THE WIND MACHINE

October-November 2024
Licence 1, 1st Semester
Coordinating professor: Yann Rocher

For my first individual project, the goal was to create a machine powered by wind, shaped as a cube, intended for human interaction. My concept aimed to allow us to reach a collective desire: the ability to fly. The “wind” would manipulate our position in space through currents from different directions, suspending an object as if it were levitating. By adjusting pressures and directions, users could control its position themselves.

The machine was easy to experiment with, even at model scale, using hairdryers or open windows. Users could explore various positions in space through this dispositif. Three components enabled this movement:

The sphere:
Round like most floating objects, light enough for maximum movement, and transparent to appear nearly invisible from inside.

The threads:
As invisible and inelastic as possible, relying only on wind and the sphere’s weight—no elastic forces involved.

The bridge:
The support that allows users to access the machine, keeping the sphere from touching the ground and following its pendulum arc.