For both architectural professionals and students alike, connecting with individuals and groups at KINetic can benefit your career and educational endeavors, along with learning and mentoring opportunities. Created by Kingspan Panels—North America, KINetic is the only social media platform designed to bring together students, architects, designers, and Kingspan professionals to collaborate, discuss, and share architectural ideas.

KINetic’s overarching goal is to provide a creative, dynamic group a platform for sharing, connecting, collaborating, and learning together. Best of all, this free social media-based resource is available to anyone interested in architectural design.

Members of the KINetic community post their design ideas, discussions, and projects in “clusters” and “spheres,” which are depicted graphically on the site in colorful, dynamic circles. This lets users easily browse and search others’ clusters and spheres to find the topics, projects, and inspiration they want.

One of the most unique aspects of these clusters is their ability to rise in influence and popularity within the KINetic universe. As a cluster increases its user following and comments, its influence increases.

Users can also regulate their exposure by choosing to make their clusters private or public. A public cluster can be searched, viewed, and commented on by anyone within the KINetic universe. On the other hand, a private cluster can only be viewed by the creator of the cluster and users he or she grants permission. Clusters can be changed from public to private at any time by editing the cluster and changing the status of the cluster.

KINetic clusters can even be shared on other social networks, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn in architectural communities to name a few, making them an ideal resource for online networking. Students, professionals, and Kingspan innovators have made KINetic their virtual clubhouse, following fellow members and sharing architectural design ideas from coast to coast and beyond. KINetic also features a Newsfeed that allows users to quickly access and view recent activity from users they follow.

KINetic Also Offers Architectural Design Students a Winning Opportunity: GenK

GenK—Generation Kingspan—is a student architectural design competition created and sponsored by Kingspan. This online-based competition is open to design students who want to gain industry recognition, as well as peer and mentor feedback based on their project entries.

GenK entrants use the KINetic network to showcase their entries, and to solicit feedback from fellow competitors and judges. In fact, unlike most competitions, GenK participants benefit from KINetic’s social voting platform as well as a review by a juried panel of professionals.

GenK offers two ways to win: online voting via KINetic or by way of a juried vote by industry leading judges. Two winners will receive the popular social vote via KINetic and cash prizes, and three winners of a separate juried vote will receive cash prizes and publicity in prominent industry publications.

KINetic continues to evolve and will be featured in future renditions of GenK, as well as becoming a tool for project collaboration, promotion, and discussion. Visit GenK for updates on future competitions and check out KINetic to learn more about the features of the application and to join the community.