Jeffrey McGrew, Rodrigo Ramos Avilez, and Henry Goecke win at Cut&Paste Digital Design Competition

Thousands of engineers, architects and designers were energized and inspired by the design skills on display at the second annual Cut&Paste Design Slam digital design competition. Jeffrey McGrew, Rodrigo Ramos Avilez and Henry Goecke were crowned winners in the categories of Architecture: Dangerous Liaisons, AutoCAD: Extreme Free Form, Industrial Design: Solar Flair.

Cut&Paste Design Slam, presented by Cut&Paste, is a live-on-stage design competition in which contestants employ Autodesk software, quick-witted design and high-energy showmanship to create digital designs that wowed the audience and the judges.

McGrew’s design of an innovative observation deck at a royal heritage site secured his first place win in the Architecture: Dangerous Liaisons category using Autodesk Revit Architecture software. Avilez’s exciting extreme sports pavilion, featuring a bungee jumping entrance, garnered him first place in the AutoCAD: Extreme Free Form category. Goecke’s solar-powered lawn mower won first place in the Industrial Design: Solar Flair category using Autodesk Alias Design software, his second win in two years. The contestants, who are in Las Vegas attending Autodesk University 2009, energized the crowd of thousands with their exceptional stage presence and compelling designs.

Autodesk executives threw down the design gauntlet in “Modeling for Bond, James Bond,” a competition between Carl Bass, president and CEO; Phil Bernstein, vice president, building industry strategy & relations; and Robert “Buzz” Kross, senior vice president, Manufacturing Industry Group at Autodesk, to design for the legendary British spy.

Inspired by the global success of Cut&Paste’s annual Digital Design Tournament, the Cut&Paste Design Slam adapted this fast-paced format to test the skill, speed and stage presence of the contestants as they create original designs in rounds of 20 minutes while their work is shown in real time on large-scale projections.

“I am completely surprised by my second win at the Cut&Paste Design Slam,” said Henry Goecke, professor, Michigan State University. “I love to inspire others with my design, which I do daily as a professor. By participating in the Cut&Paste Design Slam, I am able to inspire a broader group of peers, and that’s very exciting and humbling.”