Patented Technology

Smart Shading
Without Electricity

Trusted by
ARUP MVRDV Metadecor Masdar City
Up to
40%
Lower Cooling Costs
2
Patents
0
Carbon Emissions
0
Electronics

Natural Intelligence
Patented Physical Response

Airshade's patented actuator uses the sun's heat to expand air — creating pressure that physically moves shading panels.

Actuator State 1 Actuator State 2 Actuator State 3
1

Air Expands with Heat

Sunlight heats air chambers in shading units

2

Pressure Rises

Expanding air inflates soft robotics actuator

3

Shading Units Move

Mechanical motion moves shading

No sensor. No motor. No power.

Actuator State 1 Actuator State 2 Actuator State 3

Smart Facades
Reinvented

Zero Running Costs

Powered entirely by the sun — no electricity, no cables, no ongoing energy costs. No motors or sensors means dramatically lower initial costs and near-zero operating costs over the entire building lifecycle.

Plug & Play

No wiring, no control systems, no infrastructure changes required. Airshade works for retrofits as well as new buildings.

Modular & Scalable

Individual units click together into any facade configuration — from a single window to an entire building skin. The modular system adapts to any geometry, scales effortlessly, and can be extended or reconfigured at any time.

Lab Real Life

Silent & Durable

No motors means no noise — perfect for office and study environments. Mechanical simplicity ensures long-lasting quiet, reliable operation without component failure.

Future-Proof

Fully compliant with the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). While electronics and PV fails after a few years, Airshade is designed to match façade lifecycles.

Lab Real Life

Designed by Us, Powered by Nature
Selected Projects

Markus Wines
Lighthouse Project

Markus Wines Winery

Split, Croatia

SOMBRA Pavilion
2025 Pavilion of the Year

SOMBRA Pavilion

Venice, Italy

Masdar City
Extreme Climate

Masdar City Pilot

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Hogeschool Utrecht
EU Retrofit

Hogeschool Utrecht

Netherlands

Partners

Team & Partners

Core Team

Scientific Advisors

Core Team

Nikola Znaor

Nikola Znaor

Founder & CEO

Licensed architect with 10+ years
in climate-adaptive facades

Joe Platt

Joe Platt

Lead Engineer

ex-Head of Hardware at Aectual
ex-Lead Engineer at Royal3D

Scientific Advisors

Prof. Dr. Bas Overvelde

Prof. Dr. Bas Overvelde

AMOLF / TU Eindhoven

Harvard PhD Soft Robotics

Dr. Sergio Picella

Dr. Sergio Picella

EPFL Post-Doc

Soft Robotics Expert

Industry Partners

ARUP Metadecor

Academic Partners

AMOLF TU Eindhoven

Awards & Recognition

Holcim Awards Holcim Awards
2014
James Dyson Award James Dyson Award
2016
Archello Awards 2025 Archello Awards
2025
Cobouw Awards Cobouw Awards
2024
CIBSE CIBSE Award
2024
A.Dream 2012 A.Dream
2012
ECC ECC Shortlist
2025
AWS AWS Selection
2022
BKS BKS Grant
2018
EU SME EU SME Phase 1
2018
Zak World of Facades Zak World of Facades
2024
LeasePlan LeasePlan Finalist
2022
RVO RVO Grant
2023
ARUP Future of Facades
Runner Up 2023

Get in Touch

Interested in using Airshade or investing? Reach out at

Send Us a Message

Visit Us

R.J.H. Fortuynplein 4
1019 WL Amsterdam
The Netherlands

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