THE CHALLENGE – TO INTEGRATE FABRIC INTO CONVENTIONAL BUILDING DESIGN
This unique residential property is located on rugged Great Barrier, a remote island off the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island. The property – the architect’s own residence – stretches conventional building methods through the integration of less-conventional materials into a stunning and functional residential design.
This is a unique application of a tension membrane as part of a residential structure, with the membrane acting as a permanent roof over the living area of the house.
THE SOLUTION – A HOODED ROOF FOR ALL-WEATHER LIVING
The architect had very definitive ideas about what he wanted and looked to Structurflex to help him realize this vision. Structurflex worked in close consultation with the architect to develop the structural and membrane design that was to become a key feature of the overall design of the home.
The project was not without its challenges, and heavy design input was required by both parties to insure that the transition between the membrane structure and the conventional building structure was faultless.
The membrane design enables the house to be bathed in natural diffused light while offering the family all-weather protection from the island’s changing climate, which can range from scorching summer sun to howling winds, driving rain and winter chill.
Despite the remote location, transport costs were kept to a minimum due to the low transport volume and bulk of the individual components that make up a structure.
Press
“Expressive canopy crowns a New Zealand home,” Fabric Architecture Magazine
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 […]
