Temporary fabric structure decorates gallery lawn

September 1, 2007  |  Landscapes

In early July, the lawn next to the Serpentine Gallery in London’s Covent Garden neighborhood featured a temporary fabric structure designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid and Patrick Schumacher, partner in her namesake firm. More than 5m tall, the structure consisted of three …
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Architectural structures comprise NASCAR “fan zone” in Vegas

September 1, 2007  |  Features, Landscapes

A new Las Vegas motor speedway is a crowd pleaser. By Mason Riddle Gentlemen, start your engines. NASCAR fans, you check out the new Neon Garage. Over the roar of those engines, NASCAR fans at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS) could not be more ecstatic. Why? In March 2007, at the UAW-DaimlerChrysler …
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Green architecture and sustainable design

January 1, 2007  |  Case Studies

How green architecture and sustainable design relate to fabric structures. By Nicholas Goldsmith For millennia people have worshipped the sun for its warmth, its light and its capability for producing food. In modern times we have come to take the sun for granted. The Earth is solar powered yet we a…
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TransHab and the space architects

September 1, 1999  |  Exteriors, Features

Revolutionizing structures in space with fabric and technology By Kriss J. Kennedy Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in Sept/Oct 1999 issue of Fabric Architecture. At the time, Kriss J. Kennedy was a space architect at the NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. He is internat…
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The Dome of the Millennium

January 1, 1999  |  Exteriors

Come January 2000, the world will have a chance to experience the largest fabric structure ever built. By Robert Kronenburg With its spidery splayed column legs, a web of complex supporting cables, and a vast, curving, sky-reflecting body the United Kingdom Millennium Experience dome, Greenwich, Eng…
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Terms to know when working with green roofs

January 1, 1970  |  Case Studies

By Frank Edgerton Martin Here are some terms to be familiar with when working with green roofs. Overburden The technical term for everything installed to cover the waterproofing membrane. When writing specifications, designers refer to the “vegetated overburden” in lieu of “green r…
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The future of air-supported structures

January 1, 1970  |  Case Studies

By Bruce N. Wright Asked what they would like to see in the future for air-supported structures, both Tectonik’s Kelsall and Inflate’s Crosbie see the integration of flexible photovoltaics as the gold standard. “Once flexible PV becomes cost effective,” says Crosbie, “t…
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Insulating for the elements

January 1, 1970  |  Exteriors

For fabric roofs, R-values can be obtained in a number of ways, depending on light transmission needs. By Bruce N. Wright, AIA Like most wall systems in architecture, the R-value is a function of building up layers of materials that have different insulative values as well as water imperviousness. T…
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