The Future of Shade (1 Viewer)

[Linda]

I am interested in new approaches to creating living spaces. Since I live in Texas, I know the value of shade and found this article very interesting.

Some of the ideas are artistic and appealing to the eye. However, some of them would not work here because the wasps would love them and build nests.

An interesting design was for mobile units that could be easily moved by a bicycle or camel. They were described as modern day Conestoga wagons, which played an important part in the expansion of the population west of the Mississippi River in the US in the 180os.

Another important design was for the construction of temporary walls in buildings damaged by earthquakes or bombs.

Yet today’s architects still do not employ fabric as widely as they could. “That fabric appears to be living — that it responds to the wind, that it creates an emotional connection with forces beyond a brick-and-mortar building — can be very inspiring. But that also makes it unpredictable,” reasons Seattle-based landscape architect Daniel Winterbottom. For all of tensile architecture’s allure, practitioners remain unsure of its code-compliant performance and, perhaps, in their own ability to incorporate its waving, billowing, pooling forms into a contemporary design vocabulary.

http://architizer.com/blog/future-of-shade-2016-winners/

 

[June]

Didn't know you had camels in Texas.

 

[Pod]

Didn't know you had camels in Texas.

I am interested in new approaches to creating living spaces. Since I live in Texas, I know the value of shade and found this article very interesting.

Some of the ideas are artistic and appealing to the eye. However, some of them would not work here because the wasps would love them and build nests.

An interesting design was for mobile units that could be easily moved by a bicycle or camel. They were described as modern day Conestoga wagons, which played an important part in the expansion of the population west of the Mississippi River in the US in the 180os.

Another important design was for the construction of temporary walls in buildings damaged by earthquakes or bombs.

Yet today’s architects still do not employ fabric as widely as they could. “That fabric appears to be living — that it responds to the wind, that it creates an emotional connection with forces beyond a brick-and-mortar building — can be very inspiring. But that also makes it unpredictable,” reasons Seattle-based landscape architect Daniel Winterbottom. For all of tensile architecture’s allure, practitioners remain unsure of its code-compliant performance and, perhaps, in their own ability to incorporate its waving, billowing, pooling forms into a contemporary design vocabulary.

http://architizer.com/blog/future-of-shade-2016-winners/

When I lived in Sheffield, I had a huge bay window almost from floor to ceiling which sat in an alcove.

I made full length white Muslim curtains which would gently blow in the breeze, making the wind alive and offering shade from the sun but also a little peeking through.

In the winter I would change them for a heavier curtain.

I thought some of the designs were lovely, but a bit impractical and the plastic thing with holes looked very uncomfortable.

The need for shade and breeze allowed the Thai people to be very clever with weaving and trees.

 

[Linda]

Didn't know you had camels in Texas.

You know, we did have camels in Texas. Skeletons have been found from the prehistoric eras, and some think that species originated in north America. Also, in the 1800's, camels were imported to use as pack animals. They did very well in this regard; however, they scared the horses, smelled awful, and were more difficult to manage than mules. So they were sold or just turned loose.

This is one of my educational moments that causes my children to roll their eyes.