The Extended Entry Deadline for Architizer’s 2025 A+Product Awards is Friday, February 21st. Get your brand in front of the AEC industry’s most renowned designers by submitting today.
For homeowners and designers looking to embrace renewable energy, solar panels have long been the go-to solution, but they often come with aesthetic compromises. Enter Airiva, an A+Product Award-winning wind energy system that combines striking design with cutting-edge functionality, redefining what it means to bring clean energy into private residences and architectural projects. Featuring an elegant array of vertical wind turbines housed within a contemporary frame, Airiva offers a modular, quiet and visually compelling alternative to traditional renewable energy systems, making it an appealing option for architects seeking to integrate sustainability into their designs.
Designed to complement both modern and traditional architecture, Airiva transforms renewable energy generation into a design feature rather than an afterthought. Its flexibility makes it suitable not just for private homes but also for larger residential or commercial projects, providing architects and designers with an adaptable, innovative solution. With the ability to generate power on-site, store it for later use, or feed it directly into the grid, this system offers energy independence while seamlessly enhancing the built environment. Manufactured with 90% recycled materials and compatible with other energy technologies, Airiva empowers architects, designers and homeowners to make sustainability both functional and beautiful.
Hannah Feniak: What inspired the creation of the Airiva wind energy system; could you provide a bit of background behind its development?
We were researching small-scale renewable energy products and it became very clear that there was an outstanding opportunity to apply compelling contemporary design to the category in order to expand the market for distributed wind energy and to help inspire wider adoption. We designed an initial concept for a distributed wind energy system that was beautiful and provided a modular and scalable platform that could be adapted to individual installation requirements. Through the development process, we realized the concept could be integrated within urban and suburban landscapes, making it a unique product that greatly expands the market opportunities for distributed wind energy.
Airiva is a modular, scalable and smart wind energy system consisting of an array of vertical wind turbines within a contemporary frame. How does the design balance aesthetics with technical innovation and practical considerations?
Good design is frequently driven by creating elegant solutions to practical problems. Throughout the development process, we encountered many challenges and opportunities that required us to carefully consider and then reconcile technical and product performance elements against a commitment to maintaining a compelling form factor. For example, during testing, we identified an opportunity to redesign the frames into a more open spatial structure which provided additional performance and scalability benefits. Each problem that is uncovered in the development process provides a new opportunity to develop solutions in a way that will improve the entire product. Additionally, a well thought through, practical solution often provides the opportunity to further improve the aesthetics.
You’ve emphasized that the visually compelling nature of the design provides a powerful representation of renewable energy; why do you think this is important in the industry right now?
Airiva utilizes the principles of good design to help audiences expand the way they view onsite renewable energy resources. Aesthetics are not often a significant driver in the renewable energy sector but can play a valuable role in increasing receptivity and adoption.
Sustainability is a key aspect of this product, with its manufacturing targeted to use 90% recycled materials and its obvious goal of generating renewable energy in commercial and residential applications. Can you elaborate on the green aspects of the design?
We considered sustainability throughout the design process and continue to do so in each step, from how and what products are made from to the end of their life. Airiva has a manufacturing target to use a minimum of 80% recycled and post-consumer materials compared with the frequent high use of virgin materials seen across the renewable energy category. We are evaluating materials and manufacturing processes that will also optimize overall circularity.
Your product is competitive against other smaller-scale distributed energy resources across the globe. What are the biggest challenges and opportunities you’ve encountered when designing modular scalable energy systems that are adaptable to site-specific needs and compatible with other distributed energy technologies?
Designing and building an innovative wind energy product is a complex synthesis of numerous engineering disciplines. Balancing all these technical elements within a compelling design constantly created both challenges and opportunities to rethink our engineering, materials and designs. Future pilots and collaborations with strategic partners will help us identify additional design and optimization opportunities.
Home renewable energy systems are rapidly growing in popularity. What has been the response from clients and the design community to the Airiva wind energy system? How is the industry responding?
Airiva has won multiple design awards and received global press attention from both design and mainstream media outlets. As a result, we’ve received thousands of registrations of interest and inquiries from more than 50 countries including many large multinational corporations, global real estate development firms, municipal governments and public institutions.
Looking ahead, how do you see Airivia evolving, and what role do you aim to play in shaping the future of renewable energy?
Airiva will continue our design, innovation and engineering work to expand the way we think about renewable energy. Our goal is to create new and significant opportunities to utilize distributed wind energy on a global basis.
What does winning an A+Product Award mean to you and your team?
Winning the A+ Product Award is a wonderful and very appreciated recognition of the product’s design and value proposition, as well as the hard work that has gone into taking Airiva from an initial product concept to where we are today. The global design community’s acknowledgements and enthusiasm have been inspirational.
The Extended Entry Deadline for Architizer’s 2025 A+Product Awards is Friday, February 21st. Get your brand in front of the AEC industry’s most renowned designers by submitting today.
