Customized membrane structures

Introduction PLAT ASIA is designated to renovate an urban square, "SHIJIE" in Kangbashi District, Ordos, China, into an all-people-friendly smart sports park to satisfy the necessity of increasing seeks for a healthy lifestyle using the public place. The original square is surrounded by the residents' zone, office building, school, and exhibition center, with a critical position and convenient transportation. There is a themed sculpture, "SHIJIE," at the 19.7 ha site, the open-edge urban square assembled with a few public amenities and several gate ball courts already. However, the lack of a rational configuration, professional runway, and enough service space and place resulted in an unwelcome green land in the city and low efficiency in... More

Nomad Concept is a design office that specialises in architectural sails and shade technology and has meanwhile developed into the benchmark for tensile structures and architectural sails. Both at home and abroad, Nomad Concept built up a solid reputation with its ultralight, translucent sails, inspired by Tibetan nomadic tents. Here we give some examples of sails covering public spaces in parks or squares. In al those examples, the covered space can be used by the public for barbeques, festivities, weddings or simply gatherings of the youth. Is there anything more beautiful than a free covered place in a nice park that people can reserve for their wedding? Is there anything more nice than a free place you can reserve for your family p... More

The graceful sails created by The Nomad Concept (Belgium) fit into almost any environment, from the intimate atmosphere of a private garden to the more pragmatical character of offices, public projects or events.Whether the aim is mainly to create shade or to provide protection from rain or to create a secluded area away from the world, architect Amandus VanQuaille always looks for a solution with high artistic value. The sails are used as an entrance canopy, smoking areas or outdoor dining area, cover of a terrace etc... MaterialsThe architectural sails are made of high-quality, innovative materials, with every detail being literally worked out to perfection. The masts are made of anodised aluminium, stainless steel or standardis... More

Flying high – with spread wings - above the blue coral sea of Curacao and the colorful cityscape of Willemstad…This architectural sail is a celebration of the ecstatic life of Curacao combined with the serenity of family life on the roof terrace. This fabric sculpture covers an open air kitchen and dining place on the roof . The contemporary apartment is set amidst a historical part of Willemstad, dating from the 18th colonial century.The form and the fabric is designed and engineered to withstand the extremely harsh wind and UV-light conditions of the island. It is built to stand for decades. More

Literally balancing between art, design and architecture, searching the extremities of materials, static design and adequate forms, this sail sculpture spans it’s huge wings like a dynamic bird or dragon above the courtyard of the former monastery in Tongeren (Belgium). A large free-span structure of 37m x 37 is supported by 3 fly- ing masts of each 17meter high, balancing on stainless steel wires. No mast touches the ground to keep the free space of the courtyard. A ‘beak’ snaps to the pond and solitary tree in the courtyard. Because of the dramatic sculptural effect of this mem- brane, the architect calls his realization “sail sculpture”. The membrane in Tongeren is realized in PTFE with a translucency of 40%. Un- der the grey and often... More