THE CHALLENGE – PROVIDE ENCLOSED SHELTER THAT MAXIMIZES NATURAL LIGHT
Park and Ride bus stations are a key part of a major transport initiative to ease congestion on Auckland, New Zealand’s busy Northern Motorway and Harbour Bridge. The stations offer commuters the convenience of free car parking and large, comfortable bus shelters before they board one of the frequent express buses connecting the North Shore with downtown Auckland.
Structurflex worked with the project’s architects to design and manufacture the roof over the waiting area in the bus shelters. The brief was to create a fully-enclosed space that maximized natural light.
THE SOLUTION – LIGHT-DIFFUSING TENSION MEMBRANE ‘BUBBLES’
Structurflex designed a roof structure that played on a cloud theme, with a series of tension membrane ‘bubbles’ arching upward on the exterior of the shelter, and arching downward on the interior. The result is a striking, playful effect that blends seamlessly with the outdoor environment, bathing passengers in diffused daylight while enabling them to remain sheltered from the weather.
At night the unique roof structure comes to life with special light fixtures contained within the double-skinned membrane. This clever thinking delivers maximum light output for minimum power input.
We are pleased to have collaborated with KieranTimberlake and the outfit of a parking structure on the Rice University Campus. In their blog post, they describe the concepts they employed to create an iconic sculptural element. For more details see the KieranTimberlake blog post.
The Increasing Importance of DurabilityWhile tensile fabric has several distinct advantages over more traditional materials like glass, one of the most important may be its ability to withstand severe weather events. Our tensile structures and tensile facades in Miami, Jacksonville, Houston, Fort Worth, Waco, and Atlanta did not sustain any damage or require any repair despite enduring events ranging […]
