​The Fabric Structures Association, a division of ATA, recently announced the recipient of the 2019 Fabric Structures Student Design Competition. Association representatives announced the winner at IFAI Expo 2019, held Oct. 1-4 in Orlando, Florida.

First place went to Omar Fabrisio Avellandea Lopez, for his project “Vertex Pavilion.” The Vertex Pavilion is a structure of deployable arches of 90 square meters built. It is light, modular and transformable. Omar belongs to the SMiA research group of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain. The design and calculation of the structure is part of Omar’s PhD research, along with his advisor Prof. Ramon Sastre, on deployable structures with articulated straight bars and maximum control of movement.

The construction of the Vertex Pavilion was supported by the Manufacturing Laboratory of the School of Architecture, Art, and Design at the Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico. And the prototype was built with the support of the students of the Architecture School at the at the Tecnologico de Monterrey campus, Mexico. Students had the opportunity fabricate these arches using wood and built the joints with PVS pipes. The arches were constructed in the courtyard of the School of Architecture.

Students were challenged to design a fabric structure that provides shelter and architectural interest for a public or commercial site.​