Fabric Architecture Specifier's Guide 2022 - 5

codes. " A glass atrium design approach
would have been over 50 times heavier
and would have required reinforcement
of all the existing buildings, making the
project unaffordable. "
DEMOUNTABLE SHELTERS
" Not only are demountable fabric
structures lighter on the earth, due
to lower embedded carbon of the
materials used, they also can reduce the
operational energy usage, thus reducing
operational carbon footprint, " Goldsmith
says. " In addition, we are now facing
climate disasters monthly, with the
U.S. now being the fifth largest country
of population displacements caused
by climate disasters. " To address this
displaced population, Goldsmith predicts
we will need relocatable buildings that
can be set up quickly and moved as
needed. " Some products exist but we
need to develop more integrated ones. "
RETROFITS TO EXISTING BUILDINGS
As fabric structures are no longer
strange creatures, having been
introduced to contemporary
architecture in the 1960s by Frei Otto
(German Pavilion, Montreal Expo
1967) and the British futurists group
Archigram (1960s-1970s), the need
to refurbish aging structures becomes
another area where architects can
help improve performance. Goldsmith
shows a creative solution for something
as mundane as an unused baseball
stadium in Connecticut.
" Fabric structures lend themselves
readily to the renovation and reuse
of pre-existing structures, " he says.
" A recent project of ours nearing
completion is the Hartford HealthCare
Amphitheater in Bridgeport, Conn.,
taking an unused minor league
baseball stadium to create a music
facility. Using the existing foundations
that supported the bleachers, a series
of columns rise up to support a circular
compression truss that holds up a
new fabric roof. The roof is extended
upward using a center flying mast that
works on the principle of tensegrity
forces, leaving the performance space
below free of all supports that might
intrude on sightlines. "
LEED BY DESIGN
Shellshear, IFM, MFC, general manager
for Value Vinyls Inc., understands the
importance of working with architects
when specifying building materials.
" When it comes to LEED issues
in the fabric structures arena, it is
extremely important to make sure that
any fabricator you use can verify their
[Environmental Product Declarations]
and sources of their raw materials
as well as the sustainability of their
fabrication processes, " he says. Key
questions to ask, says Shellshear: Can
they quantify and document their
recycling of production waste? Can they
prove that the fabric manufacturer has
the certifications? " There is no quicker
way to get a product tossed out of
specifications than to claim LEED and
not be able to support the claim. "
FABRIC ARCHITECTURE | SPECIFIER'S GUIDE 2022
5
A free-standing protective ETFE canopy over
a contiguous pedestrian passageway links
four existing campus buildings at Providence
College, Providence, R.I. FTL reduced
retrofitting costs by not tying back to each
building. A glass atrium would have been more
than 50 times heavier and cost prohibitive.
Renderings: FTL Design Engineering Studio
Fabric Architecture Specifier's Guide 2022

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