Xavier De Kestelier
Biography
ABOUT
Xavier De Kestelier is an architect and design innovator, and Head of Design at international design practice Hassell. With a career spanning over two decades, he has been at the forefront of computational design, digital fabrication, and additive manufacturing, leading transformative projects across architecture and extreme environments. A pioneer in space architecture, Xavier has collaborated with NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) on visionary concepts for extra-terrestrial habitats, pushing the boundaries of sustainable design beyond Earth. His expertise in parametric design and digital construction has positioned him as a leader in the industry, shaping the future of architecture through cutting-edge research and real-world applications. Beyond his work at Hassell, Xavier was a Director of Smartgeometry, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to computational design and digital fabrication. He has played a pivotal role in fostering a global network of specialists in these fields. His passion for education and knowledge-sharing is reflected in his academic roles at Syracuse University (London), the University of Ghent (Belgium), and The Bartlett (London), where he has mentored the next generation of architects and innovators. Notably, he has also led work on the Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre, the first cultural building in Bidi Bidi, one of the world’s largest refugee settlements, demonstrating his commitment to socially impactful architecture. Xavier De Kestelier continues to drive innovation and push the limits of architectural design, merging technology, sustainability, and human-centred solutions for both Earth and beyond.
AWARDS
Registered Architect; Member, Royal Institute of British Architects
SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE OFFICE
Hassell works across architecture, landscape architecture, interior design and urban design – a rich multi-disciplinary mix of skills and perspectives that unlocks the economic, social and cultural value of projects. We combine our creative design expertise with capabilities in strategy, research, technology and experience design, and we regularly collaborate with experts and partners from further afield. Through our work, we’re trying to build a more inclusive, sustainable future for communities – and create a more socially and ecologically resilient world.
AWARDS OF THE STUDIO
First Light Pavilion: Winner, 64th Annual Civic Trust Awards; Herston Quarter: Winner, 2023 AIA National Award for Urban Design; Advanced Engineering Building: Winner, 2014 AIA National Sir Zelman Cowen Award – Public Architecture; Darling Harbour: 2018 AIA National The Walter Burley Griffin Award for Urban Design
PROJECTS TO BE PRESENTED DURING THE EVENT
Project #1: Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre
Project #1 category: Culture. Heritage
Start year: 06.07.2021
A place for cultural expression, collaboration and community, Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre is a thriving beacon of creativity and unity in Africa’s largest refugee settlement. Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre, northern Uganda, is the result of a collaboration led by creative platform To.org, in partnership with Hassell, architecture practice LocalWorks, and design and engineering firm Arup, to create a community hub that empowers creativity, creates opportunity and brings dignity to the plight of refugees. Designed as a sheltered, semi-open-air amphitheatre, the Arts Centre serves as a performance venue and community gathering space. It also includes classrooms, music training spaces, and a recording studio. The centre’s roof design, shaped like a funnel to maximise rainwater collection, provides water to the community and supports essential facilities such as a tree nursery and vegetable garden.
Project #2: Lunar Habitat Master Plan
Project #2 category: Office. Mixed-Use
Start year: 09.02.2021
The Hassell-designed Lunar Habitat Master Plan is a ground-breaking modular concept that is the next step in creating the first permanent human settlement on the moon. Designed in close collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) for its Discovery programme, the Lunar Master Plan will inform the creation of a scalable habitat system that can accommodate a settlement of up to 144 people in reduced gravity. Working with anthropologists, psychologists, roboticists and astronauts, the pioneering concept focuses on what a settlement would need not only to survive but to thrive on the moon — from recreational, social and active spaces including restaurants and sports arenas to enriching earth-based environments such as large greenhouses. In a radically different approach to the monolithic shell structures previously proposed for lunar settlement, our design uses 3D-printed modular components that act as a protective outer layer. The tetrapod-shaped components are assembled like building blocks, interlocking to shield the habitat from the lethal levels of radiation on the moon. The components can be created using lunar soil sourced directly from the moon. They can then be 3D-printed on-site at the habitat, providing the means for sustainable construction growth.
Project #3: NASA 3D Printed Mars Habitat
Project #3 category: Office. Mixed-Use
Start year: 10.07.2018
If there was life on Mars, where would people live – and what would it look like? We set out to design the perfect habitat for space explorers on the red planet as part of NASA’s international 3D Printed Habitat Challenge. Our team, in collaboration with structural engineers Eckersley O’Callaghan (EOC), was shortlisted to design the world’s first human home on Mars. In our design, an external shell made from local Martian regolith would be built in advance by autonomous robots before exploration teams arrived to construct the interior – a series of inflatable ‘pods’ containing everything for work and life on Mars. Our aim was to bring a more human element to space design, typically all about maximum efficiency and performance. Our habitat goes far beyond just ticking the boxes for safety and survival. It’s a home away from home where astronauts can carry out the most important work in the history of space exploration.