Kirigami for urban ventilation

Cities are often hot and poorly ventilated. We have demonstrated that kirigami, or “cutting paper” offers a retrofitting solution that can offer adaptive ventilation, while providing shade, and be actuated at the meter scale. 

Kirigami d’Aria: exhibition

(Learn more about this project here) To demonstrate the feasibility of kirigami at architectural scales, we developed a pavilion for exhibition at the 2025 European Cultural Centre (ECC) Venice Biennale – Time, Space, Existence. The canopy continuously opens and closes, driven by a motor, to adjust airflow and shading throughout the day. The exhibition is free to the public, and was open from May 10-November 23, 2025 at Palazzo Mora, Venice, Italy, welcoming nearly 370,000 visitors.

Kirigami for natural ventilation

Ensuring adequate ventilation of exterior and interior urban spaces is essential for the safety and comfort of inhabitants. In this work, we demonstrate that retrofitting urban spaces, e.g. “streeteries” or parklets, with kirigami, or “cutting paper” promotes ventilation by steering wind into spaces with stagnant air. A significant geometric simplification – i.e. louvers – offers useful design guidelines.

• L. Stein-Montalvo, L. Ding, M. Hultmark, S. Adriaenssens, and E. Bou-Zeid. Kirigami-inspired wind-steering for natural ventilation. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics 246, 105667 (2024) Link (Press & Bloomberg feature)