NOVEL SHADING DEVICES

Adaptive Solutions

Sustainability has not been our priority from a historic perspective. This newfound shift is prompting a new need for existing building retrofits. However, as designers, we do not wish to plaster a protruding plane onto our buildings. While porches can be beautiful, there are many answers to this issue, some more appropriate than others in a variety of contexts. Capitalism answers this call with a plethora of novel and cost effective options, everything from fabrics to mechanized devices and even some that combine these innovations.

Some devices are more what we might call more “archtitectural” in that they explore more complex relationships between the static and dynamic, or construction and cost for example. This concept is a clear demonstration of how novel combinationations of material systems and new technologies can be integrated to produce something almost surprisingly captivating from both a formal and experiential point of view. Tensile fabrics fold into themselves as they slide to a closed position, stretching out as they slide open. The flexibility of the design means that it can be stored during adverse weather events or when tempurates are low and sunlight is desirable. In other case, extending the apparatus is easily possible during events, sudden spouts of rain, or most importantly for this study, when the sun suddenly shines on