ARROYO GRANDE - Cal Poly's annual cardboard design competition will be more grounded this year.

Rather than creating floating cardboard boats as in past years, today's contest will be for the most innovative, "comfortable and aesthetically pleasing" chairs -- constructed from nothing more than two 4- by-6-foot sheets of cardboard and cotton string.

More than 50 architecture and environmental design students have spent the past week constructing their corrugated creations in preparation for the whacky design event.

For the past decade, most cardboard contests have taken place in the campus's Recreation Center swimming pool, where the flimsy transports and their design captains have had to navigate the treacherous waters without sinking.

It's good to change the event once in a while, so the students don't get it "wired," said faculty adviser Howard Weisenthal, who along with professor James Bagnall supervises the competition.

The students may not get wet this year, but that doesn't mean they won't be challenged, Weisenthal said. The chairs have to stand up to the rigors of the daylong exhibit, as well as being used daily in the studio labs for the duration of the quarter.

"They'll have to be built to last and, hopefully, incorporate a comfortable design," Weisenthal said.

Students and the public are invited to inspect and try out the chairs before casting their vote for the "People's Choice" award. The chairs will be on view inside the Gallery of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design. Awards will also be given for "Most Innovative Design" and "Best Use of Materials."

Winners will receive designer furniture provided by Carl Zdenek III, owner of Soma Ergonomics, and Eric Pfeiffer, owner of Offi & Co., both Cal Poly architecture graduates. San Luis Paper Co. donated all of the cardboard.