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Protective canopy covers bar of club’s exterior terrace
March 1st, 2008
Sollertia Inc. | Montreal, Québec, Canada The project, which won an Outstanding Achievement Award in the free-standing canopies category of the 2007 International Achievement Awards, called for a protective canopy over a bar on this club’s exterior terrace in Ste-Adele, Québec, Canada. The client decided to integrate an additional textile structure into the exterior terrace […]
Structure defines gathering place
March 1st, 2008
Sollertia Inc. | Montreal, Québec, Canada 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. Working with a pre-existing terrace that had six lower-level columns proved to be an interesting challenge. The surface […]
ETFE foil: Time to shine
March 1st, 2008
For 25 years, ETFE foil has been used to grand effect in structures throughout Europe. The United States is finally catching on. By Jeff Barbian It can certainly be said that the development of ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafl uoroethylene) took a dramatic step in evolution. During the early stages of space exploration, Dupont, working with NASA, […]
Green roof manufacturers take a hard look at sustainable materials
March 1st, 2008
Green roof manufacturers incorporate sustainable products beyond the greenery. By Jake Kulju If it looks green, smells green and feels green, it must be green. Right? The answer, it turns out, is more complex. It is common knowledge that green technology has large positive environmental impacts: large-scale energy savings, run-off reduction and heat reduction among […]
Improving thermal-regulating properties for membrane structures
March 1st, 2008
New tensile fabrics with thermal-regulating properties: just add phase change material. By Barbara Pause Membrane materials used for roof structures of buildings provide a relatively low thermal insulation capacity compared to the classic building materials of wood, steel, fiber mats, and tarpaper. Thus, a large amount of heat penetrates daily through such roof structures, especially […]
Green car park’s photovoltaic system incorporates fabric
March 1st, 2008
Fabric complements the sustainably-inspired photovoltaic system at Springs Preserve, Las Vegas. By Craig G. Huntington The high reflectivity of architectural fabrics has long been used to minimize heat gain in buildings constructed in warm climates. At Las Vegas Springs Preserve, this same high reflectivity is employed to bring more daylight to overhead photovoltaic arrays and […]
Fabric created out of recycled soda pop bottles
March 1st, 2008
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™. Ecophab accepts and water-based inks and is an eco-friendly, cost-effective alternative to many stocked fabrics used in the fabric graphics industry. SOURCE Ecophab™ by […]
Material improves water storage capacity
March 1st, 2008
Saxon Textile Research Institute has developed a material that improves water storage capacity. The mat consists of two nonwoven layers with flexible and perforated tube-shaped structures embedded within. SOURCE Saxon Textile Research Institute
Insulated fabric improves thermal performance
March 1st, 2008
Tensotherm™ is a new insulated fabric designed to improve the thermal performance of tensile structure roofing systems. The key to higher R-values in this innovative material is found in a translucent aerogel core called Nanogel, sandwiched between two layers of fabric membrane. Nanogel, a feather-light insulating material created by Cabot Corp., has a unique micro-pore […]
Sandwich material resists high temperatures
March 1st, 2008
Using technology developed for improving hot-air balloon efficiency called HeiDAS UH , German industrial pneumatic controls company Festo has created a high-temperature resistant sandwich material consisting of flexible polymer films. The laminate of polyimide film is reinforced by aramid filament yarn and holds back high pressure steam with up to 260° C temperature and resists […]