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DesignSlam at Autodesk University 2009... we're gonna be contenders!

Finally we're able to share some exciting news: we've been invited to compete in this year's Cut&Place Design Slam at Autodesk University 2009!

What is Design Slam? It's a frantic on-stage 20 minute design competition, done live in front of an audience. Three folks go head-to-head on a preset design problem, each working out their solution live (with their monitor mirrored onto a huge projection screen above them), doing a whole project in 20 minutes. At the end of the brief work time the judges decide who's got the best designer chops right there and then. Woo!

We're going to be in the Revit Architecture competition "Dangerous Liaisons" (natch) Tuesday night and get this: we're up against someone from HOK, and someone from Burt Hill. Both great firms that we have tons of respect for. We're very excited and honored to be included, if not a little intimidated going up against multi-national Architecture firms with hundreds of people and fancy Flash-driven websites...

We'll be the scrappy underdogs, straight outta Oakland I guess. Because We Can!

We just got the design brief last week, and we're already buzzing with ideas and excitement, as well as working on some special Revit API tricks to help out. We wanted to bring a robot to fab stuff live on stage too, but then it wouldn't even be a fair fight. ;-)

Now, other than practicing for the 'Slam, there is one other vitally important issue to resolve prior: What music to play while working? They pump techno onstage while the Slam is going on, but we're able to bring our own music and headphones to help focus. This has sparked lively debate here at the Because We Cannery, with the only strong contender to date being "It's a Rainy Day Sunshine Girl" by Faust being a clear front-runner, as well as some Detroit Cobras, Polysics, and Epoxies songs. "Sister Ray" by The Velvet Underground and anything by Deerhoof being decided to be too noisy in the middle, no matter how much we might love it. And while I'm all for Funkadelic's "Super Stupid", it's too guitar wankerish for Jillian (of course, I mean it's Eddie Hazel on that track after all...).

Wish us luck, and if you're coming to AU, please come and cheer us on!