Wind Architecture Studio’s Hex Kite wins at international design competition

Created by students and studio leaders in 2016’s experimental Wind Architecture studio, The Hex Kite has won the Platinum A' Design Award at the at international A’Design Award and Competition.

The 12 metre inflatable structure was created using computational techniques more commonly associated with describing natural growth in plants. This approach allowed students to design rules that can guide the growth of whole families of objects. Like living creatures evolving through natural selection, members of such families can adapt to diverse needs and conditions leading to outstanding efficiency, unimaginable forms and aesthetic enjoyment.

Stanislav Roudavski, Studio leader of Wind Architecture, explains “The Hex is a kite-like structure that can be inflated and supported in the air by wind. Generated by a computational process and made from lightweight fabric, the Hex belongs to a family whose members use space-grid geometries but can have different branching patterns, sizes or colors. While the Hex can be enjoyed as a unique air-borne sculpture in a variety of public events, it also serves as a research prototype in the development of inflatable architectural constructions that can be supported by wind rather than by artificially powered pumping systems.”

Kites can be interesting for architects because they tame a powerful energy source with minimal means to achieve amazing, and sustainable, performance. What if buildings could be supported by the available wind, just like kites? What can kites teach architects about the invisible landscapes of air? These are the types of questions asked by the broader ongoing research that motivated this project.

The Hex was conceived and created by Stanislav Roudavski, Alex Holland, Vivien Au, Xirong Bao, Bradley Elias, Rhys Jones, Thomas Jones, Stefanie Judd, Michael Mack, Leila Mottaghizadeh, Danny Ngo, Andrew Nicholson, Nancy Samayoa, Woon Khai Wong, Sihang Yang, Tony Yu and Yijia Zhang

About the award

The Platinum A' Design Award is a prestigious award given to top 1% percentile designs that has attained an exemplary level of sublimity in design. Entries to the A' Art Design Awards are peer reviewed and anonymously judged by a grand jury panel of prominent academics, important press members and experienced professionals. Nominated art designs are voted on pre-determined evaluation criteria to highlight only the leading art design works.