The Well-Tech Award, also known as the “WT Award”, is an international award for

technological innovation Technological innovation is an extended concept of innovation. While innovation is a rather well-defined concept, it has a broad meaning to many people, and especially numerous understanding in the academic and business world. Innovation refers to ...

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

coordinated by Well-Tech Architecture & Design Studio in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, in collaboration with "Città metropolitana di Milano" and the

Polytechnic University of Milan The Polytechnic University of Milan (, abbreviated as PoliMi) is a university in Milan, Italy. It is the largest technical university in the country, with about 40,000 enrolled students. The university offers undergraduate, graduate, and higher ...

. The winning projects are selected by a committee of members from the event's sponsors, and the president of Milan Città Metropolitana authorities. The projects are exhibited during the Milan Furniture Fair event, also known as Milan Design Week. The projects represent technological innovation,

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

, accessibility, and contribution to a

quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

History

The Well-Tech Award was the initiative of the founder of Well-Tech Architecture & Design Studio, Chiara Canton, which opened in 1999 in Milan. The purpose of the award is to highlight ecologically sustainable systems that other companies can incorporate into their businesses. In 2013, Well-Tech also started the Well-Tech SmartCity Award, an international competition focused on urban architecture projects for

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

Award Categories

Each year, Well-Tech awards prizes in the following three categories: * Accessibility *

Sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

Quality of Life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

Participants may submit up to three entries in each category. Examples of past submissions include ideas ranging from vehicles to home appliances, from clothing to toys, from eco-friendly materials to new forms of

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

Evaluation criteria

The Well-Tech Award annually selects sixty products that represent the best in technological innovation to improve quality of life, with particular attention to issues of sustainability and accessibility.

Accessibility criteria

*easy to use by vulnerable groups, elderly and disabled *secure visibility and easy understanding of the components *research and application of new ways to use products and services *qualitative values, functional and communicative of the product

Sustainability criteria

*Reduce consumption of materials and energy *Reduce waste throughout the life cycle of the product *Application of renewable energies and materials *Transformation of the mode of consumption as a function of reduced materials and energy *Continued investment and not just an episodic company on the content of sustainable development *Qualitative values functional and communicative of the product

Quality of Life criteria

*Applications of ergonomic parameters of materials and technologies that reduce the environmental impact *Applications of materials and technologies to optimize user comfort *Communicative product able to establish a relationship of empathy with the user *Appropriate use of materials and technology in the production system

Well–Tech Award Event

Each year, top products and projects submitted are showcased during the Milan Design Week. The event is organized by Well-Tech Architecture & Design Studio in collaboration with Milano Città Metropolitana. Each of the three categories has one first-place winner. In addition, up to six honorable mentions may be awarded.

Well-Tech Award winners

The following table show the category of the winning award, the company, institution or individual that designed the product, and the winning product.

References

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Italian awards Polytechnic University of Milan