Students Imagine and Design Automated and Sustainable Sports Arena for Inaugural Challenge

The inaugural Arena of the Future Innovation Challenge, hosted by Honeywell and the Atlanta Hawks, showcased the creative and forward-thinking ideas of high school students in Atlanta. The challenge aimed to inspire students to imagine and design an automated and sustainable sports arena, with a focus on building automation and sustainability components.

The top three winning teams were awarded a total of $10,000 in prizes, with the first-place team from B.E.S.T. Academy winning $7,500 for their innovative idea of converting foot traffic into energy to power the arena. Second and third place went to Project Hawks and Project Safety and Security from Frederick Douglass High School.

Billal Hammoud, president and CEO of Honeywell’s Building Automation business segment, expressed his admiration for the students’ creativity and dedication, emphasizing the importance of supporting the next generation of leaders in shaping a greener, more sustainable future.

The challenge brought together nearly 30 high school students who were mentored by Honeywell experts to develop their designs. The students were encouraged to incorporate water conservation, energy generating solutions, and cutting-edge technologies like robotics and artificial intelligence in their blueprints.

The Arena of the Future Innovation Challenge is part of Honeywell’s partnership with the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena to improve building sustainability efforts. The program aims to engage the community and foster innovation in sustainable technologies.

To learn more about the Hawks and State Farm Arena’s sustainability efforts, visit StateFarmArena.com/sustainability.