At noon tomorrow in the Zoller Gallery, the Penn State community can interact with exhibits and speakers at the Green Design Conference.

Hosted by the Penn State Center for Sustainability, the 8th Annual Green Design Conference will feature local and student project exhibits, live music, a keynote presentation and an evening performance by the Pennsylvania Dance Theatre.

Jack Ray, networking and projects coordinator for the Center of Sustainability, summarized the ideals of green design.

"Green design is often called 'smart design' because it's not just about doing it for the environment; it's about doing it because it makes sense," Ray said. "It's about living with resources, designing and integrating human society with the natural environment."

The main focus of the conference this year is the addition of the Green Design contest. Its purpose is to expose people to ideas and philosophies of green design, said Erin English, student director of the Green Design Conference and president of the Green Design Team.

"Green design is looking at the whole system and applying ecological and holistic concepts to solve environmental problems," English said. "From our experience, people get it the most if they're involved in a hands-on experience. The contest encourages a creative way of conveying information. It's not just poster boards."

Teams made up of students and members of the community created interdisciplinary projects or designs that fit into one of the five categories: architecture, landscape/gardening, engineering, ecological innovation and art.

The designers were encouraged to apply various Hannover Principles to their projects. Hannover Principles include creating safe objects for long-term value, eliminating the concept of waste and relying on natural energy flows.

Although this is the first year for the Green Design contest, there were many projects submitted and a few had to be turned away.

Some example submissions are an interactive trash sculpture, an idea for solar-powered rapid transit, and a bike bus and pedestrian mall for Penn State.

Submissions will be displayed at the conference from noon to 5 p.m. and the participants will be honored at the awards brunch between 9:30 a.m. and noon. A winner from each category will receive $500, and an overall grand prize recipient will be awarded $2,000.

A panel of Penn State faculty, including members of the architecture, landscape architecture, engineering and art departments, will judge the competition. Each category has different criteria for judging, but the Hannover Principles serve as the basis for determining the winner of the grand prize.

In addition to the contest, there are three other highlights of the conference.

A keynote address, "Art, Design, Environment: A Synergy," will be given by ecological artist and designer Michael Singer at 1 p.m. in 102 Forum.

The Pennsylvania Dance Theatre will perform "The Urbanization Project" at 8 p.m. for an extra charge in the Zoller Gallery.

The Next Generation Green Design Fair will be take place from 11 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Sunday in 126 White Building. The fair will feature ecological displays and activities, speakers, musical entertainment and performance art — all catered towards middle and high school students.

All of these events represent the culmination of Green Design Month, a university-wide program that provides students with speakers on green design.