Residential Projects

Customer Brief

Our stunning range of awnings include bespoke garden permanent and semi-permanent structures, creating a perfect alfresco dining area for entertaining to ensure all weather patio areas for use of our customers. Aesthetically beautiful yet practical, the key to the success of our awnings is the simplicity of deploying and retracting the awning to allow ease of use.

Concept

Where we have designed semi-permanent awnings we have used furling systems that allow almost immediate use of the customers awning when the weather necessitates. Using minimal but ensuring strong fixings of the structure of the dwelling our awnings can achieve maximum or partial coverage (as the client wishes) and are easy to deploy to create the new architectural aspect to the property.

Where our clients have requested standalone coverage, our ‘permanent’ designs can still be easily removed or erected with minimal manpower and time for use over a more extended period of time or season using minimal fixings and the same ‘form found’ stability. In this instance our design would incorporate support as part of the scheme in conjunction with advice from our engineer.

We believe this gives our clients the best of a flexible product.

(see figures a & b).

How we did it

In both instances CAD designs were used to show perspective views of the structures. Awnings are designed only after consultation with the owner and a measured survey of the area to be covered. Sun direction of travel and the stability of the awning during wind load and/or rainwater flow can also be demonstrated to ensure that the use of the alfresco area would not be interrupted during inclement weather for the benefit of our client. The result is an awning with tension distributed across the entire structure; no lofting or flapping of the edges and no pooling of water after rainfall. The result is architecturally interesting structures with tension distributed across their entirety, which is highly stable.

bespoke garden permanent and semi-permanent structures

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Marquis of Cornwallis

Customer Brief

A recently refurbished luxury hotel in the Suffolk countryside wished to provide customers shelter whilst siting on the dining terrace, thus increasing the size of the serviceable area for customers during times of good or inclement weather.

Concept

The hotel restaurant has spectacular views across a valley from its elevated position and the architects were keen to ensure that customers using the restaurant inside the building were able to enjoy the surrounding vista as well as those upon the terrace. To achieve this our designers worked closely with the architects of the refurbishment project paying particular attention to the full height glazed sliding doors to the terrace. It was important to ensure that the awning was supported appropriately to ensure its stability but that any structural support did not detract from the views of the customers siting on the terrace.  The awning also needed to be stable, take account of any rain water which may have collected on the awning and appear attractive.

How we did it

Our advanced computer modelled design uses the tensile membrane theory that structures incorporating double curvature geometry are far more stable than traditional panels of canvas tightened at each corner. The membrane analysis, known as ‘form finding’ takes the design generated from our digital measurements and models wind across the structure. The simulation then adjusts the form of the awning, maximising the double curvature, to create the most stable shape. The result is an awning with tension distributed across the entire structure; no lofting or flapping of the edges and no pooling of water after rainfall.

The result is a stunning use of outdoor space, for this beautiful location.

Marquis of Cornwallis

Large racing/cruising yacht

Customer Brief

The Crew of this Oyster 885 Yacht wished to provide the yacht with bespoke awnings with two briefs in mind. One will provide protection for the crew during sunshine and more inclement weather, increasing the size of the sociable area of the yacht. The other awning to the foredeck of the yacht would primarily offer dry storage for a number of sails whilst the yacht is fully crewed. Sails could be dried and/or stored away from the direct glare of UV rays or heavy rain on deck.

Concept

The ideal concept utilises existing attachment points providing the greatest area of sociable space and the largest area of cooling and shading of the yacht. The optional mesh side zips allow the customer extra shading and screening whilst retaining the visibility out of the yacht and any breeze the opportunity to filtrate through.

A high peak foredeck awning and an over boom awning were customised for this yacht offering up to 2½ times the coverage of other bimini protection resulting in considerable sun protection and a noticeable reduction in overall boat temperature whilst offering dry storage on the less clement days. After a short while with the awnings in place the air conditioning would usually turn itself off offering energy saving benefits to our customers. We seek to make best use of what is already in place to support the structures and in many cases add little or nothing to what currently exists on-board. The ideal concept is to have an awning that can utilise attachment points already used for normal dynamic sailing loads.

How we did it

Each awning starts with precise digital measurements taken on board the yacht and discussed with the owners and crew. Concept drawings and impressions of the final products were presented to the allow them to visualise the finished product and its attachment.

We incorporate the standard and running rigging of sailing yachts to support the tensile loads and make installation as simple as possible. No battens or spreader poles are required and the lightweight fabric makes crew work easy and storage versatile.

73.8m Super Motoryacht

Customer Brief

This prestigious super yacht offers luxury accommodation for its owner and her family. Aboard the owner’s deck, the crew wished to provide the owner with weatherproof screening for the hot tub area, and private deck without the necessity for a large number of fixings to the motoryacht.

Concept

The concept drawings were able to provide the owners with a stable ‘form found’ structure and substantially weatherproof enclosure that would appear modern and attractive. The form-finding process was used to produce the most stable shape whilst the design would blend seamlessly in with the body of the yacht. Without form finding technology a structure will tend to be unstable, reverberate, flap and allow water to pool.

How we did it

Our designers measured the aft owners deck using our 3D measuring proliner device. In turn our engineer was able to use this data to analyse the geometry of the superstructure and model wind flow across our concept design. The result is an awning with tension distributed across the entire structure; no lofting or flapping of the edges and no pooling of water after rainfall and no framework or bracing poles. This is the key to our successful awnings and embraces our design mantra for simplicity and ease of use and deployment.

weatherproof screening for the hot tub area

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150ft ft super yacht

Customer Brief

This architecturally stunning 150ft super yacht lies in sunny climes, and our customers wished to provide the owners and guests with extra protection from the sun to the cockpit, mizzen area and main deck of the yacht.  Their awnings were required to be stable and weatherproof whilst not detracting from the attractive lines of the yacht and easily assembled by crew members within a short period of time for maximum comfort of those aboard.

Concept

This prestigious super yacht required architecturally attractive awnings that did not increase the number of fixings that may detract from the design of the yacht.

It was considered that two over boom tensile awnings could provide the best coverage for the mizzen and main deck areas, offering up to 2½ times the coverage of other bimini protection resulting in considerable sun protection and a noticeable reduction in overall boat temperature beneath deck.  It was considered that the peaked version of our over boom awnings would increase the feeling of space upon the deck under the awning whilst utilising the existing halyards on the boat to enable easy hoisting and lowering to expedite erection.  Our design mantra is to seek simplicity and ease of use. We seek to make best use of what is already in place to support the structures and in many cases add little or nothing to what currently exists on-board. The ideal concept is to have an awning that can utilise attachment points already used for normal dynamic sailing loads.

The awnings were fitted by our team with optional zip-on side panels.

The mesh side panels allow vision from inside the awning but restrict most of the vision from outside the awning in allowing any cooling breeze that exists to filtrate into the shaded area.

How we did it

Each awning starts with precise digital measurements taken on board the yacht. Our designers worked in continuous partnership with the yachts commissioners at the concept stage to ensure we met the design standards of the yacht builders and we could provide the crew with considerable detail regarding the look, aspect and fitting of the awnings from artist impressions to CAD drawings, rainwater flow and stress tensions.  The design incorporates the standard and running rigging of the sail yachts to support the tensile loads and make installation as quickly as possible. No battens or spreader poles are required and the lightweight fabric makes crew work easy and storage versatile.

150 ft yacht

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Gibraltar Straits Passenger Ferry

Customer Brief

Large numbers of passengers aboard the 150m passenger ferry that crosses the Gibraltar Straits were unprotected from the fierce sun and temperatures whilst on deck during the crossing. The owners wished to provide much needed screening for their customers during the crossing for their safety and comfort.

Concept

The concept needed to provide significant sun protection to the deck whilst maintaining visibility for the passengers.  Given the nature of the moving vessel the awnings would have changeable forces of wind from a number of different directions. The structures needed to be highly stable as well ensuring UV protection and resilience.

How we did it

‘Form-finding’ software and precise proliner measurements of the ship allowed our designer to create CAD 3D model of the finished awnings. This software simulates different wind angles on the awnings to ensure we designed the strongest most stable structure possible for the project whilst meeting the brief. The simulation adjusts the form of the structures to create the shape that offers the most resistance to the forces of the wind. Without ‘form finding’ technology a structure will tend to be unstable, reverberate, flap and allow water to pool. The result is architecturally interesting structures with tension distributed across their entirety which is highly stable.

Gibraltar Straits Passenger Ferry

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