How Helinox Built a Temperature-Responsive Shelter for Nike ACG
The Story of Helinox's Contribution from Fabric to Frame
As the temperature drops, the Rotunda turns orange. Its white canopy slowly takes on the color of the frame beneath it, making the change visible across the shelter itself.
Helinox made the Rotunda for Nike ACG's first Research Mission outside Moab, Utah, working with Moritz Grub, Cuno Andréhn and the team at Amsterdam Berlin. Alongside it were Helinox Alpine Dome 2P tents and V-Tarp 4.0 shelters for serving food and water at base camp.
Turning that idea into a working shelter brought together an unusual fabric from Italy, a custom frame engineered by Helinox and the DAC engineering team, and benches built into the frame. The fabric had to keep its ability to change color through cutting, sewing and assembly. At the same time, the frame and canopy had to be developed together, with little room in the schedule to wait for one before starting the other.
The canopy starts with a thermochromic textile from Italy. It stays white when warm and turns orange as it cools. Working with Amsterdam Berlin, Helinox coordinated the material supply and production in Vietnam.
Before cutting, the team found that the two faces of the fabric turned different shades of orange, and chose the deeper shade for the outer face. But the material presented another problem when it met the parts usually sewn into a shelter.
In testing, black webbing, cord and zippers bled dye into the fabric. The team replaced them with light gray and white trims and tested again. This time, no dye transferred. Even the smallest components had to work with the canopy without leaving marks across its changing surface.
The benches needed a different solution. Each seat is made in two layers: Helinox's own fabric carries the load underneath, while the thermochromic textile sits on top. That way, the seats share the canopy's color change, and a separate layer supports the people sitting on them.
Normally, the poles would be finished before work on the canopy began. The deadline required both to move forward at once. To make that possible, Helinox worked with the engineering team at DAC, the aluminum tent pole maker founded by Jake Lah. Together, they checked the design through calculations and made custom components and poles, so it could be verified in a short time.
They also developed the first canopy around the first pole sample. The team then added adjustments to accommodate changes in pole dimensions, allowing the fabric to be fine-tuned around the second sample.
At the Rotunda's crown, eight poles meet in one custom hub. Other hubs connect the benches to the frame. The team reviewed connector and load data from DAC and made a 3D-printed bench hub to check its shape before production.
The canopy covers the frame as one large panel, with ventilation along the top. Below it, the orange-anodized poles remain visible even when the fabric is warm and white. Engraved connectors carry the detail through to the frame.
Because the textile is sensitive to UV light, Helinox asked the factory to keep it out of direct sunlight during production and storage. The completed tent was then set up indoors.
ACG also needed a dedicated space to serve food and water. Helinox made the V-Tarp 4.0 for that role, with room to stand inside and doors on all four sides that open the shelter to its surroundings. With the doors closed, mesh panels and vents let you adjust the airflow.
For this project, the V-Tarp 4.0 was made in polyester dyed ACG orange. The retail version uses nylon with a different texture, in Black and Tan. It's easy to picture beyond this mission, too: a roomy, open shelter for your own trips.
In the Rotunda, the color-changing fabric stretches over a frame that also holds the benches underneath. Every choice made during development shows in the finished piece: the fit of the canopy, the fabric supporting each bench and the trims sewn against the textile.
For Helinox, this project brought familiar work with poles, fabric and connections into an unfamiliar form. As the canopy turns orange, the most visible part of that work is the color, but underneath it sits a shelter built with purpose.
