2026 Galleries
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2026 Galleries // 2026 Spark: Spring Student // Helix
Helix
Winner - Bronze
Competition:
Spark: Spring Student
Designer:
Nahyun Kwon
Design Type:
Public Emergency Product
Company / Organization / School:
KDM+
Team Members:
Nahyun Kwon, Eojin Jeon, Gayeon Kang & Jaehui Son
As pet ownership grows, dogs and cats have become genuine family members. Yet high-rise fire evacuation systems are still designed exclusively for people. Every piece of evacuation equipment in a high-rise building — descent devices, escape chutes, air mats — assumes a human body and a human user. You cannot operate a descent device while holding a dog. You have no way to control a panicking animal and evacuate at the same time. When fire breaks out, owners are left with only two options: leave their pet behind, or stay and risk their own life. The problem is not a lack of evacuation options for the owner. It is the complete absence of any evacuation option for the pet. Helix integrates a pet evacuation mode into the existing vertical descent rescue system. The same chute that carries people now carries dogs first. The owner wraps their dog in a dedicated Pet Swaddle, places it into the chute opening, and the system controls the descent to ground level. The owner then follows using their own evacuation route.
