Shipyard
As the Wind Blows
Designed and prototyped a scissor-hinge deployable roof exploring kinetic architecture as a responsive structural system.
Research Project · KU Leuven
Role: Concept Development · Kinetic Structural System Design · Curvature Optimization · Environmental Responsiveness · Fabrication · Piezoelectric Integration
Team: Hana Khurshid
The project developed a deployable roof using scissor-hinge mechanisms to enable large-scale kinetic transformation.
The boat, not just any boat, a boat that serves as a connection of all the stories each harbor had to tell, making it a part of itself. Standing now, waiting for its stories to be heard, for more adventures to see, the boat wants to be alive again.
Keeping the essence of the boat intact, to breathe life into it through external natural factors such as light, wind and sound. Like an organism it comes to life, dynamically changing its appearance, inspired by the waves and ripples of the sea. It moves and adapts in response to its surroundings, creating a deeper connection between people and itself. It ensures the essence of the boat is kept, giving space for new stories to be told and the old to be kept, adjusting itself to whatever program is held in the future for this boat, through the movement and playfulness of the roof.
To also, in its subtility, use natural forces to generate electricity in the simplest of ways.
Kinetic System
The roof is driven by a scissor-link kinetic system that enables a large surface to expand, contract, and shift curvature through a simple, repeatable mechanism. Each scissor unit acts as a controllable “cell,” allowing motion to propagate across the structure while maintaining geometric continuity and structural stability. To define the roof’s final form, I calculated an optimal target curve by tuning key parameters; span, rise, and linkage geometry, so that the scissor array could achieve a smooth, continuous arc at rest while still allowing dynamic movement under environmental forces. This ensured the roof could flex responsively with wind-driven motion while preserving a coherent, buildable geometry that could be adapted to different programs on the boat.
Scissor Hinge - Curve Calculation
Curve Calculation
Piezoelectric
Piezoelectric elements are integrated into the kinetic system as a subtle energy-harvesting layer. Flexible piezoelectric wiring is embedded within the moving “leaf” components attached to the scissor hinges, allowing mechanical deformation to occur as the structure responds to wind. As the leaves oscillate and bend under airflow, the piezoelectric material generates small electrical charges through repeated stress and release cycles. Rather than acting as a primary power source, this system demonstrates how ambient environmental motion can be converted into usable electrical energy at a micro scale, reinforcing the project’s ambition to couple environmental responsiveness with low-impact energy generation.
Piezoelectric detail
Final Design
The final design synthesizes the kinetic roof system, environmental responsiveness, and energy-harvesting strategy into a flexible architectural framework. Plans and sections illustrate how the curved scissor structure spans the existing hull while maintaining open, adaptable interior space below. By allowing the roof to shift in form and atmosphere over time, the boat becomes both a spatial and performative object—capable of hosting future programs while remaining legible as a living structure shaped by movement, environment, and use.
Axonometric Drawings
Section - Closed
Section - Open
Section - GIF
Roof Interior - Open
Roof Interior - Closed
