The Hex Kite
The Hex: Excerpt from video showing The Hex Kite flying at St Kilda, Australia. Video by the author.
Contributors: Stanislav Roudavski.
Project exhibited at 40x40 Exhibition in Budapest, Hungary in 2017.
Tags: #installation #fabrication
This project contributes to a broad range of design fields by developing innovative design workflows, structures, materials and uses. The project is motivated by the need to find innovative and sustainable solutions to habitation. In this context, kites can be interesting for architects because they utilise a rich and renewable source of energy. They also emphasise opportunistic engagements with temporary affordances of landscapes rather than requiring radical modifications of natural environments. To investigate these themes, the project asks: 1) can buildings be supported by the available wind, similarly to kites? 2) how can kites educate architects about the invisible landscapes of air?
The project produced a major structure called The Hex that has never been attempted before in a kite. Its intended impact is as an instance in a set of possible digitally generated forms. The semi-automated techniques used to produce The Hex allow designers to write down rules that can guide the growth of whole families of objects. Members of such families can adapt to diverse conditions leading to outstanding efficiency and novel forms. The design methods of the project can be reused in many types of structures and the aerial performance of the Hex serves as a demonstration of the possibilities of the wind-supported architecture.
While recent, the project already had a substantial impact with approximately 100,000 web views and excellent feedback from peers who have described it as the most innovative inflatable art kite in memory. This reception resulted in the invitations to present at the Artevento festival (Cervia, Italy, more than 350,000 visitors), at the Swell Sculpture Festival (Currumbin, Australia, more than 300,000 visitors) and at other events.
Video(s)
The Hex - Mini Movie: Video showing The Hex flying at St Kilda, Australia. Video by author.
Images
The Hex Kite: Photograph showing The Hex Kite flying at St Kilda, Australia. Image by author.
Presentations
2017, Inflatable Kite, project representing Australia, The 37th Artevento International Kite Festival, Cervia, IT.
2017, Inflatable Kite, project presentation, The Rosebud International Kite Festival, Rosebud, AU.
2017, The Hex, festival exhibit and performance, international curated exhibition, Swell Sculpture Festival, Currumbin, AU.
2017, Wind Architecture: The Hex, project exhibit, international curated exhibition, MOOD Museum of Design, Ex-Chiesa di San Francesco, Como, IT.
2017, Wind Architecture: The Hex, project exhibit, international curated exhibition, Festival of Architecture and Interior Designing Conference, Mumbai, IN.
2017, Wind Architecture: The Hex, project exhibit, international curated exhibition, 40x40 Exhibition, Budapest, HU.
2016, Wind Architecture, exhibition, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, AU.