approach
• Economic viability
• Visualisation
• Presentation
• Sustainability
• Ergonomics
• Suitability of the material
• Realisation quality of the optionally submitted model

10. Awards ceremony
The awards ceremony will take place on 24th May 2011 as part of a gala event.

11. Awards

1st prize: 10,000 EUR and production of the prototype
2nd prize: 5,000 EUR and production of the prototype
3rd prize: 3,000 EUR and production of the prototype
4th-10th prize: 1:1-scale prototype

The jury reserves the right to distribute the overall prize sum differently.
All ten prototypes will be presented at the Becker stand during the Interzum trade fair
from 25th to 28th May 2011.

12. Rights of use
Participants retain the rights to their designs. The ten prototypes will be made available to the designers
after the exhibition. They will become the property of the respective designer. By submitting their
pieces, the participants agree to their publication. The competition submissions will be recorded in a
publication that will additionally be available in PDF format on the Fritz Becker KG website.
Competition participants hold sole responsibility for the protection of their own designs.
Fritz Becker KG hereby recognises that the participants retain the copyright for their submissions.
During the competition, the submissions will not be brought to the attention of any third parties.

13. Returning submissions
The submitted documents will not be sent back. The documents can be picked up in Brakel, Germany,
if required, until 30th June 2011.
After that date they will no longer be archived.

14. Benefits for all participants
Targeted international media relations
Publication of the submission in a record and distribution to companies around the world
Publication on www.becker-kg.de
In addition, for the winners:
Prize money
1:1-scale prototypes
Display at Interzum 2011 in Cologne
All rights reserved. All information subject to change.
Brakel, Germany, May 2010