The battle for the Norwegian Honors Award for Design Excellence 2008 stood between a mine-clearing vest, a survival suit for offshore workers and a trailblazing snow-racer. And the winner is...
3/13/2008 :: Design Day 2008 is hosted by the Norwegian Design Council, and it’s fair to say that this year’s nominees did not lack in action. North Legion was been nominated for its BMX and offroad-inspired snow-racer, Helly Hansen Pro for its new survival suit for helicopter transport offshore and Rofi Industrier for its potentially life-saving protection gear for mine-clearers.
The Honors Award, which was presented on March 12, Design Day, went to the mine-clearing Armadillo suit.
Saving Lives
“There are still an estimated 70 million mines buried around the world. Mine-clearing is an important task that deserves all the attention it can get, and I am therefore very pleased to receive this nomination,” says Alfred Øverland, Marketing Manager at Molde-based Rofi Industrier.
In 2004, a mine-clearing project was initiated by the Design without Borders centre of excellence, on behalf of Norwegian People’s Aid. The goal of the project was to reduce the number of injuries and deaths related to mine-clearing. Together with the design agency KODE Design and others, Rofi Industrier developed the Armadillo vest and accompanying protective facemask.
“Mine-clearing is precision work, and a hot, sweaty mine-clearer in a bulky suit runs the risk of making fatal mistakes,” says Alfred Øverland.
The Armadillo vest is lighter than other protective vests, and the suit’s weight distribution has been considerably improved. The vest has an aeration mechanism, and ventilation and the colours used mean that temperatures inside the mask stay at bearable levels.
Sea and Air
The two other nominees were no less exiting. The Helly Hansen SeaAir survival suit is the only suit in the world to be approved for use in both air and sea. The suit has a built-in emergency beacon and splash protection, and contains temperature-regulating materials - which means you could survive in cold water for hours. StatoilHydro, the Norwegian oil and gas conglomerate, already uses the SeaAir suit, and this spring it will also be used by Shell, BP, Philips and Talisman.
"We have the best product on the market – with respect to functionality, quality and price," says Terje Gorm Hansen, CEO of Helly Hansen Pro.
"This last point is particularly interesting, since we manufacture our gear in Moss in Norway, while our competitors’ products are often made in China.”
In his opinion, this proves that it is possible for competitive industrial operations to exist in Norway, as long as design and function remains at the cutting edge.
Brand New
The story behind Oslo-based North Legion is also the story of how a new winter sports product provided a basis for a completely new sport. The company’s two founders, Egil Stene-Johansen and Grunde Wåge, noticed that while the surfboard and skateboard had a parallel in winter sports, there were no good winter alternatives for BMX-riders and off-road enthusiasts.
So they created the MERC snow-racer, which paved the way for the emerging sport of Snow Moto Cross (SMX). The MERC was launched at the ISPO international winter sports fair in 2006, and North Legion won the "Brand New Awards" for best new sports product.
The nominees for the Norwegian Honors Award for Design Excellence have all been picked from among the recipients of Design Awards for Excellence, which gives awards in several different categories; furniture design, industrial design and visual communications, among others. Whether you root for the super suit, the life saving vest or the all new snow-racer.