downloadable tetrahedral open kite by sehun oh design

downloadable tetrahedral open kite by sehun oh design 
all images courtesy of sehun oh design

royal college of art masters candidate sehun oh created ‘open kite’ as a solution to a design brief calling for a product for play. the design, which is modeled loosely after alexander graham bell’s tetrahedral ‘frost king’ airplane and heather & ivan morrison’s ‘little shining man’ sculpture, has gone through 10 versions so far; each time improving slightly.

‘open kite’ version 9 pre-folding  

the concept came into being after seeing the aforementioned kites, and a want to explore their unique architectural structures. ‘open kite’ is simplified compared to earlier known plans and examples, and relies heavily on the use of 3D printed components of various shapes and sizes. unlike ‘frost king’ and ‘little shining man’, oh’s creation is meant exclusively for pleasure kiting. the plans — as well as necessary CAD-files — have been made available by oh here. the kites can easily be produced at home, then assembled and disassembled at the flight location. 

prototype v.4 – components design test

version 4, collapsible structure test 

micro-cell structure made with paper (v.5) 

v.7 with a total of 41 cells 

‘open kite’ seven equipped with LED lights for night kiting

detail of LED structure 

3D printing wing components

parts assembly 

quick tying plug for easy folding and unfolding

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: nick brink | designboom