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Schindler & AIAS Launch New Design Competition, Elevate 2.0

In a reimagining of the previous Elevate Your Pitch competition, Schindler and the AIAS are now challenging students to reconsider how we design elevators/escalators with Elevate 2.0.

Date:: 4/20/20

Washington, DC & Morristown, NJ – April 2020

The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) and Schindler Elevator Corporation are proud to announce the launch of our newest design competition, Elevate 2.0. We have teamed up to create the next iteration of the previous Schindler student competition ‘Elevate Your Pitch’. Elevate 2.0 presents university students with a new type of design challenge to elevate the elevator/escalator user experience.

“We have been so impressed by the creative business ideas coming out of this competition over the past three years,” says Kristin Prudhomme, vice president, New Installations, Schindler Elevator Corporation. “We look forward to seeing how this year’s new challenge ignites these creative minds to reimagine elevators, which is close to Schindler’s heart.”

In this unique opportunity, students of all design backgrounds will be forced to think creatively and out of the box as they begin to reimagine elevators/escalators and their existence. Design concepts can incorporate modularity, accessibility or other elevator/escalator design-related solutions.

AIAS is thrilled to be able to re-launch this refreshed competition with its partners at Schindler Elevator Corporation. According to the organization’s Executive Director, Karma Israelsen, “we have an obligation to engage and support our members and provide outlets for creative expression and innovation. This competition provides an opportunity for us to highlight the skills of our members and showcase design thinking at its best.”

Check out contest rules here

This year’s competition will run from now to July 15, 2020, at which point a jury of various backgrounds will select the top 3 entries. The finalists will be notified and asked to join us at the AIAS Grassroots Leadership Conference held in Washington, D.C. on July 30 - August 1, 2020, where they will introduce their sketch or rendering and compete in the finals.

Details are available at and submissions will be due by Wednesday, July 15, 2020. Winners will be announced in July at the AIAS Grassroots Leadership Conference.

About the AIAS
The American Institute of Architecture Students is a non-profit, student-run organization dedicated to programs, information and resources on issues critical to architecture and the experience of education. For more information, visit www.aias.org.

About Schindler Elevator Corporation
Schindler Elevator Corporation is the North American operation of the Switzerland-based Schindler Group, a leading global mobility provider of elevators, escalators and related services. Schindler supports sustainable urban development with safe, reliable and sustainable mobility solutions, moving more than one billion people every day all over the world. Behind the company’s success are over 65,000 employees operating in more than 100 countries.