TRD partners with ARA
October 1st, 2022
Dark clouds build ominously on the horizon as the workers finish a large tent installation. Strong winds and heavy rain are forecast. The local fire marshal arrives to issue the necessary permit and eyes the ballast skeptically. A storm is on the way—will the tent hold? Are you sure? Michael Tharpe, Chairman of the Tent […]
Pavilion for Queen Victoria Gardens
October 1st, 2022
Each year since 2014, the Naomi Milgrom Foundation of Australia has commissioned an architect to design a pavilion for the Queen Victoria Gardens, in the center of Melbourne’s Southbank Arts Precinct. The MPavilion then becomes the focus of a free program season of cultural events and interventions, lively talks, performances, workshops, installations and kid-friendly experiences. […]
Fabric-like PVC upholstery
October 1st, 2022
Enduratex has introduced ALPACA, a fabric-looking PVC upholstery collection with a subtle metallic thread. Enduratex has introduced ALPACA, a fabric-looking PVC upholstery collection with a subtle metallic thread. The textile has a 100 percent polyester knit backing, which provides excellent strength and ensures smooth fabrication, as well as a gentle hand. The collection, consisting of […]
ATA podcast celebrates one year
October 1st, 2022
Want to learn more about what’s happening in the textiles industry? Just tune in to Talking Textiles, a series of free podcasts available online on Apple, Google, Spotify and Libsyn and at textiles.org/podcast/. The first show was posted online on September 8, 2021. New shows appear the third week of each month featuring topics from […]
Time, time again
October 1st, 2022
Shigeru Ban’s corporate campus in Biel/Bienne for the Swiss watch company Swatch Omega Group is a study in contrast. Expanding on a motif the international architect first developed for the Centre Pompidou-Metz, France, Ban created a massive load-bearing timber diagrid shell that encloses and forms the main building. As with the Metz project, the Swatch […]
Retrofit roof on UFG building
September 1st, 2022
In 2021, the University of Florida in Gainesville decided to give a facelift to its School of Architecture building on campus, which would include a retrofitted roof to cover the existing open atrium space. The school turned to Birdair Inc., a specialty contractor for custom tensile membrane structures, to create a one-of-a-kind roofing system atop […]
The Feeling: We’re in Kansas now!
September 1st, 2022
Overland Park, Kan., is the second largest city in its state, as well as within the Kansas City metro area. The city’s website claims it is “America’s largest inhabited park,” and it feels like it if you stand in any open field and look northeast toward downtown Kansas City where the green-glass iconic towers of […]
Tricky shade projects
September 1st, 2022
Each year, fabricators across the globe set the bar higher by achieving more beauty, functionality and innovation in their shade projects. And each year, the Advanced Textiles Association (formerly IFAI) strives to recognize these industry leaders through its International Achievement Awards (IAA) program. Here, we interview four of last year’s winners about the rewards and […]
Hiring the right talent
September 1st, 2022
Regardless of size, companies rely on human capital to function and provide value to their stakeholders. An employee who is a good fit for your company can increase productivity, customer satisfaction and the quality of services delivered. In the textiles industry, workforce shortages and the challenges of how to make the workforce grow is a […]
Technotense leader takes DIY approach
September 1st, 2022
When Cesar Eloy Pérez founded Technotense in 2019, he wanted to create a company that would professionalize the industry of designing, building and installing lightweight tensile structures. “I wanted to change the way structures were made in Mexico,” he says. “There were a lot of people who weren’t very professional and were making things how […]