The 2018 International Snow & Ice Construction Competition was apart of the annual Harbin (China) Snow and Ice Festival. The local school in Harbin, Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), organized an architectural and structural design competition between, Cambridge University, Kent State University, Eindhoven University of Technology, and HIT.

 

The competition took place in a span of five days, from construction to spraying, the teams had only five days to complete their proposed design. Our team started testing multiple different designs, using plaster as an ice substitute during simulations. The team decided on a design resembling two "cones" merging together with two large oculi that are aesthetically pleasing and structurally important to the design. 

 

The method of construction involved constructing centralized columns and then fastening ropes in a radial pattern around each column at calculated points. We then draped fabric over the column and ropes, the form becomes ribbed and structural scalping forms throughout the design when the added weight of the ice intensifies the "valleys and peaks".