September 1, 2017
The Canadian Printable, Flexible, Wearable Electronics Symposium (CPES2017) was held on the outskirts of Toronto in May this year. Buildings, and smart buildings in particular, were a hot topic both in presentations and in the poster exhibition that accompanied the three-day event. Ronald Zimmer, president and CEO of the Continental Automated Buildings Association (CABA) set …
In 1956, all of New York City’s art world was abuzz about a new exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). It wasn’t the retrospective about the French Impressionist painter Henri Matisse, whose works had newly arrived in New York from Paris (a show that originated at the French National Museum of Modern Art), …
August 1, 2017
Successful marketing and selling means reaching, educating and caring for customers—in print, in person and online. Awnings, shades and screens offer a wide and appealing range of benefits, attested to by virtually every website in the business. But homeowners in particular concentrate on five letters: s-h-a-d-e. “UV protection is important, but not mentioned as much …
July 1, 2017
“Every time the phone rings we have a new opportunity to see how we can help somebody,” says Jerry Margrave, MFC, owner of Specialty Trim & Awning Inc., Bakersfield, Calif. “That’s the way we look at it—we’re helping people solve a problem, whether it be sun coming in a window, the need for covered patio …
June 1, 2017
“Last year was our best year, and we’re at another point of growth right now,” says Cheryl Yennaco, owner and general manager of Melrose, Mass.-based Atlantic Awnings. “That growth started when we decided to clean house and rebuild the business. It wasn’t easy but it was worth it, and at this moment we have the …
May 1, 2017
Fabric homes could well have a place in future urban settings. To explore this possibility, one such dwelling, the Breathe House, has been created as a prototype for a future living environment called “MINI Living–Breathe.” Created by Brooklyn, N.Y., architects SO-IL, the prototype was created as a sustainable response to ever-shrinking homes and limited resources …
As the old joke goes: How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice! Or you can get there by creating an air-supported tent designed for Carnegie Hall’s roof, as Pvilion and its collaborative partners recently did to much acclaim. This inflatable event space incorporates a technology originally developed for military applications, that of high-pressure fabric …
April 1, 2017
The structure once known as the Cistercian Abbey in Dargun, Germany, has a storied past. Located in the far north of the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the structure was built in the 13th Century as a Gothic monastery complex. Constructed of stone and brick, the building suffered major damage during World War II, leaving it …
March 1, 2017
Experts discuss the best ways to encourage designers to use fabric in their projects. Confession: I am a licensed architect (please don’t hold that against me!) and I like fabric. I am also a teacher of young architects and designers and take every opportunity to introduce students to the wonders of fabric in architecture and …
February 1, 2017
Italian architects and German engineers create a dynamic fabric structure for the Palace of Congress conference center “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably will themselves not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work.”—Daniel H. Burnham, American architect No one could accuse fascist leader …