March 2008 Issue

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  Emanuel Milstein: Architect as sculptor

  Not every sculptor receives a personal endorsement from the likes of I. M. Pei.

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  Ball-shaped building made of ETFE foil houses high-class spa

  Looking like an alien spaceship landed on earth, Oasis 1, a ball-shaped building sculpted out of ETFE foil, recently debuted as a five-star spa and wellness center in New Ross, Ireland.

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  Watercube uses series of ETFE air-filled pillows

  Designed by Australian architects PTW with ARUP, the “Watercube” as it is affectionately called, uses the same technology as Grimshaw’s Eden Project in Cornwall, England.

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  Inflatable ball showcases international rugby

  An inflatable rugby ball the size of a small building has inaugurated a tour of international rugby matches leading up to the World Cup in 2011, to be held in New Zealand.

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  Art museum clad in metal mesh

  One of today’s “hippest” art museums is clad in the expanded metal mesh that many of us remember from our parents’ cheap summer lawn furniture.

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  Awning allows hotel guests to enjoy the weather

  The awning wraps two angled walls with a 4.3m cantilevered projection, and the 11 awning trusses that comprise the frame are encased by a vinyl fabric cover with 5cm decorative stripe accents.

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  Lit awnings resemble old “arcade” awnings

  For the Wynn Casino’s exterior, the client wanted to make a statement both day and night.

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  Elliptical entrance awning symbolizes airplane wing

  This elliptical entrance awning is for the sales center of a new housing community located near an airport in Miami, Fla.

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  New awnings match company’s new identity

  After Macy’s bought out Marshall Field’s, the historic Marshall Field’s Building on State Street in downtown Chicago, Ill. was in need of new awnings to match the company’s new identity.

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  Retractable awning thrills homeowners

  These homeowners wanted to shade both their wide patio and spacious living room in their Haven Lake, Penn.

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  Fully retractable shelter protects café patrons

  The purpose of this project was to provide shelter for patrons of the Interbay Golf Course café, Seattle, Wash., on rainy days, extending the season for outdoor seating.

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  Entrance canopy provides focal point for eco-friendly hotel

  For this entrance canopy at a new environmentally friendly boutique hotel, the Gala Hotel in Napa Valley American Canyon, Calif., the client wanted something dramatic.

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  Round canopy keeps churchgoers safe

  This project consists of 10 sections of canopy, in three sizes, to span from the parking lot to the church entrance and sidewalk of St. Patrick’s Church in Iowa City, Iowa.

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  Porte cochere defines luxury high-rise entrance

  This porte cochere on an 18-story, 65-unit condo building in Naples, Fla., defines the luxury high-rise entrance and provides for weather-protected arrival via car.

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  Canopy provides focal point for entertainment deck

  This canopy is a spectacular focal point for the entertainment deck of a beachside condominium complex in Naples, Fla.

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  Protective canopy covers bar of club’s exterior terrace

  The project called for a protective canopy over a bar on this club’s exterior terrace in Ste-Adele, Québec, Canada.

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  Structure defines gathering place

  The client was looking for a unique and elegant extension to an existing raised terrace to provide a covered space for dining and entertaining at their residence in Val-Morin, Québec, Canada.

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  Waves of canvas shade new aquatic center in Kansas

  Rank after rank of wave-like strips of colorful canvas greet visitors to Splash Cove in Shawnee, Kansas, near Kansas City.

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  Jamestown Settlement exhibit ensconced in fabric

  Tension fabric R & D leader, Transformit, has contributed its expertise to the recently opened Jamestown Settlement Museum.

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  Printed foil scrims create a fitting memorial

  An evocative memorial to the victims of the 2004 train station bombings in Madrid provides a focal point for all those whose lives were touched by the horrific blasts.

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  Retaining walls overcome site challenges for luxury condo development

  The Norris Canyon Estates in San Ramon, Calif. are gaining a local presence not merely for luxury homes but also for the nearly 46,000m² of multiple-tiered retaining walls built throughout its challenging terrain.

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• 

  ETFE foil: Time to shine

  For 25 years, ETFE foil has been used to grand effect in structures throughout Europe. The United States is finally catching on.

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  Improving thermal-regulating properties for membrane structures

  New tensile fabrics with thermal-regulating properties: just add phase change material.

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  Reflective panel for photovoltaic system

  A tensioned valley cable and edge cables help provide enough curvature in the membrane panels to resist loads.

• GEI certifies several popular fabrics

  The Greenguard Environmental Institute (GEI) recently has certified several popular fabrics as low-emitting products.

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  Fabric created out of recycled soda pop bottles

  Following the sustainability process called upcycling,” a U.S. textile manufacturer has created a fabric out of recycled soda pop bottles (PET plastic), and woven the resulting polymer (called EcoSpun) into Ecophab™.

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  Building component using tensioned textiles offers various benefits

  This innovative building component uses tensioned textiles to control sound absorption, light transmission and color.

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  Energy curtain collects solar energy

  The Swedish Interactive Institute has developed an “Energy Curtain” that collects solar energy during the day and reissues it in the form of LED patterned lights at nighttime.

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  Insulated fabric improves thermal performance

  Tensotherm™ is a new insulated fabric designed to improve the thermal performance of tensile structure roofing systems.

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  Material improves water storage capacity

  The mat consists of two nonwoven layers with flexible and perforated tube-shaped structures embedded within.

• Room dividers act as acoustic barriers

  Three dimensional weave fabrics add an extra quality to interior applications such as partitions.

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  Sandwich material resists high temperatures

  Using technology developed for improving hot-air balloon efficiency called HeiDAS UH, Festo has created a high-temperature resistant sandwich material consisting of flexible polymer films.

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  National conference addresses world sustainability issues

  Leading educators get together to prepare for the inconvenient truth.

• 

  Printed foil scrims create a fitting memorial

  An evocative memorial to the victims of the 2004 train station bombings in Madrid provides a focal point for all those whose lives were touched by the horrific blasts.

• 

  Art museum clad in metal mesh

  One of today’s “hippest” art museums is clad in the expanded metal mesh that many of us remember from our parents’ cheap summer lawn furniture.

• 

  Retaining walls overcome site challenges for luxury condo development

  The Norris Canyon Estates in San Ramon, Calif. are gaining a local presence not merely for luxury homes but also for the nearly 46,000m² of multiple-tiered retaining walls built throughout its challenging terrain.

• 

  Green car park’s photovoltaic system incorporates fabric

  Fabric complements the sustainably-inspired photovoltaic system at Springs Preserve, Las Vegas.

• 

  Waves of canvas shade new aquatic center in Kansas

  Rank after rank of wave-like strips of colorful canvas greet visitors to Splash Cove in Shawnee, Kansas, near Kansas City.

• 

  Emanuel Milstein: Architect as sculptor

  Not every sculptor receives a personal endorsement from the likes of I. M. Pei.

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  Green roofs and living walls create eco-friendly clothing shop

  Mass Studies has out done itself with a cool (literally) flora-covered multi-use building in Seoul.

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  Green roof manufacturers take a hard look at sustainable materials

  Green roof manufacturers incorporate sustainable products beyond the greenery.

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  Green car park’s photovoltaic system incorporates fabric

  Fabric complements the sustainably-inspired photovoltaic system at Springs Preserve, Las Vegas.

• Coalition formed to create green focus academy

  A growing coalition of national organizations focusing on the built environment has agreed to create a new National Academy of Environmental Design (NAED).

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  National conference addresses world sustainability issues

  Leading educators get together to prepare for the inconvenient truth.

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  Sustainable signage

  The Society for Environmental Graphic Design recently published a Green Paper on best practices, strategies, and scenarios for sustainability in environmental graphic design.

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