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Designing innovative fabric structures
May 1st, 2009
How a German engineering/architecture firm is leading the way in designing exciting and unusual fabric structures. By Mark Zeh Recently I had the pleasure of talking to Gerd Schmid and Bernd Stimpfle, the managing directors of form TL. form TL is a structural engineering consultancy located in Radolfzell in the south of Germany on the […]
Fabric canopy helps cantina practice sustainability
May 1st, 2009
The new Sante Fe Opera cantina observes sustainable conventions and leaves the patrons fed and dry. I love sitting underneath the canopy at the Cantina on a rainy day,” says architect Hugh Hardy, principal of H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture, designer of the new Sante Fe Opera dining facility in the New Mexico desert. “You can […]
Mesh fabric creates dramatic building façade
May 1st, 2009
A curtain-like canopy on this Tacoma apartment building adds a theatrical touch to the entry. Hanna Heights is a 35-unit, eight story multifamily apartment building located in a trendy section of Tacoma, Washington, just five short blocks from the Thea Foss Waterway that reaches deep into downtown like a narrow, watery finger. This is a […]
Fabric art to be featured at 2010 Winter Olympics
May 1st, 2009
The 2010 Winter Olympics will host world-class athletes and fabric art worthy of the event. By Jake Kulju Janet Echelman likes a good breeze. Her massive fabric sculptures pepper the world — from Phoenix to Portugal, Bombay to Hong Kong — often designed specifically for engaging the wind elements that surround them. Her latest project, […]
Awnings & canopies
April 1st, 2009
For decades the choice of awning and canopy fabric was limited to cotton canvas. While cotton offers a great look and feel, it has performance limitations outdoors. Although traditional cotton duck, or canvas, is still used occasionally — especially when specifiers desire a traditional look — synthetics now dominate the market for residential and commercial […]
Fabric structures
April 1st, 2009
A fabric structure’s material selection, proper design, engineering, fabrication and installation all work together to ensure a sound structure. The material’s role in the structure’s performance makes the selection process especially important. This is particularly true with tensile and air-supported structures because their membranes, as well as their frames, carry the loads. Membrane materials Most […]
Graphics applications
April 1st, 2009
New applications of graphic elements are a species of fabric architecture that allows the most colorful and visual creativity. Environmental graphics fabricators constantly look for new ways to grab the eye or fill a space. The key to selecting the proper fabric is knowing the function a banner or graphic element is to perform. Other […]
Definitions to know
April 1st, 2009
Denier is an international system for measuring the weight (linear density) of fabric. Officially, it is the number of unit weights of 0.05g/ 450m length. It is a direct numbering system in which the lower numbers represent the finer sizes and the higher numbers the coarser sizes. In the U.S., the denier system is used […]
Opera house features award-winning design
March 1st, 2009
Art and architecture comingle in the new Oslo Opera. Norwegian architects Snøhetta are winners of the World Architecture Festival 2008 for their design of the Oslo Operahouse. The building’s arresting forms, integrated mix of materials and the designer’s close collaboration with artists convinced the jury of the project’s worth, winner of the culture category of […]
Canopies shield students from extreme desert heat
March 1st, 2009
Studio Ma recently completed a substantial redesign of the plaza adjacent to the student union on the Arizona State University, Tempe campus. Key to their redesign is a network of modular shade canopies that enhance the usability of the busy campus. With more than 30,000 students a day passing through the Memorial Union Plaza, the […]