SHADE SAILS
Fabric structures, such as shade sails, combine traditional building materials, metal, wood, stone, and glass – with a fabric membrane, typically designed under very high tension. The most common application is the traditional awning, however shade sails, tension membranes, and retractable fabric rooves are becoming increasingly popular as people discover their cost and environmental benefits.
Shade Sails are pieces of fabric designed to create large shaded spaces. The concept of creating spaces with large pieces of material is not new. The existence of shade sails can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians and later the Greeks and Romans, where they were used to shade the crowds in The Coliseum of Rome. The Roman Armies were shaded from the draining effects of the sun with shade sails during wartime. It is a concept recently rediscovered in Australia in the early 1970’ s and spreading around the world.
Shade Sails are four sided polygons and triangular pieces of fabric resembling the shape of ship’ s sails around the 1800’ s. They can be secured directly to a house, posts or trees, and they are ideally suited in situations where a minimum number of posts are required. When incorporated within existing architecture, large spaces can be repurposed.
Fabric structures have massive advantages over structures made from traditional materials. They are lightweight and incorporate a lot less material, they can be efficiently engineered and installed, and structures such as shade sails can involve complex 3D geometrical patterns that enable unlimited scope in architectural creativity.
Most importantly, however, shade sails and shade sail structures can be manufactured to have an extremely low environmental impact. Materials can be used that are 100 % recyclable, and because of their lightweight nature they cut down dramatically on supporting structure requirements. Plus the shade sail fabric allows natural lighting whilst reflecting radiant heat, reducing energy requirements and utility costs.
All in all, the introduction of well designed shade sails or fabric structures into your home or workplace will create a wonderful aesthetic, whilst importantly minimising the impact of your footprint on the environment.