Canada - Wind Simplicity’s Windancer wins gold at the 2007 Design Exchange Awards

Wind Simplicity’s revolutionary Windancer wind turbine won gold at Canada’s prestigious 2007 Design Exchange Awards (DXA). The high-efficiency compact noise-free Windancer horizontal wind turbine is adaptable to urban or rural use. An independent jury of leading business executives, designers and community leaders awarded the Windancer first place for design excellence in the DXA’s engineering category.

A collaborative effort that brought the skills of father and daughter together, the award-winning Windancer took its inspiration from nature. “We looked to nature to design the wind blades and the wind tail, which give the Windancer its unique, elegant look and high efficiency,” said Wind Simplicity CEO and Inventor, Sharolyn Vettese.

Ms Vettese, an environmental activist and daughter of mechanical engineer and Wind Simplicity President and Inventor, Alfred Mathieu PhD, adds: “When designing the Windancer we felt that the engineering and the design were complementary, not mutually exclusive. My father felt that if it looked good, as nature does, then that meant we were on the right track, and he was right. This guided us in developing a completely new wind turbine.”

Dr. Mathieu said that it was not a simple process to come up with an uncomplicated design. "The basic principle is that wind is the engine, and that the wind turbine is stationary, not flying in the air. It has to adjust to the variants of the wind." "When I look at the Windancer now with fresh eyes, I don't know how we did it, but I'm glad we did," he quipped.

DXA criteria for design effectiveness included function, profitability, aesthetics, innovation, accessibility and sustainability.

The design awards were held on 29 November 2007 at the Design Exchange at 234 Bay Street, Toronto. The DXA are Canada’s only award program to judge design by results, balancing function, aesthetics and